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JOHN McCULLOUGH. 



HISTORY 



IRISH BRIGADES 



IN THR 



SERVICE OF FEANCE 



HISTORY 



OT TUB 



IK'SH BKIGADES 



IN THB 



SEEYICE OF PEANCE, 



EEVOLUTION IN GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND UNDER JAMES IL, 
TO THE EEVOLUTION IN EEANCE UNDER LOUIS XVL 



BY 



JOHN CORNELIUS O'CALLAGHAN. 



"I cannot bnt highly esteem those gentlemen of Ireland, who, ■with all the disadvan- 
tages of being exiles and strangers, have been able to distinguish themselves, by their 
falour and conduct, in so many parts of Europe, I think, above all other nations."— Swift. 

" Long as valour shlneth. 
Or mercy's soul at war repineth. 
So long shall Erin's pride 
TeU how they lived and diedl " — M.00E& 



p. O'SHEA, PUBLISHER, 
^ WARREN STREET, 



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PREFACE. 



Among the deficiencies of information connected with th" hi-fory of 
Ireland, none, perhaps, has been more regretted, tlian the a'^s.ence of a 
satisfactory narrative of the services of the great numbers of Irish, who 
devoted themselves to a military life abroad; at first, as belonging to 
the army of James II., arid, afterwards, on account of the many 
obstacles to employment at home, created by the hostile sectar-ian and 
commercial legislation that followed the Treaty of Limerick. During 
the century from the fall of the Stuart dynasty in these islands to tha 
1st Revolution in France, the Irish exile was to be found, in the 
vax'ious armies of the Continent, from Russia to Spain. But, as a 
" restoration of the Stuarts " was, for a long period, the only occurrence 
to which the oppressed majority of the Irish nation could look for a 
deliverance from the penal regime of the Revolution, and as tlie Frencli 
caViinet, from the hostilities in which it was so much involved with 
England, had a greater interest, than other governments, to elfect such 
a " restoration," or keep up an expectation of its being effected, there 
were far more Irish in the service of Fi-ance, than of any other Con- 
tinental power. The existence, in the French service, of a force so 
considerable in number, so distinguished in I'eputation, and so attached 
to the Stuart family, as the Irish Brigades, naturally gave an importance 
to the cause of that family, which it would not otherwise have possessed, 
either in these islands, or upon the Continent. An account of thosf? 
Brigades consequently cannot be without much interest to a British 
)-eadei', as associated with the claims of opposite dynasties to the 
government of Ids country. Indeed, without a due comprehension ol 
the influence of the Irish element in the affairs of the ejected Royal 
Family, the history of Jacobitism, and, so far, that of Great Britain 
itself, iiiust remain imperfect. To the feelings of an Irishman, (in the 
strict sense of the term.) an account of those gallant exiles in the 
service of France is a subject of higher and more peculiar interest, as 
constituting, for a century, (and too sad a century!) the bright, as 
contrasted with the dark side of the national story; Ormuzd abroad, to 
compensate ior Ahriman at home. A general reader, too, cannot but 
be attracted by a series of military achievements from France, tlirouL^h 
Flanders, Italy, Geruuiuy, the Peninsula, be.sides Great Britain in 



1745-6, to Sweden, Poland, the Crimea, and. the East Indies in the Old 
World, and thence to the West India Islands and North Atnerica in the 
New. "If you would read truly great things," said, a Spartan to 
Augustus Ca?sar, " read the 7th book of Thueydii^is." And the spirit 
of the Spartan's observation to the Roman Emperor, with reference to 
the acts related by Thucydides, will l)e found fully app'ioaI)le to others 
recorded in tJiis work, with no inferiority io the Athenian in one re- 
spect, or a love of truth equal to his. 

The history here submitted to the public consists of 10 books.* The 
1st book, after such a view of the Revolution and \\ ar from 1C88 to 
1G91, in Great Britain and Ireland, as to explain the origin of the 
Irish Brigades in Fi-airce, is dev(jted to regii'iental accounts of tli« 3 
earliest established Irish corps there, or those of Mountcashel, O'Brien, 
and Dillon, under their original and subsequent Colonels; and to the 
Continental campaigns of those corps till the airival in France of the 
remains of King Jan)es's array from Ireland, after the Treaty of 
Limerick. The 2nd book proceeds with similar dt'tails respecting the 
regiments then organized from that army, as well as other subsequently- 
formed national regiments; such details, like those res[)ecting Mount- 
cashel's Brigade, comprising biograjihies of the Colonels of each 
regiment, from its commencement to its extinction. The 3rd book, 
having accounted for the long-continued emigration of so many Irish, as 
Boldiers, to France, by legislative as well as dynastic causes, describes 
the military services of the Brigades from 1692 to 1697, or the Peace 
of Ryswick; continuing its narrative to the decease of King James II. 
in 1701, and the acknowledgment of his son as James III. by those 
Irish corps, as his most zealous and valuable subjects abroad. The 4tli 
book, opening with the War of the Spanish Succession, contains the 
interesting campaigns in Italy, Flanders, Germany, and the Peninsula, 
from 1701 to 1707. The 5th book commences in 1/08 with James 
III.'s expedition from France for Scotland, in consequence of the Union; 
gives an account of that measui'e, as productive of subsequent struggles 
having i-elation to the Irish Brigade ; in mentioning the capture of some 
ofl&cers of that corps attached to the expedition, alludes to the excite- 
mejit occasioned by it in Ireland ; and, having brought the War of the 
Spanish Succession and prolonged hostilities in Germany and Catalonia 
to a close, relates the Tory ministerial plans, with corresponding appre- 
hensions among the Whigs, that James III., instead of George I., might 
be Queen Anne's successor. The 6th book, having contrasted George 
and James, in 1714, as rivals for royalty, notices thegeneiai aversion to, 
and the insurrections against, tlie former in Scotland and England, 

* " All classical histories are in books. Gibbon sa^'s, that, if he came to give 
a coDijtlete revision and new edition of liia work, he would call his cbaptera 
Looks." — Wa'poiia/na. 



PREFACE. V 

joiner! in Scotland by James and some Ii-ish officers from Finance ; shows 
tlie consequent alarm of the Wliig-Hanoverian " ascendancy " ia 
Ireland, and hostility towards the Catholics there; narrates the chival- 
rous adventures of the ^alhint Irish Jacobite, Charles Wotjan, especially 
in delivering, along with some of his countrymen of the Brigade, the 
Princess Sobieski, subsequent Queen of James III., from her A ustro- 
Hanoverian captivity; gives an outline of the w;rr against France and 
England by Spain, under the administration of Cardinal Alberoni, and of 
the very strong Jacobite feeling in Great Britain and Ireland, favoiu-ed 
by the Cardinal, thi-ongh invasions and risings planned against George I., 
nnder the Duke of Ormonde, and the last Sarsfield, Lord Lucan ; then, 
having described the pi-ecautionary government measures, and opposite 
public feeling in Ireland favourable to Spain, presents a general review 
of the 7"emarkable military career and obnoxious Jacobitism of the Irish 
Brigades, from a pamphlet, published in 1728, upon the necessity of the 
British Government's demanding an abolition of those corps in France 
and Spain; and, after a sketch of the war from 1733 to 1735 between 
France and Germany, and notices of eminent deceased officers of the 
Brigade, proceeds to the War of the Austrian Succession, and consequent 
engagement at Dettingen, in 1743, between the English and French, 
before any declai'atiou of hostilities by either ; and concludes with 
preparations, as regards the Brigade, for tlmt declaration, in 1744. The 
7th book, beginning with the French expedition designed in 1744 to 
land Prince Charles Stuart in England, glances at the state of Ii-eland 
vi'ith respect to that undertaking, refers to the baffling of England and 
her Allies in Flanders that year by the Marshal de Saxe, and gives, in 
connexion with the addition of a i-egiment to the Irish Brigade, a 
memoir of the Colonel, Count Thomas Arthur Lally. In 1745, it 
describes the battle of Fontonoy with the important })art taken there by 
the Irish Brigade, the fortunate results for France during the rest of 
the campaign, and the consequent hostile legislation to the Brigade ia 
Ireland by the colonial tind sectarian "ascendancy" there. The enter- 
prise of Prince Charles Stuart to Scotland, with which so many Irish of 
the Brigade, or others, were associated, follows, from his landing till 
his return from England at the close of 1745; when, after a notice of 
the death, ifec, at Avignon, that year, of the old Duke of Ormonde, as 
head of the Jacobite party, a sketch is given of thf elfects of the Prince's 
enterprise in Britain u])on ])olitical feeling in Ireland. The 8th book 
contains the sequel of the Prince's career in Scotland in 1746, till his 
escape, after the battle of Culloden, to the Continent; and resumes the 
narrative of the successl'ul contest of France against England and her 
Allies in Flanders, from 174G to the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748, 
and conclusion of the most flourishing period of the history of the Irish 
Biigade. The Dlh book, retemug to the decline, iroiu 1748, of the 



VI PREFACE. 

Brigade as a national force, and after sevei-al memoirs of distingnishod 
Irisli officers deceased, more especially Field Marshal Count Peter Lacy, 
shows the hostility, as war with France appi-oached, of the local 
"ascendancy" in Ireland to the Catholics, and to recruiting for tlie 
Brigade ; and from the aj)pointment, after the declaration of war between 
France and England in 1756, of Lieutenatit-General Count Lally to co*tu- 
mand for France in the East Indies, continues his history till his most 
nnjust execution at Paris in 1700, tfec. ; next, inclusive of the extensive 
na>'al and military plans by France for the invasion of Ireland in 1759, 
details the services of the Brigade on the Continent till the Peace of 
1703; and tei'minates with an instance of the liberal feeling arising 
about that peiiod in Englrtnd as to a relaxation of the Penal Code in 
Ireland, and tlie ronsequent attem})ts made by George III. and the 
English cabinet for that purpose, though frustrated by the uni'elenting 
"ascendancy" of sectarian and agrarian oppressors there. The lOtli 
book, having shown the generally liigh opinion of the Irish as soldiers 
on the Continent, with a corresponding regret in England at their legal 
exclusion from her service, notices the death, in 1765, of James III., at 
Rome, and the long-enduring loyalty towards the Stuarts in England, 
as well as among the Irish ; after a reference to the Brigade in Corsica 
in 1768-9, and elsewhere, adverts to the growing quarrel between 
England and her North American colonies since 1763, and to partial 
experiments she had made since 1757, and with satisfactory results, to 
recruit from Catholics in Ireland, and to the growing indispensability of 
such recruits, for the approaching contest in America, occasioning those 
of their faith to be officially acknowledged as subjects through an Oath of 
Allegiance to that effect ; next mentions the birth of Daniel O'Connell in 
1775, from its occuri-ence amidst various family and local circumstance.s 
relating to the Brigade; then refers to the avowed necessity in Parlia- 
ment for recruiting against America in Ireland, with the parliamentary 
admission of Irish Catholics to hold landed property subsequent to the 
surrender of Genei'al Burgoyne, and the consequent dissatisfaction of 
France at this legislation, as calculated to undermine her military 
interest in Ireland ; and, after an account of the services of Walsh's, 
Berwick's, and Dillon's cor])S with the French in Ai'rica, the West 
Indies, and North America, during the war against England from 1778 
to 1783, and a survey of the several events tending to the dissolution of 
Irish corps in France, or the ])rospe!-ity of Ireland after 1782, the 
virtual extinction of the Stuarts by the death of Prince Charles, ia 
1788, the ensuing Revolution of 1789 in France and its effects upon the 
Brigade in 1791, ends the work, with notices of the 2 last eminent 
officers of that force deceased on the Continent, or General O'Connell in 
1833, and the Count de Nugent in 1859. 

Such, exclusive of the numerous military events to be found under the 



PREFACE. VU 

years in wliich they occurred, is a general synopsis of tlie sul)j«ct hei-o 
treated of, at an expense of more than 25 years' reseai'ch and labour; 
often, from the difficulties of obtaining information, and otiier cause's, 
attended by a painful despair of the task undertaken being ever com- 
pleted, in a manner at all worthy of a portion of history, so " blendinc 
the rays of modern days with glories of the past," or honourable in itself, 
and interesting in its antecedents. 

In anticipation of any superficial criticism of this work as too Jacobite^ 
it may be observed here, that the work is so Jacobite, as a history of 
Jacobites. The Irish Catholics wei-e Jacobites, or haters of the Williara- 
ite Revolution ; and could not feel otherwise towards it, as the repre- 
sentative to tliem of foreign military invasion, landed confiscation, 
and breach of treaty by Penal Laws, to degrade them religiously, and 
pauperize them collectively ; to which were added festivals and numu- 
nients to gall the feelings of the fallen, c()nti'ary to even the old maxim 
of Pagan morality, that, though it was lawful to raise a trophy for 
success, it .should be of perishable materials, and be unlawful to repair 
it, as tending to keep alive bitter recollections, or a desii'e of revenge. 
In noticing the sad condition of the older Irish, or " children of the soil," 
as Catholics, or Jacobites, after the success of the Revolution, Loni 
Macaulay observes — " To tliem every festival, instituted by the state, was 
a day of mourning, and every public troj)hy, set up by the state, was a 
memorial of .shame. We" in England "have never known, and can 
but faintly conceive, the feelings of a nation, doomed to see constantly, in 
all ])ublic [jlaces, tlie monuments of its subjugation. Such monumenta 
every whei-e met the eye of the Irish Roman Catholics. In front of the 
Senate House of their country, they saw the statue of their conqueror. 
If they entered, they saw the walls tapestried with the defeats of their 
fathers." Elsewhere, moreover, they were insulted yearly by several 
armed public proce.ssions, to commemorate the same events, with Orange 
colours, tunes, etc., too frequently attended with insolence and outi'age 
involving a destruction of property and life, yet perpetrated with perfect 
impunity ! Even in England, which was the gainer, by the way, at the 
expense of both Scotland and Ireland, by hotlt revolutions in opposition 
to the Crown, or that under Oliver Cromwell, as well as that under 
William of Orange, the latter revolution and its results, however " glori- 
ous," were long the sources of very extensive dissatisfaction. The great 
leading journal of England, the Times, alluding, July 12th, 1862, to the 
Revolution of 1688, and its consequences for half a century, remarks — 
"As for the earlier Princes of the House of Hanover, the nation never 
could be induced to entertain any cordial feeling towards them, and, 
indeed, we do not know why it .should. Faction, instead of being extin- 
guished by our glorious Revolution, became more rife, and more rampant, 
than ever. A system of Parliamentary corruption was organized, which 



via PRKFACE. 

niiglit lead a political purist to regret the clays of naked and unWnslnng 
tjraiJiiy. We had our ])auics, our assassination-plots, our rebellions, onr 
vast military expenditure, our bitter feuds between High and Low 
Chui-ch. Whoever looks back upon tliat period might form very 
])lausible reasons for believing, that England was ruined by her glorious 
Kevolution." If this view could be taken of the "glorious Revolution' 
in England, which profited so much by it, hoio could that revolution be 
anything but detested in Ireland by the mass of the population, who, in 
addition to tlie oppres-^ive laws directed, thi-ough tlie Revolution, against 
them, as regards I'eligion and property, were pronounced, from tlie 
judicial bench, to exist, as Papists, merely by a connivance of the ruling 
powers; and were even not admitted, until considerably within the reigu 
of George III., or 1774, to the privilege of taking an Oath of Allegiance 
as subjects! It was consequently not till tJien that the House of Hano- 
ver could claim allegiance from a people, legally incapacitated or 
excluded from making any pledge of the kind. Under such circum- 
stances, the Irish Brigailes were necessarily Jacobites, and have acconl- 
ingly been written of by their historian only as Jacobites.* Ha|)pily, the 
Irishman can now serve, and has long been entitled to serve, as well as 
the Englishman, and the Scotchman, beneath the standard of tljeir 
common Sovereign ; so tliat, in this respect, there is as much reason fur 
satisfaction with the present state of things, as for regret at the past. 

In conclusion, the authoi-, for favours coniiected with the execution of 
his task, has to ex])ress his specially grateful acknowledgments to the 
kindness of several friends, now all, alas, no more! 

" Can storied urn, or animated bust, 

back to its inansiou call the fleeting breath ? 
Can Honour's voice provoke the silent thist, 

Or Flattery soothe the dull cold, ear of death? '' — Gray. 

To the late Daniel O'Connell, he is indebted forgetting him an admission 
t'> the State Raider Olfice, London, in 1841, when such a privilege was 
rire, coninared with what it has tiiuce become; to his son, the late John 

• Lord ]\Iacaulay, writing October 24th, 1850, to the author, expresses himself 
more favourably of the Irish, than of the English, Jacobites. " To a considerable 
e.xtent," he says, "our views coincide. I admit that the Irish Jacobites were 
not, like the Englisli Jacobites, the defenders of arbitrary power. The cause of 
James presented itself, no doubt, to the Roman CathcUcs of Muustei-, as the 
cause of civil and spiritual liberty. Nevercheless, I think, that the dearest 
interests of the human race were staked on the success of the English in that 
struggle ; and that, though the victory of William produced much evil, far 
greater evil would have been produced by the victory of James." This work, 
however, is merely connected with the "much evil" admitted to have beea 
"produced" by that "victory;" of which "evil," so great a portion was the 
existence, for so long a period, of Irish Brigades in the service of France, &c. 



PREFACE. IX 

O'Connell, who had contpm])hitecl writing a History of the Iiish Biigades 
in France, he is also obliged for some useful French IMSS. on that sub- 
ject, procured at Paris; to tlie late Sir William Bethaui, Ulster King at 
Ai'ms, for an introduction to M. de la Ponce, and consequently obtaining 
from that gentleman the use of his extensive collections on Irish famiUetj 
and officers in France; to the late eniiuent Irish scholars. Dr. Jonu 
O'Donovan and Professor Eugene O'Curry, for sucli particular's as wtuc 
needed on the Celtic portion of his work ; and, " though last, not least, ' 
to the late Rev. J. H. Todd, of Trinity College, (the great promoter and 
cultivator of his country's literature,) for access to various sources oi 
information, in manuscript and print, indispensable for the biographical 
notices of the leading officers of the Irish Brigades. The author-, too, is 
tliankful for the facilities at all times affijrded to his researches, in the 
valuable libraries of Trinity College, Royal Irish Academy, and Royal 
Dublin Society. He now has only to hope, that the result of his long 
labour and anxiety, abroad and at home, or at London and Paris, as well 
as in his native city, may prove to be something, that posterity will 
" not willingly let die." 

J. C. O'G. 

1, Upper Eutlaxd Strkkt, Dublin, 
January I5th, liOU. 



HISTOEY OF THE lElSH BEIGADES 



THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 



BOOK I. 



The History op the Irish Brigades in the Service of France dates 
its origin from the war between Great Britain and Ireland occasioned 
by the change of d3^nasty in those islands, which commenced with th« 
British Revolution of 1688, and was notaccom])lished till the accpiiescence 
of Ireland in the results of that Revolution, by the Treaty of Limerick 
in 1691. In Great Britain, it was but natural that such a change of 
dynasty should have occurred. At a period when theological differences 
of opinion had such a considerable influence on the politics of Europe in 
general, and of Great Britain and Ireland in particular, the reigning 
Sovereign of the 2 Protestant kingdoms of England and Scotland, James 
[I., had deserted the Protestant for the Catholic faith, and, through the 
birth of a male heir, was likely to establish a Catholic dynasty over 
those 2 Protestant nations; who could hardly be expected to acknow- 
ledge a Catliolic Monarch, but for the expectation, existing previous to 
tliat birth, of his being succeeded, in the course of a few years, by a 
race of Protestant Princes. In an age when the boundaries between 
the monarchical and the other branches of the constitution had not been 
determined with sufficient accuracy, that Monarch had also considered 
himself justified in exercising powers, which, whatever may have been 
their defensibility on the score of precedent, were felt to be incompatible 
with the state of intellectual and political advancement at which Great 
Britain had then arrived. Under such circumstances, the a])plicati()ns 
of the disaffected English and Scotch for assistance against King James 
were addressed to William, Prince of Orange, and Stadtholder of the 
Dutch republic, who, besides being the ne])hew of James, was married 
to that Monarch's eldest daughter, the Princess Mary, and was thus the 
next Protestant Prince interested in the succession to the sceptre of 
these islands. William, who, in consequence of the birth of a son to 
James in June, 1688, would, if a revolution did not occur, V>e debarred 
of that share in the royal succession to which he had long looked forward, 
and who, as a Dutch patriot, wished to add the resources of James's 
dominions to the great League of Augsburg, privately entered into, 
some time before, by the principal states of the Continent against the 
overgrown power of Louis XIV., was necessarily glad to avail himself 
of the invitations he received to invade England. He accoi'dingly 
equipped such a fleet and army in Holland as he judged to be sufficient 
for the success of his enterprise, when supported by such a state of 
religious and political feeling in his favour as he knew to exist in Great 

B 



Z ' HISTOIIV OF Tirr, IRTSH BlUOADKS 

BritKin, and lauded without opposition, Noveml)er 15th, 1088,* at 
Torbay, in Devonshire. James, though too long deceived respecting 
the real destination of the Dutch armament, by the treachery of liis 
minister, Robert Spencer, Earl of Sunderland, had, nevertheless, assembled 
a force, that, if well affected towards him, would have been ranch 
more than sufficient to overpower the invaders. But, incapacitated from 
defending his crown by a defection so general as even to include iiis 
own daughter Anne, afterwards Queen Anne, and not altogether 
without reasons to be mindful of the fate of his father, King Charles T., 
it was soon judged requisite for him to send off his Queen and infant 
eon pi-ivately to France. After having been turned out of his own 
])alace at Whitehall, and for some time a yjrisoner under a Dutch guard, 
the King likewise considered it necessary for him to escapee from Englaml, 
and seek in France the protection of his cousin-german, Louis XTV* 
Early in the following year, 1G89, the flight of James, notwithstanding 
his pi'opfisal, in writing, from France, to return, summon a Parliament, 
and endeavour, in a regular way, to adjust matters between himself find 
his subjects, was voted in England by a Convention, assembled under 
Willian)'s auspices, to ha\e been an "abdication" of the Crown. The 
royal dignity, thus pronounced to have been abdicated by James, against 
his public ])rotest to the contrary, was conferred upon the Prince and 
Princess of Orange, witii the executive power to be vested in the Prince. 
The Crown of Scotland, still a separate one from the Crown of England, 
was, in the spring of the same year, also transferred from James (as 
James VII.) to his son-in-law and daughter; so that, with the exception 
of a brave, though compai'atively unim|)ortant, opposition in favour of 
the deposed Monarch, maintained in a corner of Scotland amongst the 
Highlanders, the Dutch Prince became the de facto Sovereign of the 2 
Protestant kingdoms of Great Britain. 

But, while England and Scotland considered themselves justified in 
preferring William as their Sovereign to James, in Ireland, the great 
mass of the populatifm, or those of Milesian, and Anglo-Norman, or 
Old English descent, thought that t/tei/ were at least as well entitled to 
retain James for their Sovereign, as the English and Scotch had been to 
reject him. On strictly constitutional grounds, or, viewing the Monarchy, 
in the 3 kingdoms, not as elective, but hereditary, the Irish, in adhering 
to James, regarded themselves as loyalists, and looked upon the English 
and Scotch, for deposing him, as rebels. If, by a recognized axiom of 
British law, " the King can do 7?o wrong" — anything deemed so being 
chargeable upon his Ministers, as evil counsellors, and to be visited with 
punishment, not of -him, but o{ t/iem, in order to deter others from acting 
similarly — ought not such a course of ministerial impeachment and 
chastisement have been :"i<lopted, with respect to what' ver had la en 
objectionable in .the government of James, instead of expelling him from 
the throne H to say nothing of his son, the Prince of Wales, ;{: who, as an 

* The days of. the month in this wf)rk are generally given according to the 
present or new style, in opposition to the old style, used by British writers at the 
time of the Revolution, and long after, or till 1752. 

t "Whereas," observes Higgons, "the laws of England assert, that the King 
«an do no wrong, autl make his Ministers only accountable iu this case the King 
alone was punished,, and the evil Counsellors rewanled." 

X The luiscrupulousand indecent S(_ctarian liction, as to James's alleged son not 
having been his actual son, was des[iise(l and discredited, as it deservtd to be, by 
the Irish. Sce.its.cgnfutatiou, at the end of Book ILL 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 6 

iiift<nt, had unquestionably done "no wi-ong!" If popular election, 
instead of hereditary right, were to decide the possession of the myal 
dignity, on whut principle were the Irish, as a distinct nation, or with a 
distinct Parliament as well as the English and Scotch, to be precluded 
fioui electing James, when the English and Scotch claimed a right to 
tlect William] If the English and the Scotch, as Protestants, objected 
to James for their King, as a Catholic, and ado[)ted William, as a Pro- 
testant, the Ii'ish, as Catholics, did not see v:/r(/ they shoidd not jtreter 
James for their King, as a Catholic, and reject William, as a Protestant. 
Finallv, if. on account of the general faults of James's administration in 
Great Britain, the English and Scotch conferred the Sovereignty of their 
i-espective countries on William, as expecting to be bt;tter governed by 
him than they weie, or could be, by his predecessor, the Irish, from 
a contrast of their improved political condition, \inder James's adminis- 
tration, with the previous ojipression they had endured, under the 
"ascendancy" of the Cromwellian, Whig, or Revolution party of which 
William was the head, had every reason to anticipate, that his Sove- 
reignty in Ireland would lead to a renewal, if not an increase, of the 
grievances they had so long and so recently felt; and were consequently 
so far justihed in believing, that both the present and future hope of good 
government, for' the Irish nation at large, would depend upon its support 
of James, and its rejection of William. James, during his short reign 
over the 3 kingdoms, or fi'oni February, 1685, to December, 1G88, had 
laid the foundations for ruling Ireland in a manner more adapted togaiti 
tlie affections, and improve the condition, of the nation at large, than any 
other British Sovereign had ever done. Indeed, a compaiison of what 
James was 'able to do, with what his writings attest his intention of 
doing, for Ireland, shows his plans for its government to have been sft 
much more suitable to the comprehensive views acted on in the 19tn 
century, than the exclusive theories of his English and Anglo Irish con- 
temporaries, and the subsequerit representatives of such exclnsiveness, 
that the mass of the Irish nation, in his time, could have adopted no 
<ither course, consistent eithei' with a sense of gratitude or self-interest, 
but tliat of espousing hia cause, in opposition to the Revolution. The 
Catholic religion, previous to his reign, so ])ersecuted or discountenanced 
in Ireland, met with that official protection and respect under his 
government, which the followers of every system of belief, forming the 
creed of a nation, con,sider it entitled to receive from the civil power. 
The Prelacy had access personally, or by letter, to the King, and had 
liberal y)ensions assigned them, from the Treasury of Ireland. Members 
of the Bar, of that I'eligion, were ])laced in the highest judicial and other 
appointments, connected with their profession. Catholics were likewise 
elevated to the Privy Council of Ireland. The C^orporations, of which 
the recently-planted Cromwellian oligarchy, and its ])artizans, would 
have made a mere sectarian monopoly, were so remodelled bj' the royal 
orders, that no member of the community, for whose benefit such 
institutions were originally intended, could be excluded from their 
jifivileges, by any mere tlieological test. The le-organization of the 
Army of Ireland, in which, under the same Cromwellian "ascendancy," 
durnig the preceding reign, there had been considerable jobbing or 
corruption, was committed to the political head, for many years, of the 
iiHtional religitm, the celebrated Cohmel Richar'd Talbot who wna 
elevated to the Peerage ly the title oi Earl of Tyre nnell, and likewise 



4 HISTORY OF THE lUISH BRIGADES 

created a Lieiitenant-Genoral. Under his in!«pection, all Cromwelliars, 
or the sous of Cromwelliaus, were dismissed, as ])prs()us, whose priiicipk'S 
having occasioned the overthrow of tiie Monai'chy, and brought King 
Charles I. to the block, were not to be trusted by his son. King James; 
and besides, as a class whom t. e King considered he had reason to sus- 
jK'ct, of being tainted with the disaffection of Monmouth's and Aigyle's 
lat<> insurrections against himself, in England and Scotland. Such 
hbuscvS, as those of men, [)hysically inadequate to the service for which 
they were designed, having becu enrolled among the privates, and even 
of certain Protestant Lords' servants having been provided for as otiicers, 
vere exposed. Instead of the former, a superior or native Irish soldiery, 
remarkable for their stature, were introduced ; instead of the latter, a 
more trustworthy and respectable class of officers, mostly drawn finm 
the best old families in the country, that had suffered so much by tho 
success of the Puritans in Great Britain and Ireland against the Crown. 
Kotwithstandii'.g the o])i)osition to lie expected in England, from thii 
general hatred there of tiie Irish,* it was also the King's intention, from 
the year 1687, to at least considerably modify the injustice of the Acts 
of Settlement and Ex[)lanation ; through which, after the restoration of 
Monarchy, in the person of his brother. King Charles II., several thou- 
sands of tiie Irish Catholic iiroj.rietary, of Milesian, Anglo-Norman, or 
Old English descent, who h;id f »nght for royalty, at home and abioad, 
against the Parliamentarian or Cromwellian rebels, were nevertheless 
ruined, by the transfer of their lands to those rebels. Previous, there- 
fore, to the Revolution, these unjust Acts in Ireland were already, to 
use the words of a Williamite writer, "doomed in every coffee-house;" a 
sentence afterwards carried into effect, by their total repeal in 1689. In 
short, from the post of Viceroy of Ireland, conferred on the Earl of 
Tyrconnell, down to the lowest situation in the power of James to 
bestow, never were the Irish so favoured and ]>romoted, in every capacity, 
by a British Sovereign, as they were Ijy that Monarch. While, from the 
success of James's cause, they consequently had everything to hojje, they 
\/iiYi^ not less convinced, by their experience of the same s])irit of national 
and religious hostility to them which afterwards violated the Treaty of 
Limerick, and enacted the Penal Code, that, from James's iall, they 
would also have everything to /ear. These circumstances natuially 
rendered the Irish so unanimous in the King's favour, that he had more 
reason to rely for his "restoration" on tlteni, than on all the i-est of his 
subjects. Between the j)eriod of his escaping from England to France, 
in January, 1689, and that of his disembarking from Brest, at Kinsale, 
in March, the issuing of commissions by the Earl of Tyrconnell to the 
nobility and gentry of the island, for raising troo])s in the roj'al cause, 
vas responded to, by no less than 100,000 n)eu coming forward, to take 
arms in the King's defence. But this abundance of men, for the forma- 
tion of an army in Ireland, was accompanied with a want of almost all 
the other means for equipping and mamtMining a regular force. By the 
results of the long Parliamentarian or Cromwellian war from 1641 to 
1653, Ireland, only alxnit 35 years before the Prince of Orange's invasion 
of England, had been reduced to the most frightful state of misery and 
depopulation. By the transfer, after the Restoration, in 1660, of so 
much of the landed pro[)erty of the older Irish or royalists to the Crora- 

* The Irish, as Lord Macanlay correctly observes, were considered "foreigners" 
iu Eagkind; "and oi all foreigners,"' he adds, "they were the most hated." 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. O 

wellians, and by other circumstances connected with that transfer, llie 
Angh)- Protestant "ascendancy," thus established in Ireland, were ren- 
dered so superior in wealth — as well from the rent of land, and the 
enK)lunients of office, as from the profits of business — that when, on the 
prospect of a war in Ii-elaod, in consequence of the Revolution in Great' 
Britain, as many of ihe nienihcis of that "ascendancy" as could get 
away to England and ScotUxnd removed there with their money and 
])late. Ireland was lelt almost entirely destitute of the circulating mtv.liui'i 
requisite for the payment of an army. Nor were the Irish loyalists less 
deticient in suc'i other military necessaries as muskets, cannon, tfec; 
partly through the policy of the English government, that as few arms 
and as little ammunition as possible should be kept in Ireland; and 
jjartly owing to the unlucky circumstance, of some thousands of the best 
eqiiipped ])ortion of the Irish army, who were sent over to James ia 
England previous to William's invasion, having been detained there by 
tlie latter, on the siiccess of his eviterprise; and tlius lust to their country, 
■when it stood in the greatest need of their assistance. 

For the supjJy of .so many discouraging wants, the Irish were therefore 
obliged to have recourse to their Sovereign's ally, Louis XIV. But, on 
account of the political and military situation of France with reference to 
its neighbours, the Irish were disappointed of anything like the a.ssis- 
tance that was necessaiy to supp'n-t the contest in which th-y engaged. 
From the commencement of Loui.s's reign, but ])articulai]y frouj his 
attack on the Dutch Republic, in 1672, that Monarcli's general policy 
had been such, as to make the principal powers of the Continent tinally 
consider hira a common enemy ; against whom it was necessary to com- 
bine, either for the purpose of avenging past injuries, or of averting 
future insults, and encroachments. With this view, under the pretext 
of making arrangements for a war upon the Turks, a great confederacy 
against Fiance, called the League of Augsburg, was secretly entered upon 
tiiere, by the repi-esentatives of sevei-al of those states, in 1686; and such 
was the general animosity of the Continental powers, of all religii)ns, to 
Louis, that, from 1686 to 16^"^S, the adliesions to this alliance confiuued 
to increase, till it embraced the Emperor of Germany, the Electors of 
Saxonv, Bavaria, and Brandenburg, the Elector Palatine, the Circles of 
Suabia and Franconia, the Kings of Spain and Sweden, the Dutch Re- 
]>ublic, the Duke of Savoy, and Po])e Innocent XL The political and 
military soul of this secret confederacy against the French Monarch was 
the Pi-ince of Orange. As Stadtholder, or first magistrate of his native 
country, William was interested in the formation of such a League, on 
account of the injuries which Holland had suffered, and the dangers she 
had to apiirehend, from the unscrupulous ambition and formidable iiower 
of France. On personal grounds, he could not forgive the sequiistration 
of his Pi'incipality of Orange, in the south of France, and the insulting 
lefusal of redress for that injury, by the French government. As a 
Protestant, he was naturally indignant at the Revocation of the Edict of 
]S1 antes, in 168-^, and the violent persecution directed against the Protes- 
tants of France (including the inhabitants of his own Princi[)aliry of 
Orange), for the extinction of Protestantism, in that kingdom.* J>. ar 

* "The Kevocation of the Edict of Nantz," says Mr. O'Conop, "was a pro- 
cnediuo- even more oppressive than the Penal Code in Ireland. It sujijiresse i a!l 
the pnvileoes u;raiited by Henry IV. and Lduis XIII ; inhihited the exercise of the 
I'lotestuut religion; tiijoined the bauishmeut of all its Ministers w^thm 15 days; 



6 iiiSTonY OF THE ii;i?.n et'JGades 

had the PrincH iUid liis co\iiitrvnicii, fclie Dutch, as members of a Pro- 
tectant .state, less caaye to be ahii iiied, on the score of tlieir religion; 
from the fai-t of those sweeping nieasnres, for the destruction of tlie 
reformed i'aith in Fivince, being accompanied, on the other side of tlie 
Channel, bv the administrative changes of Louis's relative, friend, and 
brother-religionist. King Jam^^s, to tlie weakening of the Protestant Es- 
tablished Church in England and Ii-eland ; while James likewise dejiri\ed 
the Leaguti of Augslan-g of its best expectation of success, the alliance of 
England, by signit'ving h'ts determination to remain neuter, between the 
jiarties to tliat coalition, and the French Monarch. These circumstances, 
with the invitations William received from England to invade that 
c-ouiitrv. and the necessity he himself was under, of effecting a revolution 
there to the prejudice of James and his son, or of resigning any hope of 
a share in the succession, at once suggested, and facilitated, the nnd«M-- 
taking of such an enterprise; through the final triumph of which, the 
important object of adding England to the League of Augs'ourg being 
attained. France was exposed, everywhere Ijut on the side of Switzerland, 
to hostilities by laud or sea. While such an immense drain upon the 
resources of France was thus required for //er defence against so m-ii-iv 
enemies, the Irish Jacol)ites could not be aided as they might otherwise 
have . been, and they consequently found themselves abandoned, with 
comparatively little more than their own very inadequate means of 
defence, against the enormous supei'iority of every description of force 
directed against them by the Prince of Orange, as King of England and 
Scotland, Stadtholder of Holland, and Head of the League of Augsburg. 
The following jxirticulars respecting the War of the E^evolution in 
Ireland during the years 168'J, 16U0, and 1691, will give a sufficient 
idea liere of the courage and persevei-ance, with which, nnder so many 
disadvantages, the Iiish loyalists sustained the cause of James, for 3 
cam])aigns, again.st the power of William. Consisting, at the most, of 
not above 1,200,000 men, women, and children — having to gv;ard against 
aiiofJ'er poj)ulation in the country, able to furnish 25,000 hostile Militia 
<ir YeiitLanry—vf'iih. a national revenue, in its comparatively flourishing 
state, or li'om 1682 to 1685, amounting to only .£266,209 a year, and 
which, after soon dwindling into a mere copper currency, finally left no 
resource for defence, in addition to the taixly and insufficient supplies 
from France, but that of bartering the butter, wool, tallow, and hides of 
the island, with the Fiencli merchants, for jiowder, ball, and arms — the 
Irish Jacobites had, in 1689, opposed to them, under the veteran 
Marshal Duke of Schonberg, a regular force of 30 regiments and, 1 com- 
pany of foot, 9 regiments and 3 troops of horse, and 4 regiments of 
dragoons, or 43 regiments, 1 company, and 3 troops of infantry and 
cavalry, that would make above 34,900 men and officers — in 1690, 
between what William himself and Marlborough brought over, 50 regi- 

held out rewards for converts ; and prohibited keeping schools, or bringing up 
cliildren in any but the CathoUc religion. Dragoons were sent into Languedoc, 
Dauphine, and Provence, to enforce this decree," and "100,000 Protestants, tlie nsost 
industrious and jieaceable subjects of the French Monarchy, fled from the sword 
of persecution, and brought with them to Germany, Holland, and England, their 
arts, manufactures, and resentments. In every field of battle in Euroiie, they 
displayed the same invincible valour against France, that was evinced by tlie Irisli 
against Englnnd." But, iu as much as the Huguenots were sucn a small minority 
of the nation in Fi'ance, while tlie Catholics were the great maiority of the natiun 
in Ireland, was uot the uersecutiou of the latter the lesn defensiule of the 22^ 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 7 

nipnts and 9 companies of foot, 21 regiments and 5 troops of horse, and 
5 I'egiiiients of dragoons, or 76 regiments, 9 companies, and 5 t.oops of 
infantry atid cavalry, that would iiudce above 59,200 men and oflicers — 
and, in 1G91, nnder Lientenant-General, Pamn de Giiikell, tlie Duke of 
Wirtemlierg, Majors-General Euvigny, Mac Kay, and Talniach, etc., 42 
I'egiments and 1 com; any of foot, 20 regiments of horse, and 5 regiment.s 
of dragoons, or 67 regiments and 1 company of infantry and cavalry, that 
woukl make above 48,800 men and officers.* At length, amidst a deso- 
lated territory — blocked np by land and water in their last fortress of 
any consequence, Limerick — with a great portion of the town reduced 
to ruins, and a large breach made in the walls by nearly 90 piece*} 
of artillery — and without any appearance of the relief expected from 
France — the Iri.sh army found themselves obliged to enter into a nego- 
t'ation, for tlie conclusion of hostilities. In this situation, they, by the 
Treaty of Limerick, obtained such terms for their coiintrymen who chose 
to remain at home, as, if not subsequently violated by the enactment of 
the Penal Code, would have saved Ireland from the innumerable evik 
jiroduced by that Code for so long a perind, and have rendered unnecessary 
the various efforts made for Catlmlic Emancipation, and other measurefi 
connected with it, down to the 19th century. Thongh offered by Baron 
de Ginkell, if they would lay down their arms and remain quietly at 
home, to have their properties restored, and the exercise of their religion 
guaranteed them as in the reign of Charles IL, that army, rather than 
acknowledge William, whom theij considered a "nsur]ier," decided on 
following their exiled Sovereign abroad ; and, in addition to the full 
military honours with which they were to be received on giving up Lim- 
erick, and the 6ther jilaces held l)y them in the Counties of Clai-e, Cork, 
and Kerry, they even stipulated, that not only they, but all of their 
countrymen, who might wish to follow their example, should have ship- 
ping, and eveiy thing requisite for a free passage to France, for them- 
selves, their horses, money, ])late, equipages, moveables, or household 
goods, supplied at William's cost. Thus terminated this long-pi"otracted, 
though, on the part of the Irish, very unequal, contest ; in which, for 
their principles, they ai'e stated to have forfeited 1,060,792 acres, and, 
by their resistance, to have occasioned an expense of above ,£18,000,000 
sterling to their eneniies. 

It was in the spring of 1690, the 2nd year of the War of the Revolu- 
tion in Ireland, that the formation of the force, styled " the Irish 
Brigade in the Service of France," was commenced, by the arrival there, 
of the tirst Iiish regiments belonging to that corps. King James, who 
was then in Ireland, haying repeatedly pressed upon the French 
government, the insufficiency of the means of that country for making 
a due resistance to the powerful resources of every description from 

• In the statements respecting the numbers of the Williamite regular forces in 
Ireland in 1689, 1690, and 1691, derived from regimental data, in Trinity College, 
Dublin, and the State Paper Office, and British Museum, London, as well as 
printed Williamite works, the complements of men and officers attached to the 
Williamite trains of artillery are not included, as I did not meet with due accounts 
on that point. It is certain, however, from the narratives on hoth sides in this 
war, that the W^illiamite su]ieriority in artillery was ver]i great. It is also to be 
borne in mind, that the Williamite regulars were powerfully aided l)y the colonial 
Mllltla or Yeomanri/, referred to. On the diversity of fuitvms in William's ai'iuy, 
Bee, in Book III. , the note under the jjetiticu of the Irish disbanded officers to Louis 
XIV., in 1698 



8 IIISTl.HY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

England, Scotland, Holland, Denranrk, &c., with which he was to be 
attacked l)y the Prince of Orange, requested that a French force, and a 
Bujt|)ly of military necessaries, should be sent to Ireland. A body of 
Louis's troops, of the Rt^gimtnits of Zurlauben, Merode, Famechon, 
Forest, La Marche, Touinaisis, and Courvtissiez, consisting, according 
to the Marquis de Quincy, of above G,UOO effective men, were conse- 
quently ordered to sail for Ireland, with some of those supplies, which 
had been requested for th(! Irish. The i)assage of this land-force, under 
tilt! Count de I^auzun, was to be .secured by a squadron of 36 sail of 
the line, 4 fire-ship.s, and other ve.ssels, commanded by the Mai-quis 
d'Anifreville, assisted by the Marquis de Nesmond, and the Chevalier 
de Flacour. The Fi-ench fleet sailed from Brest, March 17th (St. 
Patrick's day) 1090; reached Cork and Kinsale by the 22nd and 23rd;, 
against the 27th, landed the (Jount de Lauzun, and his men; and, early 
in Ajtril, had disembarked the military stores. From the difficult 
circumstances under which James and Louis were then placed, and the 
consequent arrangements between them,— James re()uiring the pi-estiye 
and example of a corj)s of French soldiers in Ireland as so7ne set-off 
against the numbers of Continental veterans in William's army, and 
Louis being so pressed near home by the League of Augsburg, that he 
required as many men from James, as might compensate, as far aa 
possible, for the force forwarded to Ireland — the Irish had to send to 
France, on boai-d the same fleet which had brought over Lauzun's 
contingent, the liody of troops before referred to, as the origin of the 
Irish Brigades in the French service. After a delay of above 12 days 
on board by unfavourable weather, which prevented the Fi'ench fleet 
setting .sail for France till the ISth of April, and a similar interru|)tion 
to their voyage between Ireland and France, the Irish reached Bi-est, 
and were landed there, early in May. Those troo])s, according to their 
1st formation, or on their embarkation in Ireland and landing in Fi-anoe, 
consisted of 5 infantry regiments, whose Colonels were Lieutenaut- 
General Justin Mac Carthy, Lord Viscount Mountcashel, the Honoui'- 
able Coloniil Daniel O'Brien, the HonouraWe Colonel Arthur Dillon, 
Colonel Richard Butler, and Colonel RoV)ert Fielding. This organiza- 
tion was changed in France; the 5 regiments beiiig formed into 3, 
under Lord Mountcashel, the Honourable Colonel Daniel O'Brien, and 
the Honourable Colonel Arthur Dillon. Each of the regiments con- 
tained 15 companies of 100 men, and its Colonel's company. Into the 
3 Colonels' companies, besides Cadets, (of whom, in Mountcashel's, for 
instance, there were 20, at 10 pence each, a day, till 1714, and 16 Cadets, 
at the same pay, and till the same year, in -Dillon's,) as many men as 
could be found were admitted; the Irish soldiers, on their landing in 
France, having been remarked, as " tous gens bien faits," or " all well- 
made men." According to the arrangement made for tho.se regiments 
■with the French government, by Lord Mountcashel, the officers and 
soldiers wei'e to have strangers' or higher pay than that of France; the 
privates, by this agreement, getting a sol a day more than the French 
soldiery. The Colonels, in addition to their pay, were to have a sol in 
the livre, as well from the appointments of all officers, as from the funds 
for the general maintenance of their respective regiments; and Lord 
Mountcashel, besides the enjoyment of this privilege in his own I'egiment, 
had a sol in the livre, from the ]»ay of the 2 other regiments; thereby 
securing a very beneficial establish uieut iu France. These 3 Begim«ut8 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 9 

of Monnicashel, O'Brieti, and Dillon, named from hig Loi'dship, "the 
Brigade of JMouutcasIiel," each consisted of 2 battalions, and, according 
to Count Aithur Dillon, amounted altogether to 5371 officers and 
soldiers. 

Tiie Colonels of the 3 regiments of this Brigade were of some of the 
iii)hlest families in Ireland. With respect to Justin ]\Iac Carthy and 
Daniel O'Brien, this was more particularly the case. They represented 
ill their peisons the blood of the 2 old royal races of Desmond, or South 
Munster, and Tiiomond, or North Munster, descended fi-om Heber, 
eldest son of Milidh, or Milesius; by which races?, for 91)0 years previous 
to the Anglo-Norman invasion of Erin in the 12th century, Muniha, or 
Munster, is I'elated to have been ruled ; fach race su])reme in its own 
peculiar territory ; and both, in turn, entitled to give an Arch-Kiug, or 
tSoveieign, to the entire province. From the will of their common 
ancestor. Olil-Olum, King of Munster, about the middle of the 3i'd 
century,* this j)rivilege was derived ; that Prince pai-titioning his king- 
dom between his 2 sons, Eogan or Eugene More, and Cormac Cas ; the 
foi-mer, the progenitor of the Mac Carthys, or the Eugenian Pi-inces 
of Desmond, or South Munster; the latter the progenitor of the 
O'Briens, the Dalcassiau Princes of Thomond, or Noith Munster; and 
the Sovereign, or King of all Munster, to be of the Eugenian and 
Dalcassian line, in alternate succession. If viewed with reference to 
primogeniture and the rights of seniority, the house of ]\Lic Carthy 
should be accounted the 1st, according to a native authority, as being 
the leading branch of the eldest of the .sons of Milesius, Heber, whose 
pf)sterity, from the Milesian conquest of the island previous to the 
Christian era, are recorded to have given Kings to Munster, and several 
Monarchs to Ireland, until the su])reme sceptre was fixed in the line of 
the younger of the s(ms of Milesius, Heremon, as represented Iw the 
de.scendants of Niall of the Nine Hostages, ancestor of the O'Neills, in 
the 5th century. Thi'ough the Anglo-Norman intrusion of the 12th 
century, the ]\lac Cartliys, indeed, suffered much diminution of their 
territoi-y by the "stranger " but e-^pecially by the ambition of the great 
feudal house of Desmond. Yet, during the middle ages, the heads of 

tiie old native remil tribe were Princes or Chiefs, who, thouirh so much 

. . . 

less powerful than their forefathers, could, when to^i far provoked, inflict 

sevei-e blows in battle on the unscru])ulous Ceraldine; could hold the 

Sassenagh "settler" in various (parts of the .south under "black rent," 

or tribute ;+ and whose descendants finally survived, in the Peerage, the 

downfall, under Queen Elizabeth, of that in-oud Gerahiine Earldom, the 

historian of which, regarding its ruin, in tiie light of a moral i-etribution 

for long injustice, bids his readers " pondei- on all the cruel acts of 

rapacity and blood, committed against the Mac Carthys!" Of such 

ancestry, from royalty, cliiefdom, or' nobility, for so many centuries, was 

Justin Mac Carthy. He was the .son of Donougli Mac Carthy, Viscount 

iSluskerry. and Earl of Clancarty, General of the Irisli forces of Munster 

for Charles I. and Charles II. against the Parliamentarian or Crom- 

•"Ile," as is observed, " must have been both a great, and an able Prince, to 
have established the supremacy of his race npou such solid foundations, in times 
of such extreme convulsion." He was interred at the hill of ('laire, near Duntry- 
Itauue, County Limerick; where, adds Dr. ()' Donovan, " a remarkable oronuecU 
was rai-sed over him, which '<ti/l remains in oodd preseri'ation." 

+ See the English admissions of the payments of such trihutes (biring the loth, 
and far into the lOth, century, iu my Macariaj Excidium, iSote 7i. 



10 



niSTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 



wellian revohitionists. T'iiis nohlt^maii, when resistance was no longer 
availalile at home, toHowed, with a large body of his country men, tlie 
fortunes of Charles 11. to the Continent; and, sni-viviug the Restoration, 
died in August, 1GG5, at Lomlon. He had, by the Lady Ellen Butler, 
I'ldest sister of James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde, 3 sons, Cormac or 
Chai-les, Callaglian, and Justin Mac Cai-thy. The eldest, Cormac, or 
Chai-les, Lord IMuskerry, about 2 montlis previous to his father Donough'a 
decease, or in June, 1GG5, fell in battle. He was slain on board the 
Royal diaries, by the same cannon-shot that killed the Honourable 
Eicliai-d Boyle, son of the Earl of Cork and Burlington, and Charles 
Berkcly, Earl of Falmouth, next to James, Duke of York, (afterwards 
James II.) in the memorable sea-fight, where James, at the head of 98 
ships of the line, and 4 fire-slii|)S, against the Dutch Admiral, Opdam, 
and 113 ships of war, gained the most glorious victory that had ever been 
obtained by the English marine over the naval power of Holland. This 
Cormac, or Charles, Lord Muskerry, a |)articular favourite of James, aiid 
spoken of in his Memoirs as a brave and good officer of infantry, was 
only 31 at his death, univei-sally regretted; and recf-ived a most honour- 
able public funeral in Westminster Abbey, attended by the Archbisliop 
of Canterl>ury, and the Lord Chancellor, witli numbers of the nobility of 
the 3 kingdoms, &c. His Loi'dship having Ijeen married to Lady 
Margaret de Buigo, only daughter of the celebrated Click de Burgo, 0th 
Earl of Clanricar-de, left 1 son, Charles-James, who died a minor. The 
titles and estates of Muskerry and Clancarty consequently devolving to 
the Honourable Callaghan Mac Cartliy, he, who hail betaken himself iu 
Fi-ance to an ecclesiastical life, quitted his monastery, became a Pro- 
testant, married Lady Elizabeth Fitz-Gerald, 6th daughter of George 
Fitz-Gerald, IGth Earl of Kildare, (ancestor of the ducal family of 
Leinster,) and by her, besides 4 tlaughtei-s, left, on his decease in 1G76, 
1 son, Donough. Of the extensive landed possessions of his ancestors for 
so many centuries, this Dcmough was the last noble head of the Mac 
Carthys, who retained a remnant; then producing a rent of <£9,000 per 
annum, and in our time estimated as yielding one of not less than 
■£200,000 a yeai-. He was educated a Protestant by the Archbishoj) of 
Canterbury, and bred up at (>xrord. Through tiie influence of his uncle, 
Justin, (afterwai-ds Loid Monntcashel) he was pi-ivately married, before 
he was 16, to the Lady Elizabeth Spencer, 2nd daughter of Robert 
iSpencer, Earl of Sunderland, (tlie fame who was Prime Minister to 
James II.) and sent over to Ireland. W'iien James ascended the 
throne, Donough became a Catholic, and, with his uncle, who was of the 
same religion, warmly espoused that Monarch's cause, in opposition 
to the disturbances attempted against his government in Ireland by the 
Williamites of Munster, alter the defection of England to tlie Prince of 
Orange, and the escape of the King to Fiance. Justin, the EaiTs uncle, 
had, as a younger son, entered the army, and was well connected in 
England; being married to the Lady Aialtella Wentwoi-th, 2nd daughter 
of the famous Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Stratibrd. In his piofession, 
Justin had attained the rank of Lieu,tenaiit-General, and was possessed 
of such courage and talent, that, but for his being somewhat near-sighted, 
he was considei-ed to have had every qualification for a coni|)lete officer. 
His moral character is described, in ]>olitically-hostile sources of intelli- 
gence, as that of a man of honour and liberality. 

Early iu March, 1689, the inhabitants of Bandon, an Anglo-Protestanfc 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 11 

town in the County Cork, (erected from English cDuC^ica>''i(.«k^ vwle la 
Ireland, at the begiunmif of that, and the conclusion of the T^revioua 
century,) being from race, from creed, and from the succe.ss of the Prince 
of Orange in England, equally favouraVde to the Revolution, disaffected 
to King James, and hostile to the nation arming in liis favour, fell by 
.sur|)rise uptm their small Jacobite or Irish garrison of only 2 < ompanies 
of foot, and 1 troop of hor.se, under Captain Daniel O'Xeill, killed a 
S»"rjeant and 2 ."soldiers, seized all their aims, clothes, and horses, and 
shut the gates, before the Earl of Clancarty, who was advancing with a 
reinforcement of 6 companies to that detachment of bis men which was 
thus overpowered, could reach the place. About the same time, Captain 
Henry Boyle, father of the 1st Earl of Shannon, and a descendant of 
the original English " settler " who founded Bandon, also attemjjted aa 
insurrection, by standing on his defence at his residence of Castle- Martvr, 
in the same County, with 140 followei's; while William O'Brien, 2ud 
Earl of Inchiquin, reared a Piote-stant in Loudon, and who was an 
experienced officer, having fought in .the war of Catalonia, lost an eye in 
a sea-ffght against the Algerines, and been for several years British 
(lOvernor and Vice-Admiral of Tangier in Morocco, and Colonel of the. 
Tangier Eegiment of Foot, headed, with similar intentions to those ot 
Captain Boyle, a considerable number of Williamite insurgent.s. But 
Lieutenant-General Justin Mac Carthy })revented any effective co-opera- 
tion with tho.se movements in the city of Cork, and the adjacent villages, 
by taking up the arms and horses of the Anglo-Pi'otestant inhabitants 
or Revolution party there; and collected such a body of mounted men 
and 2 or 3 tield-pieces, that the Willianiites of Bandon found themselves 
conqtelled to seek pardon, by opening their gates, agreeing to ])ay £1000, 
and to level their walls, which have never since been re-built; Captain 
Boyle was likewise obliged to surrender ; and the Earl of Inchiquin and 
his folloAvers had to give up their arms. By the.se successes, and the 
consequent cajntulation, to Ca])tain Phelim Mac Carthy and a sujierior 
Irish force, of a party of English colonists, who, with their adherents, had 
fortitied themselves at Kilowen house, in Kerry, under the ex[»ectation 
of a.ssistance from England, every attempt at Williamite insiu-rection in 
Munster was put down, ])revious to King James's arrival from France, on 
the 22nd of Mai'ch, 1689, at Kinsale. That Monarch, upon his landing, 
was i-eceived by the Lieutenant-General and his nephew, the Earl of 
Clancarty. By the Lieutenant-Greneral, the King was informed in 
council of the state of the country, and was entertained by the Earl; 
whom he rewarded, for his loyalty, by making him a Lord of the Bed- 
chauil)er, appointing him Clerk of the Crown and Peace for the Pi-ovince 
by letters patent, and creating his infantry regiment a Royal Regiment 
of Guards. To the Lieutenant-General, James, in order to establish a 
regular force as soon as possible, gave directions, before leaving Kinsale, 
to regiment and weapon the levies designed there for infantry and 
diagoons; and then to despatch quickly for Dublin the remainder of the 
arms, landed from the French fleet. Previous, also, to his setting out 
for Cork, the King, inspecting Kinsale, left due oi-ders for securing the 
place from any sudden attempt of the enemy; committed the execution 
of those orders to Lieutenant-General Mac Carthy; and appointed, to 
command under him, the gallant M. de Boisselot, Cajjtaiu of Louis 
XlV.'s Guards, v.ho was sent, with the rank of Marechal de Camp, or 
Major-General, to Ireland ; and who subsequently gained such celebrity 



12 ITIPTORY OP THE imSII BUIGADE? 

for the successful defence of Limerick agitiiist the Prince of Orange. On 
James's return to Duhliri from Derry early in May, in order to make 
airaiigenients for the meeting of the Irish Pailiament then at hand, and 
to forward to his small and very hadly-siiji])lu;d f.irce before the latter 
j)l;ioe, such means as could be collected for attacking it, Lien tenant- 
General Mac Carthy, as the best qualitied officer for ins])ecting the 
])re)iaration of arms, ordnance, and engintei'ing tools, was made Master- 
(leneral of Artillery in Ireland. In the Parliament, o])ened by the 
King in person on the 17th of the sann; month, the Lieutenant-General, 
who was Lord Lieutenant of the County of Cork, likewise sat as its 
lepresefitatiA'e along with the Attorney-General for Ireland, Sir Riclianl 
Tvagle of Aghnakishy and Carrignaconny Casth', in that County, who 
fcanied the Pill foi- the Repeal of the Acts of Settlement and Explana- 
tion ; or the restoring to tlie Irish I'oyalists the projierties lost by them 
in iigliting against the Parliamentarian or Cromwellian revolutionists; 
and yet confirmed to these revolutionists, after the Kestoi-ation, l)y those 
Acts. The Bill for their Repeal, thus drawn by one of the rcjiresenta- 
tives of that County, was brought u|) by the Lieutenant-Geneial as the 
other, on the 2nd of June, from the Iri.sh House of Commons to the 
Irish Hou.se of Lord.s. The next day, the Lieutenant-General was 
created by King James, Lord Viscount Mountca.shel, and Baron of 
Castle- Tnchy, in the County of Coi'k, and, on the 4th, was introduced, 
and took his seat, by these titles, among.st the Peers of Ireland. The 
attention of the King, in military matters, being, next to the Vilockade 
of Derry, directed towards the equi[)ment of such a force as might, with 
what were already in the North, be sufficient to reduce Enniskillen, 
Ijoid Moutitcashel was appointed to command the additional b(j(Iy of 
troops designed for that undertaking. 

The Enniskilleners, a hardy and sttibborn race, mo.stly Scotch by 
origin, and Presbyterians by creed, had commenced their insurrection 
again.^ King James's government in December, 1G88, by refusing to 
admit into Enniskillen 2 companies of Sir Thomas Newcomen's Regi- 
ment of Foot, sent to quarter there. Between the time of this outbreak 
and the end of January, 1689, they continued to arm, and sent 2 envoys 
to the Prince of Orange, for assistance from England ; in March, pro- 
claimed the Prince and Princess as Sovereigns of these islands; and, 
early in April, rejected the terms offered to them, from King James, by 
Brigadier Pierce Butler, 3rd Lord Galmoy. That officer, after trying 
what could be accomplished, rather by intimidation than by other means, 
again.st the castle of Croni, a frontier post of the enemy, about IG miles 
from Enniskillen, found himself oblij.#d by the determination of his 
opponents, the insufficiency of his force, and his want of artillery, to 
retii-e without effecting any thing. The Enniskilleners, being strength- 
ened by numbers of the bravest of the Protestants of Sligo, Donegal, 
Cavan, Leitrim, and Monaghan, whom the defeats of their forces else- 
where by the Irish army could not frighten into submission, occasioned 
such a diversion to the Irish blockade of Derry, and extended their 
))redatory excursions so widely, that, besides a force stationed under 
Brigadier Patiick Sarsfield on the Connaught side of Lough Erne to 
guard the country in that direction, and the detachment of another force, 
under the Duke of Berwick, from the Irish army before Derry towards 
Enniskillen, that 3rd body of troops, previously mentioned as more 
especially designed for reducing those insurgents, was to proceed against 



IX THE SKUVICE OF FRANCT^. 13 

them, unrler Lord Moniitcasliel. From the scarcit}' and the dilficvilty of 
pi-eparinnj military necessaries in Ireland, and the insufficiency with 
which such sn))plies had been furnished liy France, Lord Monntcashel's 
troops could not be asseujbled for action at Belturbet, before the Gth of 
Aui^ust. Tliey consisted of 3 complete regiments of infantry, 2 regi- 
ments of di-agoons, and some horse; the infiintry 2418, the dragoons 
10S{), the horse 96; the total 3600 men; and they had 7 brass field- 
guns, with 1 heavy iron y)iece, for battery. These levies were the best- 
equipped portion of the King's army, and, with the aid that might be 
expected from Brigadier Patrick Sarstield, and the Duke of Berwick, 
were judged suthcient for the reduction of the Enniskilleners; whoso 
f -rce then under command, besides irregulars, amounted to 30 com|)anie.s 
of foot, 17 troops of horse, and 3 troojis of dragoons; the foot 2216, the 
lK)rse 950, the dragoons 180; the total 3346 men; and their artillery 6 
field-pieces. But, as belonging to a class, who, having constituted both 
a political and religious "ascendancy" in Ireland, were before, as vve'.l 
as since, the Revolution, familiar with the use of fire-arms, and whose 
independent sort of creed, and comparatively easy circumstances, served 
to form an equally spirited and comfortable yeomanry, the Enniskilleii 
soldiery were composed of an order of men much superior to the mass 
of Lord Monntcashel's troops; who, besides the moral, political, and 
military disad%-antages under which they laboured, from the general 
inferiority of their condition previous to their entering the army, had 
not subsequently seen any service to raise them above raw levies.'"' 

Lord Mountcashel, having collected his forces at Beltur-bet on the 6th 
of August, came on the 7th before Crom castle, and commenced raising 
a battery against it; of which an account was forwarded by the Governor, 
Creighton, to Enniskillen, and received there that night. By the morn- 
ing of the 8th, this battery began to play upon the castle, while the Irish 
made their approaches very near it; and, though" they suffered by the 
small shot of the garrison, and the fire of long fov\ ling-pieces in the place, 
on rests, for killing game about the Lough, which served as a light 
artillery, yet the Governor was so alarmed at the elftcts of the besiegers' 
cannon, that he wrote pressingly to Enniskillen for i-elief To this 2tid 
letter, which reached Enniskiden early the same day, or the 8th, Colonel 
William Wolseley, an able English officer who had arrived, by the way 
of Ballyshannon from England, at Enniskillen, only the night betbi'e, 
and upon whom, owing to the sickness of Colonel Gustavns Hamilton, 
the command of the town and its forces then devolved, replied, that, by 
the 10th, he would advance from Enniskillen, to endeavour to raise tlie 
siege of Crom. The Colonel, from the slight opinion he entertained of 
the strength of Enniskillen, having determined to march out and engage 
Lord Mountcashel ahnie, rather than wait to be besieged there both by 
his Lordship and Brigadier Sarsfield, accordingly despatched away orders, 
that all the Enniskillen troops who could be spared from Ballyshannon, 
as well as those quai'tered 2 or 3 miles beyond it, should, the following 
day, or the 9th, make a forced march, so as to be at Enniskillen that 

* " I should be very sorry," said Napoleon, "to undertake a war with an army 
of recruits." The only portion of Lord Monntcashel's force, that would a])iiear 
to have constituted an exception to the term " recruits." as having had any thiuir 
like due training, was his own regiment of infantry. The numbers on each side in 
this Enniskdlen contest are either copied or deduced from data unobjectionable to 
wilier party. 



14 IltSTOIiy OF TIIK iiasii d:igades 

iiiojlit, anrl be ready, on the 10th, to go and fight Lieutenaut-General 
Mac Cartliy. The night of the same d.iy, or the 8th, on wliich he issned 
these coniniaiids, Wolseley, likewiwe rec-eiving a report of Lieuteiiant- 
Genei-al J\!ac Car-thy's intending to send, next d;vv. an Irish detachment 
to establish itself at the castle of Lisuaskea, wit n 10 miles of Ennis- 
killen, directed Lieutenant-Colonel Berry, another Jiinglish officer lately 
arrived at Enniskillen, to proceed the following nun-ning, or the 0th, 
with 4 troo])S of horse, 1 of dragoons, and 2 companies of foot, or about 
404 men, towards Lisnaskt^a, to garrison its castle, if tenable, and to 
leai'n all he coukl i-especting the strength and position of the Irish; 
assuring him of being followed, in due course, by the whole of the Ennis- 
killen forces, to raise the siege of Crom. Berry marched, on the morning 
of the 9th, to Lisnaskea, to anticipate the Irish in taking possession of 
its castle; which, however, he reached, without meeting any hostil% 
party; and, finding the edifice too much out of order to be worth a 
garrison, he kept liis men that night in the open fields, about 6 miles 
from the Irish. By the day of Berry's advance to Lisnaskea, or the 9th, 
Lord Mounti-islKd had already gained the entrenchments about Crom 
ca-^tle, with a facility so animating to his raw troops, that, contrary to 
Ids express orders to go no further, they had im])rudently rushed on 
towards the very walls of the fortress ; the loss being thus greater thaii 
it otherwise would, or from 75 to 80 kiHed or wounded, including tiie 
Lientenant-Colonel and several other officers of his Lordship's regiment, 
and 3 of his cannoniers. Yet, through the formation of a battery vuider 
cover of the night, he calculated on being enablt-d to give a genei-al 
assault, when he was informed 4000 men wore coming from Enniskillen, 
in order to relieve Crom. In this state of things, his post there being 
veiy ineligiV)le for giving battle, his Lordship withdrew 2 miles thence 
towards Newtown-Butler; that if the Euniskilleners approached, he 
niight be in a better situation to receive them; or that, if they shonhl 
not do so, he might still be sufficiently at hand to resume his operations 
a;:;ainst the castle. And, as an additional precaution with reference to 
the enemy's approach, the Clare or O'Brien's Regiment of Dragoons 
were to j)roceed early next morning, or the lOth, towards Lisnaskea, 
and after driving before them such a hostile advanced party as it might 
appear they would be able to dispose of, they were to halt at, and occupy 
a certain pass, where, it was said, that 100 men might stop 10.000! The 
officer to command the dragoons, with these instructions, was Brigadier 
Anthony Hamilton. 

This accom])lis!)ed gentleman, and elegant writer, known, m the light 
literature of France, as the " Comte Antoine Hamilton," author of the 
" Menioires du Comte de Grammont," (tc, was (by the Lady Mary 
Butler, sister of James Butler. 1st Duke of <h-monde) the 2nd surviving 
son (if 8ir George Hamilton, of the house of Alu'rcorn, Beceivei'-Gmeial 
of Ireland, under King Charles I. Anthony had risen to military rank 
in Fiance, like his 3 brothers — George, ci-eated a Count, and Marechal 
de Cam]) or Major-General, for his services against the Germans, and 1st 
husband of the beautiful Frances Jennings, subsequently Duchess of 
Tyrconnell — Bichard, also an officer of rei)utation in Louis the XIV.'s 
fi)-mies, banished the French Court for being in love with that Monarch s 
daughtei', the Princess of Conti, to whom his conversation was most 
agi-eeable, and, in this war, as a Lieutenant-General in the Irish army, 
di^stintruished at Deri-y and the Boyue — and John, for his military ex- 



IN THE SEUVICE OP FRANCE, 15 

perfence abroarl, marie a Major-General in the same army, and eventually 
i^illed at Anghrim. After the accession of James II. to the tlirone, 
bv which that preferment in their own country was opened to Irish 
Catholic officers, which they had been previously obliged to seek abroad, 
Anthony Hamilton was craated a Privy Counsellor in Ireland, and 
Governor of Limerick, ^^ ith a ])ension of £200 a year upon the Irish 
Kstablislnnent. On the revolt of England against the King in 1G88, he 
retired, as his Sovereign did, to France, and was one of those oiticers wlio 
accompanied liini from Brest to Ireland. He was then appointed Colonel 
to a Regiment of Infantry by the King, and hnally Brigadier in the force, 
under Lord Mountcashel, designed to reduce Enniskillen. 

Early in the morning of the 10th, as has been observed, the Clare 
Eegiment of Dragoons, which might make about 543 men, advanced, 
under the Brigadier, towards Lisnuskea, and at 6 o'clock, when about 2 
miles from that village, or near a place called Donough, they discerned 
the out-scoiits of Lieutenant-Colonel Berry, who was then on his march 
fiom Lisnaskea, towards Lord Mountcashel's position. Berry, according 
to his design of not engaging any Irish corps till he could discover its 
strength, and be so reinforced and posted as to fight with advantage, 
ordered his men to retreat before the Irish, and sent off an express to 
Enniskillen, to represent, that the Irish, having raised the siege of Crom, 
were on the march towards Enniskillen in pursuit of him; and to impress 
the consequent necessity of his being joined, as speedily as possible, by 
Colonel Wol&eley, with the i-est of the Enniskillen troops. Wolseley, 
who was on the road from Enniskillen with those forces when he met 
the express, in order to give the more effectual assistance, despatched, in 
advance of himself and his main body, some troops of horse and dragoons 
to reinforce Berry. Meanwhile, Hamilton, when he had driven the 
Enniskillen detachment beyond the pass, where he might be secure with 
his dragoons, until ren<lered still inore so by Lord Mountcashel, instead 
of halting, as he should have done, at that pass, transgressed his ordei'S, 
by continuing to p\irsue Berry. In that officer's retreat from Donough 
to Lisnaskea, the Irish dragoons pressed so hard upon, and occasioned 
such disorder among, a portion of the Enniskillen cavalry, that, but for 
his exertions, with 1 or 2 of the best troops, in several times facing 
about, and thereby bringing the Irish to a stand, in order to draw up, 
the whole of the retiring force would have been certainly routed to 
Eimiskillen. Of 2 roads, an old one on the right, and a new one on the 
left, leading from Lisnaskea to Enniskillen, Ber-ry, in retiring through 
Lisnaskea, determinerl to follow the latter and nearer one to Lough 
Erne; as running through boggy and fenny ground, and affording several 
])asses, where a defensive stand might be much moi-e easily made than 
on the old road. Whi ii he had I'ctreated about a mile from Lisnaskea, 
he arrived at a siiol, tli,. \v;ts well caiculateid to be maintained by a force 
as numerous as his, again.st one much stronger than the regiment of 
dragoons by which he was followed. It was a A^ery boggy, deep defile, 
Avhere a river crossed the road, whose breadth, for a considerable space 
before reaching the river, was so small, that 2 horsemen could scarcely 
i-ide abreast; and tins road, through the bog, was, as it led to the river, 
flanked with underwood, afibrding a convenient shelter for musketeers, 
by whose fire, those approaching the river would consequently be com- 
manded. Here Berry determined to engage; if the Enniskillen hoi'se, 
•who, by his efforts, and bv the necessary obstacles to their being quickly 



16 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

ymrsiied along the difficult roiul lie wisely selected for his retreat, had 
l)cen hardly |)i-eventcd li-oni niiiiiing away, coidd be gotten to stand. 'J'o 
accf>ni)ilisli this, tlic English Lieutenant-Colonel resorted to the influence 
of the Enniskiilen ollicers. On crossing to the side of the stream fartliest 
fioni the Irish, the horse, hy the exertions of I of tlieir best leaders, 
('aptain Martin Armstrong, and the coming up of a brave and skilful 
infantry officer, Captain Malcolm Cathcart, with about 120 fK)t, wei'e 
prevailed u))on to rally there. Captain Cathcart then requested the 
horse-otiicers to let him know plainly, if the horse meant to abandon 
their foot, as in the recent action against the Duke of Berwick,* or 
would promise to stand? — which, if they would do, he would answer for 
the Irish being beaten from that pass. The horse-officers protested, that 
none of them would fly, but would do their duty; a promise the more 
likely to be kept, through the arrival of the reinforcement sent on 1^ 
Wolsel(!y, after the receipt of Bei-ry's express. The strength of the 
latter, from but 2 companies of foot, 4 troops of horse, and 1 of dragoons, 
or only 404 men, was thus raised, by the Enniskillen writer Hamilton's 
account, to 7 or 8 troops of horse, about 3 foot com[)anies, and 2 troops 
of dragoons; that, according to the variations in the numbers of those 
troops and cntupanies, would form from 736 to 892 men. Under such 
combined advantages of numbers and position, arrangements were 
ad')pted to maintain the defile. Committing the disposition of the 
ini'antry and dismounted dragoons to Ca[itain Cathcart, who so placed 
them in the bushes, on each side of the narrow causeway leading to the 
stream across the road, that the passage would be swept by their levelled 
muskets and carabines, Berry, for the support of the infantry and 
dragoons, ranged his horse to the rear of all, or beyond the stream, and 
gave the word, Oxford. By this time, or about 9 o'clock, the Irish 
(whom the difficulties of a pursuit through such a causeway would 
appear to have considerably delayed) came up; and Hamilton, not aware 
of the Enniskilleiiers being reinfoi-ced bey nd the 5 troops of cavalry and 
2 companies of infantry, at which the nature of the ground enabled hiui 
to estimatt' them in the earlier part of their confused retreat before him 
to that dehlc, detei'mined on attacking them there. Dismounting, and 
causing the diagoons to do so likewise, he led them on gallantly. The 
dragoons, liring smartly and wounding 12 or 14 of the Enniskilleners, 
advanced without receiving a shot from them, till within about 40 yards 
of tilt: stream. Then Captain Cathcart, who, with 18 or 20 ambushed 
marksmen, was to give the signal from one side of the causeway to the 
marksmen on the other, finding the assailants sufficiently close to him, 
let fly at one of their flanks, while a similar discharge was poured upoa 
the other; killing or wounding about 20 of the Irish. Amongst the 
latter was Hamilton, who, being shot in the thigh, retired a little to the 

* The particul<ai-s respecting the difficulty which the Enrrlish Lieutenant-Colonel 
had in preveutinij; the Enniskillen horse from abandoning their foot during this 
retreat, as tliey had recently done nr the engagement near Enniskillen against the 
DuUc of Berwick, and likewise respecting the little reliance the Enniskillen foot 
conse(inently had on their horse, are derived from the narrative of M'Carmick, 
who liad so much to complain of, as having been an officer ou duty with that 
jiarty of the Enniskillen foot defeated by the T)uke, after their horse, who should 
have supported them, ran away from an equal body of the Duke's, without even 
liring a shot! M'Carmick, on that unfortunate occasion, paid dearly for the 
cowardice of those horse; having been made i)risoner by the Irish, after seeing hia 
ston killed beside him. The Enniskillen cavalry, indeed, were not worthy of beiiig 
compared, as soldiers, with their infantry. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 17 

»ear, to iiiuunt Lis horse; ordering another officer to lentl on the mrn. 
That officer and more of the dragoons being slain hy the close Haukiug 
volleys from Cathcart's ambushes, and uo chief officer being present 
tt> lead on the men, Hamilton told a Ciptain Lavallin to order a " wheel 
to the left" — for the ])ur|iose of getting out of thisdonlile line of tire, atiel 
withdrawing, to rejoin Lord Mountcashel. But Lavallin gave t!ie word 
as "to the left about," which was understood in a ivwse sense.'"' Tliw 
Enniskilleners, on seeing this, huzzaed, and exclaiming thai the Trisli 
were running, advanced to attack them — the infantry and dismounted 
di-agoons, previously in ambush, taking the bog on each side — the horse 
rushing through the water along the causeway. The Ii'ish, at first 
quickening their retreat, soon bi-olce, before the superior numbers of the 
enemy, into a disorderly Hight, notwithstanding all Hamilton could say, 
or do, to stop it. He having, wounded as he was, a horse shot under 
him, with difficulty escaped. For about 3 miles, or from the scene of 
action, through Lisnaskea, to near Donough, the pursuit continued. 
The Enniskilleners, by their accounts, .snffiered to no greater extent, thau 
the 12 or 14 men above mentioned as wounded. The Irish, according 
to the same accounts, had, from above lOG to about 230 men and 
officers killed or taken; so many hoi-ses and arms of the dragoons being 
(in any view of the matter) lost, that they w^ere broken up as a regiment. 
ISTear Donough the pursuit was stopped by Bei-ry's sounding a retreat 
to his former fastness, as Lord Mountcashel, who had marched that 
morning fi'om Newtown-Butler after O'Brien's regiment, came up witli 
the main body of his cavaliy, to protect the beaten dragoons. This 
misfortiine of the dragoons, which, besides its natiu'ally depiessing effects 
u|)on the remainder of Lord Mountcashel's newly-raised foi-ce, deprived 
him of nearly half his cavalry — the report, lik(;wise, of the entire body 
of the Enniskilleners, represented as more numerous than they were, op 
as considerably reinforced from England, being upon their march to 
attack him^the certainty, in this case, of Sarstield and Berwick not 
having advanced against Enniskillen, since their doing so woidd have 
prevented this march of the Enniskilleners — and the consequent expedi- 
ency, under such circumstances, of being upon his guard — caused his 
Lordship to determine upon retreating immediately towards Beltui-bet. 

But the enemv did not give him time to accomplish this. Lieutenant- 
Colonel Berry, from the j)ass to which, on perceiving the Irish army 
near Donough, he had a 2nd time retreated, was summoned, about 1 1 
o'clock, by Colonel Wolseley, to meet him at the moat beyond Lisnaskea, 
where the Colonel had arrived, by the upper road, from Enniskillen. 

• " After a short dispute," states my contemporary Trish Jacol)itp authority on 
this aifair, " Bri.tjadier Hamilton sent the word by Captaiu Lavallin iu us men to 
wiieel to the left, as if it were to rejom Mountcashel. Laval.in delivered it to 
the left about, as he thought it was, though flamilton maintain'd it afterwards, 
that it was as aforesaid. ... In 3 weeks after the action. Brigadier Anthony 
Hamilton and Captain Lavallin were V)rouo;ht to a Tryal, before a Court ]\lartial m 
I)iiblin, wherein General de Eosen sate President. The Brigadier was acquitted; 
and the Captain condemned to a military death ; tho, at his execution, he pro- 
tested, tliat he delivered the word as he had receiv'd it : and many Vieliev'd his 
protestation. He was a gentleman of a good estate in the County of Cork, within 
12 miles to that Citty: and was much regretted by his friends." Hamilton, it 
would seem, was too infiuentially connected at the Castle of Dublin to be con- 
denujed; or why was he iirit c died to a special account for his complete breach of 
orders, in risking that pursuit, which led to the destnictiou of so many, as well 
aa poor Luvalliii? 



18 IIISTOr.Y OF I HE IRISH BRIGADES 

The force, mustered by Wolseley and Berry at the moat, were, according 
to their own annalist Hamilton, 21 companies of foot, IG troops of 
horse, and 3 troops of dragoons, "men under command," or regnhirs. 
Of,, these, the foot would be 15G8, the horse 900, the dragoons iSO— or 
both, as cavalry, lOtiO — the entire 2G48. There were ''besides," says 
Hamilton, " some that were not under command," otherwise volunteers, 
or irregulars, that appear, by the subsequent loss in action, to h-Ave 
>)orne, to the "men under comiDand-," the considerahJe proportion of 8 
to 12.* In fine, the account from Major-General Kirke, published as 
otRcial in the Lnndon Gazelte, No. 2481, states Wolseley's and Berry's 
united troops as 2700, or 1500 foot, and 1200 horse. Lord Mountcashel, 
deducting, say 70, (exclusive of officers) for his killed and wounded at 
Crom, and 543 for the dragoon regiment subsequently put Iiors de coiubut, 
would still have 2348 infantry, and 543 dragoons, with 96 horse, or' 
Ijetween both, G39 cavalry, making altogether 2987 men.t 

Wolseley, after congiatulating Beriy u[)on his good for-tune, observed 
to the Enniskillen officers, that, a^, in the haste made to I'elieve their 
friends, little or no food had been brought from Enniskillen, they should 
either at once push forward, and fight Lieutenant-General Mac Carthy, 
or return home. The Enniskillen officers were for going on; but, think- 
ing it better to learn the opinion of their men on the matter, as.sembled 
them, in close ordei', and asked them, which course would they adopt? 
The soldiers, though many of them, only the day before, are related to 
have marched, in that warm season, between 20 and 23 miles, from 
Ballyshainion, or beyond it, to Enniskillen, and above 10 miles more that 
nioi'ning, were so animated, by what they considered the lucky presage 
of the late success, that they were all for pushing, forward. Wolseley, 
thereupon arraying them in line of battle, selecting the due number of 
troopers fo)- a forlorn hope, and giving the word. No Popery! as best 
suited to draw out all their political, religious, and military enthusiasm, 
commanded them to advance. Meantime, Lord Mountcashel had re- 
treated from between Lisna.skea and Donongh, in the directicm of 
Newtown-Butler, with his army, still more morally than physically 
weakened by the result of the late unlucky affair against Berry, besides 
a genei-al, tliough erroneous, belief, as to the foi-ces, hastening after them 
from Enniskillen, having been rendered greatly superior in number, to 
what they originally were, by recent reinforcements from England. In 
this unfavoui'able aspect of affaii's, his Loitlship broke up the arrange- 
ments he had j)reviously made for resuming the siege of Cnmi ; and 
directed the ti-oops and artillery, left before the castle, to be diawn off 
towards Newtown-Butler. When his van, ai-riving there, was about 
2 miles from Donough,and his rear not advanced further than about half 
a mile from the latter place, the forlorn of the Enniskillenei-s apjieared in 

•The Enniskillen "men under command." and "not under command," are 
Iwmped by Hamilton, as only "sometliing more tliau 2;i00." Bnt assertion cannot 
stand liefore arithmetic. Besides the ciruumstance indicating the irregulars to have 
been to the regulars as 8 to 12, we know, from Enniskillen "evidence/that, about 2 
months before, "near 2()()()' Enniskillen troo]m, in marching from Enniskillen to 
Omagli, were swelled to "double the uun^ber, " by the Protestant /tympathLers on 
their route. Were there not, consequently, mDvc of such Williamite irregulars, 
or Orange guerillas, oppused to Lord jMnuutcashel, than icc have a satisfactory 
account of? 

t The 7t) fi'ot and 543 dragoons, or G13 men, set down as lost, with 2987 
est-imated as remainnig. or still etfective, would fo;m cidUO. the total of Lord 
Mouutcashel'ti oricjinat force. 



IN' THE SFKVrCE OF FRAVCE. 19 

viow. As the Ti-isli rear retired, the EnniskiUeners continued to cnine 
on, until the ground, witliin ubout half a mile of Newtown-Bntler, pre- 
Kciited an opportunity for holding the enemy in check, which was not 
neglected by the' Irish commander. On the way towards the town was 
a ^^teep hill only accessible by a bog, and a causeway through it, ca]i;ibio 
of admitting no more than 2 mounted men side b}' side. Upim the 
declivity of this hill fronting the bog and the enemy, the Irish rear, alter 
its passage of the causeway, was drawn out, to assume an iuiposinLC 
attitude; which the nature of the position enabled it to do, as ('oloiu 1 
Wolseley, on coming up, judged it necessarj' to have t'le ground inspected 
by his officers, and the dispositions made for a regular attack. To further 
<)ccu]>y his attention, the houses of the adjacent countiy were committed 
to the flames; the semblance of a design to contest the hill being kept up 
liy distant firings from it, till his van was within about ninsket-iange. 
Then, preparations being made for delaying him still more by burning 
!Newtown-Butler, the Irish wei'e drawn off in good order towards it, after 
arresting his progress for half an hour. On pas.sing through Newtowii- 
Ijiitler, they burned it, and continued, for a mile beyond it, to retreat; 
facing about and tiring, so as to render Wolseley apprehensive of advanc- 
ing, unless in an equally I'Cgular miuiner. Heie, finding it no hmger 
possible to retreat towards Belturbet without fighting, and having select;ed 
such a position, as, under existing circumstances, gave the best hopes 
from a battle. Lord Mountcashel determined to engage the Enniskillcners. 
At the foot of an eminence lay a bog, nearly half a mile across. To 
assail this eminence along its front, cavalry had no way to approach, but 
a narrow road, through the bog, admitting but 2 tioopers, at most, to 
jiroceed abreast; while infantry shotdd advance over the bog, on each 
side of the road. Ahmg the slope of this eminence. Lord Mountcashel 
ranged his army. His horse and dra'^oons, reduced, by the morning's 
ivverse, so much below the number of the enemy's cavalry, formed the 
centre, drawn up acro.ss the causeway leading out of the bog, with 7 
jiieces of cannon planted befoi-e tliem, to cover the narrow passage by 
which the Enniskillen cavalry shouhl come on ; and to the right and left 
of his horse and dragoons, his infantry, protected by thickets, were jx-sted 
as wings. 

Colonel Wolseley made the following dispositions for action. Llis 
centre, consisting of horse, was to assail the Irish horse and dragoons, 
ratiged behind their artillery, at the opposite end of the causeway. His 
rght and left w4ngs, that were to proceed through the bog against the 
opposite divisions of the Irish infantry among tiie hedges, viere formed 
out of the nuisketeers of his foot, composing between 700 and 800 of 
such excellent marksmen, that a hostile officer could hardly show himself 
without being picked down. Between those wings, the 3 troops of 
dragf)ons, dismounted, were equally divided. The i-ight wing was placed 
under an English officei-. Colonel Zachariah Tiffin; the left uncler an 
Irish officer. Colonel Thomas Lloyd. The centre of horse was led by 
Lieutenant-Colonel Berry; behind which Colonel Wolseley took his 
station, as that best calculated for surveying, and directing the ])rogi-ess 
of, the engagement. The horse of the Ennif,killen centre first attempted 
to advance, but were*obliged by the Irish cannon to desist. Wolseley 
then despatched through the bog his 2 wings of marksmen and dismounted 
dr;igoons, under Colonel Tiffin on the right, and Colonel Llovd on the 
left, agaimst the Irish left and right of foot statit)neJ m the thickets^ the 



20 IIISTOItY OF TIIK ITilRII H^jnADES 

Etiniskillen winj^s being principjilly «]irrct('(l to H<j;lit their way alons; tlie 
sides of the Ciiuseway towni'ds tlie li'isli artillci-y, so as to seize it; and 
thus enahUi tlieii- centre of lior.se to cliaige the liorse aii.l diagooiis ef 
liord I\lonntca.-hel. Tlie contest was proceeding m this manner, vlieii 
jioiiie of the enemy, having gotten round nnpercei ved tlivougli a wood at 
one end ol' the inoi-ass, took the Irish in the rear, with a snrprisH and 
toiisicrnatioii on the, part of the hitter proportionately fi\oural)h! to tho 
liostih' ad\ance against theii- cannon in front.* The aitiUeiy was 
leached, the .caniioniers kiik^d, the gnns seized, and the causeway thus 
<i;:en<(l for tlie charge! of the Enniskilleii centre of liorse npon that of the 
.Irish. Disconraged by tlie vevei-se of tiiat morning, panic-.struck at the 
iiitrht anmn'if theii- infaiiti-y who liad lieen atiacke(l m the rear, at the 
tieizure of the artilh-ry, iind at the sujierior numlur of the enemy's cavaby 
jidvaneing by the causeway, the Irish horse and dragoons of the centr# 
whecded alxmt, and I'ode away towai-ds Wattle-Bridge, in spite of all that 
Lord Motiritcaslnd, and .svwie of their ollicers, couhl do;t among whom 
UMs Kir hitephen Martin killed Chmd Hamilton, Tnh Lord Strahane, and 
4rh Karl of Aiiercorn. woun(h'd ; liesides Lord Drnininond, and Mr. 
J^lowdeii, acting as volunteers, who very narrowly escaped, with the loss 
of their horses and baggage, alter iiehaving most bia\ely. The louted 
lioi-se and (Iragf)ons were; lollowed with due eU'ect, by a portion of the 
Knniskillen cavalry, f<>i" several mile.s. On tlu; Lish right, the slaughter 
■would ap[)ear (o have been le.ss than elsewhere; that wing being nearest 
to the open country Ibr an escape;; the Enniskilleii horsp not being alile 
to act out of the cau.seway ; and the P^nniskillen infantry, though as swift 
of foot as their opixnieiits, having marched farther than they did that 
morning, or about 1-5 miles before engaging. On the Irish left being 
])r(!vented from getting across the causeway to the open country by the 
Enniskilleii lior.se, who secured the road as far as VVattle-Bi-idge, and 
being also pursued through the bog towards Lough Erne by the Enni.s- 
Uilh'ii toot, almost all of the infantry, but some officers who received 
■ (piartei-, perisiied ; ahout 5U0 in one sjiot, who were driven into a wood 
on a branch of the lake, and thus deprived of any prospect of escape but 
swimming acro.s.s, being all shot or drowned, except 1 man, who .saved 
Idniself from the volleys sent after him! In tine, the Enniskillen troops, 
continuing the pursuit and search for their enemies until ;ibont lU tlie 
next morning, and the country-jxiople, as irregulars, being similarly active 
tor .some days alter, almo.st the whole of the Irish force, excejit such as 
liail gotten olf through the open country to their right, or with the horse. 
Mid dragoons of the centre, were destroyed or taken. The Enniskilhmers 
specify their loss as hut 2 officers (a Captain and Cornet) and about 20 
sold.ers, of whom 12 were regulars, and 8 irregulars; and their wounded, 
at from 4U to ,5U men. As to the Irish los.>^, no Jacobite detail of it 
being transmitted, we can only know what the Irish are said to have 
fstimatcd it at, through tiie KniiiskiUen annalist Hamilton, who alleges, 
th;it those who retuiiied to Dublin coiil'es.sed a deficiency of 30(10 men, 
Itetween Kille(l, taken, and i/iissing. Under the lasi head, however, he 

* riunkett iufoiiiis us, of the Enniskilleii party, how tlicy "passed thro' a wood 
that was at fiiio end of tlie said morass, and marcli'd iniperceiv'd against the rear 
C'f the Irish ;" tlius, as "■ ilio foe coming sur^irizeuigly upon them in that posture," 
ice. 

t "La tcrrcar ])ain(jue des troupes," says a French vtt^ran historian, "est 
«n mal, aiupaci la valcui, les piiuies, et Ics menaces duii General soiit pres'^uo 
toi.jcuis uu rcmttle inutile." 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 21 

af^ils, thi\t they, who admitted this, included many, who, from a fVar of 
disgrace and ])unisl)ment for their defeat, had availed themselves of the 
confusion tiiat followed it, to desert the service. According to the most 
prol)al)le estimate deducible from English and Enniskilleu authority, or 
all()v\ing for the escape of about GOO cavalry of the centre, and for others 
that would appear to have gotten off on the right, the Irisli loss, wit'i 
artillery, colours, camp, baggasje, ifec, would be about loOO slain, 5(K> 
drowned,* and from above 300 to 500 prisoners, including 46 oi aJ 
officei's. 

Among the captured officers was Lord Mountcashel, under circum- 
stances most honourable to himself, notwithstanding the overthrow of 
liis army. On the defeat of his cavalry, with whom lie might have easily 
escaped, he, with 5 or 6 officers, who would not abandon him, retired 
into a wood, near to where his cannoti were planted; and res(jlved nut 
to survive that day. Over those guns, the Enniskilleners had placed a 
guard of about 100 foot, under Captain George Cooper. Lord Mountcashel 
with his little party, after a short stay wliere he was, to the surprise of 
the Enniskillen guard, who did not suppose any enemy so neai-, rushi'(i 
out of the wood, dischai-ging his |iistol at them. Upon this, 7 or 8 of 
the Enniskilleners, pointing a volley against him, shot his horse dead 
under him, and brought himself, severely wounded, to the ground. Itr 
addition to the balls by which he was struck, but fVom wliich he was 
])rotected by his armour, he received 2 thiough his right thigh, 1 in his 
left loin through the lower part of the back-bone, and a slighter hurt in 
the groin, from part of a bullet, that, had it met with no o]>|iositioTi, 
would certainly have been mortal; but, after beating his wut, h to 
jiieces, is stated to have been bi'oken by its wheels into fragments, of 
which only 1 inflicted an injury. An Enniskillen soldier then clul)bed hia 
musket, to put an end to the [irostrate nobleman's life and sufferings by 
knocking out his brains, but 1 of the officers, who accompanied hia 
Loidship, desired the soldier, — " Hold his hand, as he was about to kiU 
General Mac Cartliy !" Captain Cooper, being informed of this, cams upj 
and gave quarter to the Irish commander, and to the officers who were 
with him. He was carried that night to Newtown-Butler; and b>>i)i'» 
a.>ked, " How he came so rashly to hazard his life, though he might have 
gone off with his horse, when tliey made their escape?" he replied, — 
" Finding the kingdom like to be lost, since /lis army was the best for 
their number King James had, unless tiiose before Derry, then much 
broken, he had come with a design to lose his life; and was sorrv tiiat 
he missed his end, being unwilling to outlive that day!"t xVs our 
great national bard observes — 

"The soldier's hope, the patriot's zeal, 

For ever (hiiiiii il, i'or ever crost -- 

Oh ! who shall say wh;i.t heroes feel. 

When all but life aud huuour's lost!" — 'Moore. 

The wounded General, and some of his officers, (probably those most 
hurt) were removed from Newtown-Butler to Einiiskillen by water, oi 

* Could cnnf honour ai-ising from this success compensate for the dis^^race of the 
eirtremc destractiveness that followed it? But such is " civil war ! " 

f Of tlics:' interesting particulars of Lord Alouiitcashefs lieroism in connexion 
with his fall an. I capture, we would lie " iu utter darkness," but for the Eu/Ubkiiitja 
writers, Hamiltou and Ale Carimck. 



22 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

aloTifif Longh Erne,* as the easiest mo'^e of conveyance; the rest of the 
jji-isoners going there by hind. At Enniskillen, bread being then ex- 
tren>ely scarce, beer and ale veiy bad, wine not to be had, and surgeons 
and medicines for the wounded greatly wanted, his Lordship obtaineil 
])erinission to make known his condition there to King James. The 
King thereupon despatched, from Dublin to Enniskillen, 1 of the royal 
physicians. Doctor Co^inor, and 1 of the royal surgeons, Mr. Huben, 
accom[)anied by some hogsheads of wine, and such other provisions, as, 
though most requisite, were not at Enniskillen; to wiiich was added a 
supjily of money, both for his Lordship, and the officers taken with him. 
About a fortnight subsequent to tliis disaster of Newtown-Butler, 
William III.'s General, the Marshal Duke of Schonberg, disembaiking 
from England near Carrickfei-gus, with the 1st portion of his British, 
Dutch, and Huguenot army, commenced operations, in the course ot* 
some days, with tlie siege of that ])lace, by land and water; and, having 
taken it, after a galhmt defence and honourable capitulation by Colonel 
Charles Mac Carthy More, pi-oceeded, aboiit the middle of September, 
tlirough Newry, towards Dundalk, on his intended advance to Dublin. 
In this interval. Lord Mountcasiiel was reduced to a very weak state of 
liealth, frora the elfects of his severe wounds, in such an unwholesome 
place as Enniskillen. Being consequently desirous, for his cure, to 
obtain leave, on parole, to go to Dublin, upon the condition of after- 
wards returning as a prisoner to Enniskillen, he wrote to his friend and 
brotlier rejiresentative for the County of Cork, Sir Richard Nagle, 
Attorney-General, and Secr'ctary of State and War for Ireland, to apply, 
in his own name, by letter, to Marshal Schonberg, for this permi,s.sion. 
Sir Richard having written to that effect, the Irish trumpeter, by whom 
the letter was forwarded for the Marshal, met the Williamite army on 
its marcli from Newry, and the communication was presented to the 
Marshal's Secretai-y; wiio soon after returned it wi,th this message, that 
his master, the Duke, could not receive that letter, because it was not 
directed to him as the Duke of Schonberg; which rank he claimed as 
confei-red n{)nn liim by King William. Besides this message to he 
brought back by the ti'umpeter along with the returned letter, the 
Duke's Secretary gave a letter from himself for Sir Ilichard Nagle ; in 
which, having stated the same reason as that verbally assigned for the 
refusal of the letter, he added, that his mast(n-, the Duke, Iiad renounced 
the title of Marshal, when, on account of the recent measures adopted 
foi- the extinction of the Protestant worship in France, by the Revoca- 
tion of the Edict of Nantes, he had left that kingdom, foi- the sake of 
his religion. This application, to obtain for Lord Mountcashel the 
])rivilege of going on his parole to Dublin, in order to get cured, there- 
fore failed. But, it having been the same month agreed by William 
III., in consequence of an application from the family of Lord Mount- 
joy, who was a prisoner in the Bastille at Paris, that a negociation 
should be attemjited, through King James's government in L-eland, to 
obtain his Lordship's liberty by way of exchange, and Lord Mount- 

* " I compared," states the English tourist Twiss in 1770, " the beauties of this 
with tliose of other lakes whicli I bad seen, such as Loch-Lomoiid in Scotland; tlie 
J^ake of Cieneva, which receives niuch grandeur from the iuimense snow-clad 
luouiit:nns that liouiid it ou the Savoy side, and much beauty from the vines on the 
opposite shore; the lakes near Na})le.s, which are all classic scones ; and, tbougli £ 
ji/tcrwards saw the celebrated Lake <jf Killaruey, Lougii-Erue did not sutler by the 
coiii.oarisou- 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 23 

cusliel, as the Jacobite officer of the highest rank arul chr.racler iu 
Williamite custody, being tlie most suitable for such an exchange, his 
Lordship, about tlie month of October, wrote from Eiiniskiilen to one 
of Schonberg's officers in Ireland, Major-General Kiike, who had been 
kind to him since his captivity, to request an a))plication on the subject 
in London, to the English Sfcretary of State, Charles Talbot, 12Lh 
Earl of Shrewsbury, Wateifoixl, and Wexfoi-d. INlajor-General Kirke, 
early in November, com])lied with this solicitation, enclosing, in a letter of 
liis own to the Earl of Shrewsbury, the letter ot Lord Mountcashel. The 
Earl, who had known Lord JMountcashel in England, as the Honourable 
Justin Mac Carthy, previous to the war between England and Ireland 
occasioned by the Eevolution, expressed, in his answer to Kirke. from 
Whitehall, alaout the middle of iSTovember, his great regard for Justin 
]Mac Carthy; observing, "I am so well satisiyed of his being a man of 
honour, that, as to my owne particular, I should rely n})on his word, for 
whatever he thought tit to engage it;" and, moreover, mentioning the 
solicitude he then, and, Irom the commencement of the negociatioTi, 
had felt for his old friend's release; but remarking upon the political 
obstacles that delayed, and might continue to delay, its accomplishment. 
In consequence of this uncertainty as to when he might be restoi-ed to 
his libei-ty, (if, indeed, he would not be more likely to die should he be 
detained where he was !) Lnid Mountcashel determined on effecting hi,s 
deliverance, by a ])lan of his own. On his former representation, of 
the inconvenience of having a guard placed over him during his illness, 
his Lordship, Ity an aj)iilication, through Major- Genei'al Ivirke, to the 
Marshal Duke of Schcuiberg, had gotten the guard to be removed, anil 
had been allowed the liberty of the town of Enniskillen, on his jiarole. 
While in the actual enjoyment of the liberty of the place, by virtue of 
such a pledge, he therefore could not endeavour to escape, without a 
breach of faith. In .order to be freed from that pledge, he consequently 
caused a rumour to be circulated through Enniskillen, that, althcjugh he 
laid been granted the liberty of the town on his parole, he intended to 
attempt getting away; which, in fact, he did, though only in such a 
nr.mner as the necessary alteration of conduct towards him, in conse- 
quence of such a discuieyij, would sui)j)ly him with a justiHcation foi 
doing. And so it hap[)ened; for this report i-eaching the Governor of 
Enniskillen, Colonel Gustavus Llamilton, that officer, in order to provides 
against such an event, placed Lord Mountcashel again under a guard. 
Leing thus i-eleased from his parole, and consequently wA iirecluded a.s 
a nobleman, a gentleman, or a soldier, from adopting any measures ho 
could for esca]iing, his Lordship soon had the means arranged for the 
purpose.* To the house in Enniskillen, where he was confined, and whicli 
was on the border of Lough Erne, 2 little boats, called cuts, or as many 

* On the like principle, the famous French sea-captain, Jean Bart, and a brother 
officer, when prisoners this year in England at Plymouth, are rei)reseiited in the 
Memoirs of Brigadier la Fontaine, as having acted, and juyf/Jialil// acted, in 
managing to escape. "Upon their parole of honour, they had the liberty of the 
town granted them for some time. But, at last, under pretence that they had 
made themselves suspected, they liad a guard of 4 soldiers placed U[>on them, to 
keep a watchful eye u}ion all tlieir actions. This ha])pened \ery fortunati'.!)/ for 
them, for, lieiiKj ilicrtly (lim-hur-iicd from their inord, they now began to contrive 
how to save themselves hy liight. " In that contrivance, they were successful ; tho 
j>oint, however, of their luit being considered to have lu-ohen faith, by cscapui^sj 
vnder jiic/i circumstances, being all that need be noted hut. 



24 IIISTOUY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

as were sufficient lor ciUTyiiig away himself, and all he wished to remove 
■with him, wei-t; to lie brought in the night by the contrivance of a 
Serjeant, muned Aclicson, whom he had bribed, and wdio agreed to go 
off with liini. The Serjeant, retnrning the same night, to deliver a 
letter, which, and liis Lonlshio's jjuss, were found in the lining of his 
hat, was next day tried, and shot. JJut Lord IMorajtcushel effected his 
object, and towards tlie I'nd of Decendier, 1G8D, reached Dublin. His 
entrance there was preceded by several carriages, and from 200 to 300 
horsemen, military or civilians. At the Castle, says the Jacobite official 
account, "his Lordship was very kindly received by the King with a 
hearty welcome, and carressed by all the great officers, and otheis, his 
friends, with all demonstrations of joy and gladness imaginable." The same 
evening, niniibers of tires were lighted in the streets. The exultation of the 
metropolis was shared by the provinces; the greatest rejoicings, however,* 
being at Cork, and throughout Munster, where they more especially- 
regarded his Lordship as their countryman, and a descendant of their 
ancient Princes. The loss of a piisoner of such eminence was, on the 
other hand, a source of mncli vexation to the enemy, whose General, 
the Maishal Duke of Schonberg, alleged, (or has, more probably, beea 
represented, on rejiort, by the Williamite annalist. Story, to have 
alleged,) of Lord Mountcashel, that "he took Lieutenant-General Mac 
Carthy to be a man of honour, but would not expect tliat, in an Irish- 
man, any more !" In reference to such an aspersion upon himself and 
liis coinitrymen, or the hostile rumoin- on which it was based, Lord 
Mountcashel took no measures till previoiis to the active resum])tion ot 
liis military duties, after landing at Biest, the following May, with the 
regiments that commenced the formation of the Irish Brigades in the 
service of France. His Lordshi]) tlien submitted himself to be tiied by 
a Frei:ch Court of Honour for the eircuni^^tances under wliich he gob 
away from Enniskillen, adds the hostile or (_)iange hi.storian liar, is, and 
was acquitted by that trib\inal, of ha\iug been guilty ot any l)reach of 
liis parole. Such was the career of the Colonel ot the Ist regiment, and 
Commander-in-Chief of the 3 regiments, of this Brigade, up to the 
perioil (if his entering the French service.* 

The Colonel of the 2nd of those regiments, the Honourable Daniel 
O'Brien, was descended from the royal race or Dalcassiaii Princes of 
Thomond; between whom, and the Eugenian Princes of Desmond, the 
right, as has been said, existed, for so many centuiies, of alternately 
appointing the supreme King of Minister. (3f those 2 royal lines, that 
of the Dalcassians attained the highei- eminence in the history of their 
country, by having produced the renf)wned Brieu Bmu, Ard-Righ or 
Monarch of Erin, and conqueror of the Danes at Ch)ntaif. in 10l4; 
from whom the name of O'Brien was henceforth transmitted to his 
descendants. In the warlike jjeriod of above a century and a half, which 
elapsed between the death of Brien Boru, at Clontarf, and the Anglo- 
-Norman invasion of Erin, his descendants of the house of Tiiomond, but 
with a sway extending far beyond its limits, were among the greatest 
Princes of the island; as attested, independent of native authority, by 

* Tliis account of Lord Moimtcasliel has been carefully revised since 1854, and, 
in refersuce to the ])ortion of it concerning Enniskillen, has leeii parthuktrhj 
improved, through the additioncal contemporary Jacoliite information supplied liy 
I'lunkett's Light to tlie Blind, and tlie (Jorrc.<]>oiKlence from Ireland ( f th ■ Ccmitii 
d'Avaux; for acei s^s to wlucb valuable oiigiiial authorities, lam indebted to my 
kiud friends, Sir W. W. Wilde and the late John Dalton, Esq. 



IN THE SEIiVlCE OF FRAXCE. 25 

foreign evidence to the connexion of their history with that of Bi-'tjiio 
and the Continent. On tlie expulsion from England, in lO-H, of the 
famous Earl Godwin and his family by Edward the Confessor, for the 
opposition given by the Earl and his sons to the King's too great 
jtartiality for, and advancement of, Norman adventurei-s ami intriguers 
in England, Gt)d\vin and some of his sons retired to Flanders, and the 
others, among whom was Harold, the future King of England, sought an 
asylum in Erin. There Plarold was compensated t'ov the hostility of 
one of his brothers-in-law — Edward the Confessor being married to liis 
sister Edith — by the rece])tion he met from the otlier, or the son of the 
great Brien Born, JJmiough O'Brien, King of Munster, who, being 
married to Harold's other sister, Driella, (by whom hn had a son, named 
Donald,) acknowledged the claim of the illustrious Saxon to protection 
and assistance, and accordingly supplied him with a body of troops, and 
9 ships, for the liberation of his country, and the restoration of his family. 
With tliis aid from Minister, Harold, joining the fleet of his father 
and bi'others from Flanders at the Isle of Wight, they, in 1052, were 
enabled, by the co-operation of their countrymen, to regain their former 
honours and estates, and effect the downfall of the Norman or foreign and 
antinational faction at the Court of Westminster.* Donough's successor 
in Munster, Tnrlongh O'Brien, is addressed by the Norman Primate of 
England, Lanfranc, as " the magnificent King of Hibei-nia," and by the 
celebrated Pope Gregoiy VII., as "the illnstrions King of Hibernia." 
Murkertagh O'Brien, successor to Turlough, is designated by Lanfranc's 
successor, St. Anselm, as "the glorious," and, " by the grace of God, King 
of Hibernia."+ Connor O'Brien, another of their successors, in the re- 
cords of the Abbey of Ratisbon in Germany, chiefly raised throngh his 
niuniticence, is also alluded to as if "King of Hibei-nia;" the same 
records adding of that Prince, in reference to the Crusades, how, by 
lords, or "Counts, of great power and nobility, weaiing the badge of 
the cross, and on their way to Jerusalem, he torwarded large ])resents to 
Lotharios, King of the Romans," j or Emperor of Germany. After the 
Anglo-Norman intrusion under Henry II., the tie Claies, as its leading 
feudal rej)resentatives in Thomond, by availing themselves of that native 
division, which was but too favouiuble for the advancement of foreign 
powei-, endeavoured to establish themselves there. But. though success- 
ful to some extent for a time, they and their adherents were entirely 
defeated and expelled. The ambitit)ns Eai-ls of Desmond likewise, wlio 
would willingly have done what the defeated de Clares had left undone, 
were on several occasions taught, by "sad ex])erience" in the field, to 
respect the (J'Brien motto and war-cry, " Lamh laidir abu !" or The strorKj 
hand for ever! — and the "settlers" in Limerick, and districts far beyond 
it, had to pay " dubh cios," black rent, or tribute, to the old Dalcassian 
race, whose heads continued to be Kings or Princes of Thomond, until 

* Compare Mac Geojhegan, Moore, and O'Mahoiiy's Keating, with Thierry and 
Lingard, on this incident. 

t Of King iV.urliertagh, or Murtogh, known at home as "More," or the fireat, 
one daughter was married to the son of Magnus, Kii;g of Norv\ay, the Hebrides, 
and Man; another to the Aiiglo-IS'orman noldeuian, Arnuljjh tie Montgomery, 
Earl of Penihroke; and, in reference to tlse friciulshi[i V)et\\ een the Irish King, and 
his royal brother of Albany, or 8cotland, it is related that the latter sent liiiu a 
camel " of wonderful magniiude." 

t " Per niaL;ii:e nobilitatis ac potentia? Coniites, cruce si(j;natos, et llierosulymau 
jjetituros, ad Lothariuin, liegem ILoujuiioiuiu, lugeiiliu luuiicia iinsit." 



26 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

1543. Then, IVIunough O'Brien, on surrendering liis kingdom, or princi- 
jmlity, to King Henry VIII., was created 1st Earl of Tliomond for life, 
with the title of Baron of Inchiquin, to his male heirs; the whole of this 
Murrough's territorial and other possessions beyond the river Shannon, 
with their abbeys, and the right of presenting to all spiritual benefices, 
except bisho])ric.s, being contiruied to him and his descendants. At the 
same time, Henry conferred on Murrough's nephew, Uonough O'Brien, 
the dignity of Baron of Ibrackan, with the right of succession to the title 
of Earl of Tln)mond for life, after his uncle Murrough's decease; Mur- 
rough, as the de facto ruler of Thomond, at the period of his submission, 
being considered desei-ving to be created its Earl, though not to transmit 
that title to his posterity, as having, only through popular election, uftder 
the old Irish law of Tanistry, attained the principality of his name and 
teriit.ory, after the death of Conor O'Bi-ien, King or Prince of Thomond^ 
in \~)\{); to the exclusion of Conor's eldest son, the above-mentioned 
Honough, who, being then a minor, was set aside by the law of Tanistry, 
as less worthy to succeed, or gove7-n, than his uncle Murrough. After 
this Murrough's death, his nephew, Donough, the Baron of Ibrackan, — 
to whom, as well as to his late uncle, Henry VIII., in 1542, had con- 
firmed all his castles, lordships, manors, ikc, beyond the Shannon, with 
a considerable grant of ecclesiastical pro|)erty, — became 2nd Earl of 
Thomond, for life; which title, by a new patent of Edward VI. in 1552, 
was confirmed, in perpetuity, to the Baron and his heirs male, along 
with all the honours and lands that had fallen to the Crown, by Earl 
Murrough's decease. This Donough O'Brien, surnamed the Fat, and the 
2nd Earl of Thomond, dying in 1553, was succeeded, as 3rd Earl of 
Thomond, by his son, Conor or Cornelius O'Brien. He had 3 sons, 
Donough, the 4th Earl of Thomond, Teige, whose posterity are extinct, 
and Daniel, of Moyarta and Carrigaliolt,* in the County of Clare. 
Daniel, distinguishing himself and receiving many wounds, in the wars 
of Ireland, iznder Queen Elizabeth, was knighted as Sir Daniel O'Brien, 
and rewarded by the Crown with considerable grants of land in that 
County. He was its representative in the Irish Parliament of 1613, and, 
in consideration of his own and his children's services to the royal cause, 
both at home and abroad, during the subsequent convulsions and wars, 
was, after the Restoration of King Charles II., created 1st Viscount of 
Clare, in the County of Clare, in 1GG2 ; and had his estate of 84,339 acres 
in Clare, besides lands in Limerick, that had been lost during the Crom- 
wellian usurpation, restored to him. He was succeeded, as 2nd Viscount 
of Clare, by his son Conor O'Brien; on whose death, about the year 
l(i70, his son Daniel became the 3rd Viscount. Daniel had followed 
King Charles II. in his exile, and served him so zealously until the Re- 
storation in 16G0, that, after his return with the King to Loudon, his 

* Carrigaliolt, in Gaelic, or Irish, the rock oflhejl'^.ft, is a commanding clitf, over- 
looking a bay, so called Ironi it. Ihe Castle, situated on this cliti', and kept iu 
tirder, as a residence, to our own times, lielonged to Lord Clare till the War of the 
Ilevolution, when lie forfeited it, with the rest of his estates, for his adherence to 
King James II. The popular legenils conceniing this Castle, according to a moderu 
work, were blended witli traditions of the Lord Clare, and the Regiment of Yellow 
Dragoons (so-called from the colour of their facings) which he levied for the service 
of King James. . The ghost of that Lord, and those of his dragoons, were supposed 
to traverse the west, in the stormy nights ot winter, and to disappear at dawn, into 
the srrues, otf Carrigaliolt ! How comparatively uninteresting is a Castle, without 
«(.<«« Btoiy ot tlie kiiul, attached Lo it. 



IN THE SEUVICE OF J^RAXCE. 27 

meiit is. in a great degree, supposed to have obtained the title of Vis- 
count Clare, for his grandfather. On the defection of England to the 
Prince of Orange in 1688, the loyalty of this noble Irish family was the 
eaine to King James II. against the Dutch Prince, as it had been to King 
Charles II. against Oliver Cromwell. Daniel, the 3rd Viscount Clai-e, was 
Lord-Lieutenant of that County for King James, a member of his Irish 
Privy Council, sat among the Peers of Ireland in the Parliament of 1(38'.), 
and raised, for the royal service, a Regiment of Dragoons, called after 
himself, the Clare Dragoons, and 2 Piegiments of Infantiy. Bv his 
mariiage with the Lady Philadelphia, eldest daughter of Francis Len- 
nard, Lord Dacre of the Soutli, and sister to Thomas, Earl of Sussex, his 
Lordship had 2 sons, for. whom he levied those infantry regiments. The 
1st was commanded by the elder son, the Honourable Daniel O Brien ; 
the 2nd by the youngei- son, the Honourable Charles O'Brien; to both of 
whom, as 4th and 5th Viscounts, tlie title of Lord Clare aftervv^ards 
descended. The Infantry Regiment of the Honourable Daniel O'Brien 
was that selected by King James, to form a j)ortion of the Brigade of 
Mountcashel. 

The Colonel of the 3rd regiment of this Brigade, the Honourable 
Arthur Dilhui, was likew""><e a member of one of the noblest houses iu 
Ireland. The founder of it was a Chevalier Henry Delion of Aquitaine, 
sent, in 1185, by King Henry IT. of England to Ireland, with his youngest 
son Johan, or John, Comte or Earl of Mortagne, as his First Gentleman, 
and one of his Secretaries By the latter Prince (afterwards King John) 
Henry Deliou was granted a large territoiy, reaching from the river 
Shannon to Cloghanenumora, east of Mullingar, to hold per Baroniam in 
Cd/rite, and the service of several knights' fees; according to which 
grant, he and his heirs were entitled to a summons to Parliament, like 
the Anglo-Norman Barons on the other side of the Channel, who held 
their baronies by the same tenure. This extensive tract was, after its 
Lord, denominated Di/.luits Country, and was held, as a kind of sovereignty, 
till reduced to shire-ground, under King Henry VIII. The Chevalier 
Heniy Delion is entitled, "Sir Henry of Drumrany," from having tixed 
his residence there. " He," observes my authority, " built his mansion 
house, with a church in Drumrany, pretty much in the centre of his 
country, in the west of Meath ; also a castle in Dunimony ; and several 
alibies (as those of Athlone, Kilkenny-West, Ardnecrany, Holy-Island, 
Hare-Island, Ac), churches and castles were built and endowed by his 
descendants, Loi-ds of the said territories. He," it is added, " \vas pro- 
genitor to all who bear the name of Dillon, a name of great note, in the 
Counties of Meath, Westmeath, Longford, Roscommon, Mayo, and other 
parts of the kingdom, where, and in many foreign countries, they have 
ilourished in the highest depai-tments of church and state." Of the 
8evei-al great families, sprung from this " Sir Henry of Drumrany," that of 
the Viscounts Dillon of Costello-Gallen, in the County of Mayo, was 
founded, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, by Sir Theobald Dillon, 
Knight; who derived his origin, through the house of Dunimony, from 
that of Drumrany. Theobald, commanding an Independent Troop of 
Horse in 1559, was knighted, or created Sir Theobald DUlon, for his 
bravery, on the field of battle. In 1582, he was appointed, by the Queen, 
Genei'al Collector and Receiver of the Composition Money of Connaught 
and Thomond ; and had this office not only renewed to him by Kni<»' 
James L, but was granted, in 1(JU4, that of General Cessor and Collector 



28 HISTORY OF THE lUISII BIUGADES 

for the Oouutics of Galway, Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim, Roscommon, ami 
Clitre; and ruially was, for his l<iiii^ servicps to the Crown, raisesd by 
James, in 1()22, to the Peerage of Ireland, as Viscount Dillon of Costello- 
(lallen, in the County of Mayo. His Lordship died, in l'i24, possessed 
of a very large htnded property in Leinster and Connanght, and sd 
advanced in years, that, says the account, " at one time he had the satis- 
faction of seeing ab(i\e 100 of his descendants in his house at Killen- 
faghny," or Killenfeagh, in the County of Westmeath. During thd 
subsequent Pai'lianientarian wars, and Cromwellian usui-j)ation, the house 
<tf Costello-Oallen signalized itself in .sup[»i)rfc of the royal cause; fop 
which Thomas, the 4th Viscount, had his extensive e.states seized, and 
was o\)lige<l to live, with his 4 sons, in exile ujion the Continent;' where 
vseveral of his name, expatriated on a similar account, distiiiguishetl 
themselves in war. 1. Charles, his heir a]i|>arent, was a General OtiictS' 
in the service of France, as well as Spain, and Governor of Tonrnay iu 
Flanders. 2. Sir James Dillon, Knight, 8th son of the 1st Viscount 
Dillon, a Licutenant-tjreneral, Governor of Cimnaught for the royal 
cause against the Parliamentarian and Cromwellian rebels, and ijro* 
scribed as such, but tinallv rewarded by the Crown witli a pension oF 
.£•500 per annum, was a Major-Geueral, both of France and Spain. 3. 
James Dillon, after the success of the Cromwellians in Ireland, was also 
a Major-Geneial, or Marechal de Camp, in the service of France, by 
brevet of jMaich liGth, 1(J53; raised an Irish regiment of liis name, by 
commission of June 2')th following; until the Peace of the P^rennees, 
conn)ianded it in Flanders with (listinction, ])articularly at the battle of 
Dunkitk ; and kept it till his death ; after which, or by order of February 
20th, 1{JG4, it was disl)anded. Thomas, the 4th Viscount Dillon, re- 
mained, with his 4 sons, in banishment, until the Restoration. Hia 
Lordship then returned home, and, in iCG3, was j)ut into possession of 
his ])r<ipert,y, amounting to 64,195 plantation acres of profitable land in 
Mayo, Roscommon, :ind Westmeath. In the war of the Revolution, this 
ennobled line of Costello-Galltm«adh«red to the Stuart family, as it had 
j)ievi>nsly done. Theobald Dillon, successor to the family title, in 1682, 
as 7th V^iscount, and married to Mary, daughter of Sir Henry Talbot, of 
Temple-Oge, County of Dublin, and Mount- Talbot, County of Ros' 
couimon, was then head of the house of Cc>stelln-Gallen. His Lordship 
liiu)self served, as Lieutenant-Colonel to the Earl of Clariricarde's Irish 
Regiment of Guards; and raised 2 Regiments of Infantry for King James. 
Of these. 1 regiment was commanded by his Lordshi])'s eldest son, and 
.subsequent successor in the title, the Honourable Henry Dillon, Lord- 
Lieutenant of the County Roscommon, Member for Westmeath in the 
Ii-ish Parliament of IGSD, and afterwards Governor of Galway. The 
('ohuu 1 of the other regiment, or that appointed to foi'ui part of the 
Ihigade of Mountcashel, was Lord Theoliald's 2nd .son, the Honourable 
Arthur LJillon. He was, at the time of his landing with his regiment 
in France, nut 20 years of age; afterwards rose to high rank in the 
French army; and was father to the Lords Charles and Henry Dillon, 
the 1 0th and 11th Viscounts of Costello-Gallen, also oiEcers of distinction 
in the same ser\ice. 

These 3 Regiments of Mountcashel, O'Brien, and Dillon, the first of 
King James's Irish army that entei'ed the French service in the spring 
of Ki'JO, wei-e followed to France, alter the conclusion of the Treaty of 
LiuiLiick, iu October IGOI by the rest of the Irish army, that adliered 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 29 

to James's can^p, ratlier tlian acknow1erlg« the Prince of Orange, as.;/;^?V 
Sovereign. Between those who sailed in November, from the Shannon, 
with the Conite de Chateanrenaud's fleet of 18 men of war, 6 fire-ships, 
and 22 large vessels of hnrtlien, &c., that, although too late for the relief 
of Limerick, served to cr)nvey to Brest a lai-ge body of the Irish with 
their wives and childreij, and the remainder who followed in as many as 
were required of the 14,000 tuns of shipping, stipulated, by tlie 7th and 
8th of the Military Articles of the Treaty of Limerick, to be {provided at 
.William's expense for the same purpose, the landing in France, of all the 
Irish who chose to go there, was com]>leted in January, l(J!y2. From 
the retui-ns of the French " Commissaires," obtained through the. Lord 
Marshal of Thomond and Clare, the Irish olficers and soldiers, who 
followed the King to France, are specified by Mac Geoghegan at 19.059 ; 
which number, added to the previously-arrived Brigade of Mouiitcashel 
of 5371 military of every rank, would make 24, 430 oUiceis and soldiei-s; 
and these, with others, who came over at different times not specified, 
would, according to the English and Irish authority of King James's 
Memoirs, and abetter of the Chevalier Charles Wogan, nepluv.v of the 
Duke of Tyrconnell, amount, in all, to about 30,000 men. " Thus," add 
the royal Memoirs, "was Ireland after an obstinate resistance in 3 ycai-s 
Campagns, by the power and riches of England and the revolt of almost 
all its own Protestant subjects, torn from its natural Sovereign; who, 
tlio' he was divested of the country he was not wholly deprived of ye 
people, for the gr-eatest part of those, who were th&n in amies for defcmce 
^f his right, not content with the service already render'd, got leave (as 
was sayd) to come and loos tlieir lives, after haveing lost tlieir estates, in 
(Jefence of his title, and brought by that means such a boily of men into 
France, as by their generous comp:'rtment in accepting the pay of the 
country, instead of that which, is uaucUly aUowel there to strangers, and 
tlieir unimitdble valour and service during the whole coars of the loar, 
VhUjht justly make their Prince pass for an ally rather than a peutioner 
or burthen to his Most Christian Majesty, whose pay indeed they received, 
but acted by the King their master's commission, according to the com- 
mon method of other auxilliary troo])s. As soon as the King heard of 
tlieir arrival, (in France) he writ to the Commander to assure him, how 
well he was .satisfyd with the behaviour and conduct of the officers, and 
the valour and fidelity of the soldier.s, and how sencible he should ever 
be of their service, which he would not fail to reward when it shoidd 
jilease God to pot him in a capacity of doing it." The letter, which, on 
being informed of the arrival of the Lst body of Irish troo])S, Decembt^r 
3rd, at Bre.st, was despatched by the King from St. Germain to their 
commanding officer, Major-General Doniinick Sheldon, was as follows; — 

"JAMES Rex. 

" Having been informed of the Capitulation and Surrender of Limerick, 
and of the other places which remained to us in our Kingdom of h-eland, 
ajid of the necessities which forced the Lords Justices and the General 
Officers of our Forces thereunto; we will not defer to let you know, and the 
rest of tlie officers that came along with you, that we are extreamly satisfied 
with your and their conduct, and of the valour of the souldiers during the 
eie,L;-e," but, most particularly, of your- and their declaration and resolution, 
to come and serve where we are. And we assure you, and order you, to 
a.ssnre both officers and souldiers that are come along with you, that we 
ehull never forget this act of loyalty, nor fail, when iu a capacity, to give 



30 HISTORY OF Tin: IlilSlI lilMGADKS 

them, almve otlicrs, ])articiilar marks of our favour. In tlie moan time, you 
are to inform tlicm, that tlioy are to serve mider our command, and by our 
commissions; and, il' we Hnd, that a considerable number is come with the 
fleet, it will in(hiee us to go personally to see them, and regiment them. 
Our brother, the King of France, hath already given orders to cloath them, 
and furnish them with all necessaries, and to give them quarters of refresh- 
ment. So we bid yon heartily farewell. Given at our Court at St. Germaine, 
the 27th of November,* 1G91.'" 

According to tins ])romise, tliat, in case a considerable nunilxT of 
troops should come from Ireland, he would go to see and regiment them 
in person, the King set out from St. Germain for Bretagne, about the 
middle of iJecembcr. Accompanii d by his son, the Duke of B(!rwick, 
, fames reviewed and reginu'iited at Valines all the men that had arrived 
i'rom Ireland, rctnincd on tlu^ lllh of January, ltj92, to St. G(irmain, 
and on the landing of another (U' the last di\isiou, under Major-General 
I'atrick Sarsfield, Lord Luean, at Bn^st, and the other ports of Bretagne, 
the King again left St. Ger^jiin, and reviewed and regimented that 
body, as ho had d(nie the rest. It was decided, that the Irish, who were 
to act under his commission as his ariny, should consist of 2 Troops of 
] Torse Guards, 2 llt'ginn'uts of Horse, 2 Regiments of Dragoons d, pied, 
or Dismovnted Di-agoons that were to serve as Infantry 8 Regiments of 
Foot, (containing altogether 1.1 battalions) and 3 Independent Com- 
panies. The extensive alterations connected with this new formation of 
the Irish army indicted, like all, great |)ulilic changes, much hardship 
upon individuals ; some, who had been Major-Generals, being reduced 
to Colonels, and so downwards to the Ensigns, several of whom had to 
become Siajeants, and even privates. 'J'he old or Milesian Irish, who 
had levied regirru-nts for the War of the Revolution, suffered most. Of 
the O'Neills, for example, of whom several had been Colonels of Regi- 
in(>nts in Ireland, Brigadier Gordon O'Neill alone obtained a I'egimentj 
and other regiments, or tho.se of O'Donnell, Mac Donnell, Mac Guire, 
Mac Mahon, Mac Oennis, and O'Reilly, were dis.-olved as separate corps, 
and their olfi(',(>rs proportionate sufferers. In the airangements with 
the French Government concerning the i-ate of pay for the newly- 
formed regiments, the further sacrifice made by the Irish to their exiled 
Sovereign's interest — as previously alluded to in the extract from his 
own Memoirs respecting " their generous comportment in accepting the 
])ay of the (;ountry, instead of that usually allowed there to stiungers " — is 
thus related, with other aft'ecting particulars, in a manuscript, written, 
after the King's death, by a contemporary Irish Jacobite, or loyalist. 
" Upon capitulating with the enemy," says this writer, of his country- 
men, at LiuKM'iek, " they stipulated also with their own French Geneials, 
that they should be put in France upon strangers' pay; but when they 
•were rnodled at Rennes. it was regulated they should have but French 
])ay, to which they acquiesc'd rneerly to please their own King, and in 
Lopes the over-Tplus of their just jjay, amounting to oO,()()0 livres a 
month, retrench'd fi-om them, might abate the obligations of their Master 
to the French Court. The world knows with what constancy and 
fidelity they stuck ever since to the service of France, not but that they 
might push their fortunes faster in other services, but because it v\as to 
liis Most Christian Majesty their Master ow'd obligations most, and had 
from him sanctuary and jjrotection; nay so wedded they were for these 

* December Tth, N.S. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FllANCE. 31 

reasons to the French service, that many who were, some of them Field 
Officers, others Captains, and Subalterns, and wlio coud not be all 
jirovided fur, pursuant to the methods taken for the modlement of their 
troops in France, had submitted to carry arms rather than quit tlie 
service their Master expected succour from : most of these poor gentle- 
men moulder'd away under the fatigues and miseries of the musket, 
before there was room to replace them as Officers. This vast stock of 
loialty was not appropriated to the officers alone, it ran in the blood of 
the very common soldiers; an instance whereof was seen in ye wonderful 
affection they bore to the service, and the confidence the Ca[)tains had in 
the fidelity f»s well as bravery of their men, who were so little acqua ntcd 
and tainted with desertion, that, upon a day of march or action, the 
Corama'aers were not seen in any apprehension their maroders or 
stracriers woud give them the slip; and it was frequently observed the 
officers were less in pain for the return of the men, than these wei-e to 
rejoin their comrades." Of the effects of such conduct of the Ii-ish 
troops upon King James, this writer then adds — " His late Majesty was 
so sensibly toucli'd with all these particulars, and especially with tha 
acquiesence of his troops to be reduc'd to the French pay, that, by an 
instrument under his hand and seal, he made a solemn promise he would 
2)ay them what their actual pay wanted, to make it full English, when- 
ever God was pleas'd to restore him, and so made it his own and the 
Crown's debt." 

Sir Walter Scott remarks, "whatever oxir opinion may be of the 
cause for which the followers of James abandoned their country and 
fortunes, there can be but one sentiment concerning the courage and 
self-devotion, with which they sacrificed their all to a sense of duty;" 
and the light, in which this conduct of the Irish was I'egarded by all 
ranks in France, is noticed, as follows, by Count Arthur Dillon. " Louis 
XIV. wrote with his own hand, in 1704, to the Civil-Lieutenant, Le 
Camus, ' that he had always treated the Irish Catholics, who had passed 
into his kingdom, as his own subjects; and tiiat it was his wish that 
they should enjoy the same rights as natural-born Frenchmen, without 
being, on that account, obliged to take out letters of naturalization.' 
This letter of Louis XIV.," continues the Count, "only served to 
confirm the sentiments of the nation, and every one knows, that all 
orders of the state, by a sort of universal feeling, had already assigned to 
the Irish the right of citizenship ; and then it was, that, in order to 
stamp with a name, for ever menjorable, those sti-angers admitted to the 
honour of being French citizens, tliey were termed Jacobites, that is to 
say, failhful to King Jav^es.''' Forman, too, who was att»iched to the 
change of dynasty effected by the Hevolution of 1688, and, consequently, 
of opposite political principles to those of the Irish Jacobites, after 
alluding to so many of the latter, as " unhap]>y gentlemen, who, by the 
loss of plentiful fortunes at home, had nothing left them but their swords, 
to procure a scanty, painful maintenance abroad," thus speaks, in the 
reign of George II., of the general sacrifices of the Irish military fol- 
lowers of James to his service — " Their inflexible steadiness to the 
interest of' an unfortunate aud declining King, whom they looked upon 
to be their lawful Sovereign, notwithstanding our Acts of Parliament to 
the contrary; their refusal of those advantageous terms which King 
"William so generously offered them; their exposing th.emselves to inex- 
pressible hardships, to perpetual dangers, aud even w death itself, rather 



82 HrSTOUY OF THR IRISH BHIGADES 

tlian acknowledge any oilier Prince than King James, at least while any 
farther resistance in Jiis favour was practicable, first gained them that 
esteem in Fnuice, which their behaviour ever since has preserved for 
tiiem even to tliis day." The right, it may be added, of French, citizen- 
8hip, so corifei'red upon the expatriated Irish by Louis XIV., being con- 
tested, under Louis XV., by the Fermiers du Domain, on the pretext, 
tlint sucli a privilege granted to the Irish Jacobites was not formally 
legal, a decree Issued the same year, or in Maich, 1736, to the Bureau 
du Domain, confirming to the Irish exiles in Fiance the right attempted 
to be contested with them. Again, or in a letter of March 25th, 1741, 
to the Chapter of Lille, Louis XV. confirmed that right to the Irish. 
Ills letter on this occusiou, and that of Louis XIV. to the Civil Lieu- 
tenant, Le Camus, above i-eferred to, and cited by various Fi-ench lawyers, 
were both deposited in the Bureau de la Guerre at Paris; and, on th^se 
documents and decisions, the various "arrets" or decrees of the French 
Council of State, and the Parl.ament of Paris, in suits connected with 
Irish claims to pro2)erty in France, were based, down to the period of 
the Be volution. 

Of the oi igin, and successive changes amongst the commanding officers, 
of the 3 first Irish regiments in the French service, the following pai'- 
ticulars are given in my authorities. 

THE INFANTRY REGIMENT OF MOUNTCASHEL. 

This regiment was formed in 1683, out of several Independent Com- 
panies of Irish, which King Charles II. withdrew from Tangier, in 
Africa, when he caused it to be demolished. The cor[)s was composer! 
of 2 battalions in 16 companies, variously stated, or, as it would appear, 
at difierent times, consisting of 80 or 100 men a company. Its 1st 
Colonel was James Butler, afterwards 2nd Duke of Ormonde, who, being 
made Colonel of a Regiment of Horse in the Irish army, resigned his 
previous post to the Honourable Justin Mac Carthy, subsequently Lord 
Mounteasiiel. After the destruction of this regiment at the unlucky 
atl'air of Newtown-Butler, in August, 1689, it was renewed with fresh 
recruits, and brought to France, in May, 1690, by his Lordship. Soon 
after liuiding there, or May 20th, Lord Mountcashel received a com- 
mission from Louis XIV.; entitling his Lordship to command all the 
Ii'ish troops taken into the French service, or his own, with the otlier 
corps of O'Brien and Dillon. May 30th, he was empowered to act as 
a Lieutenant-General of France, as he already was of England and Ire- 
land; and, June 1st, was specially commissioned to be Colonel of his 
regiment under Louis, as he had previously been under James. Em- 
ployed by letters of July 26th, the same year, with M. de St. Ruth, in 
l^'avoy, he signalized himself, at the head of his regiment, in the reduc- 
tion of that province; particularly at a defeat of the Piedmontese, 
September 12th; where he wa^ wounded, though, but slightly. Trans- 
ferred by letters of June 13th, 1691, to serve under the Duke de 
Noailles, with the Army of Rousillon or Catalonia, he was present at 
the captures of Urgel, the castles of Valence and Boy, and the raising 
of the siege of Pratz-de-MoUo. He remained, in 1692, with the same 
army, which kept, however, merely upon the defensive. Despatched, by 
letters of Apiil 27th, 1693, to the Army of Germany, as 1 of its 
Lieutenant-Generals, under the Marshals de Lorges and de Choiseul, he 




JUSTIN^ MAC CAT^THY, 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 53 

r,T!>l his ivgiment contributetl to the successes of tliat campaiffii ;. at 
which he squired in the reduction of the city and castle of Hciditlbnrg, 
of Wingemburg, of Eppenheirn, and of Dai-nistadt. He was to have 
continued with the Army of Germany, in 1094; but the injurious effects 
of his wounds obliged hiin to seek the benefit of the waters of Barrege, 
where he died that summer. His decease is thus announced, under tho 
head of " Paris, 31st July, 1G94," in tlie French oflicial journal. " My- 
lord Montcassel, Lieutenant-General of the Armies of the King. Com- 
mander of 3 Irish Regiments, died the 1st of this month at Bairego, of 
the wounds that he has received on several occasions, in which he was 
always extremely distinguished." 

Lord Mountcashel was succeeded in his regiment by Colonel Andrew 
Lee, or de Lee, according to the prefi.K given to his and other names by 
French writers. Lee was born in 1650, and first belonged to the iiif intry 
regiment of 1500 men, besides oiEcers, permitted by King Chailes 11. to 
be levied in Ireland, in 1G71, for the service of France, by Sir and Count 
George Hamilton, from whom, as its Colonel, it was called the "Regi- 
ment d' Hamilton."'"' After the Count's death in 1G7G, the Irish of liis 

* George Hamilton was the eldest surviving son of Sir George Hamilton of 
DiuuialoDg in the County of Tyione, antl Nenagh in the County of Tii)i)er;iry, l»y 
Lady Mary Butler, 3rd daughter of Tiiomas Butler, Lord Thuiles, and sister to 
James Butler, 12th Earl and 1st Duke of Ormonde. Sir (Jeorge, who was a (^ath 
olio, served King Charles L and Charles II. faithfully against the I'arlianientarian 
and Cromweliian rebels in Ireland, where he was a Cajitain of Horse, and ufcer- 
wards a Colonel of Foot, and Governor of the Castle of Kenagh, against thosn 
insurgents, as well as Receiver-Gene7-al for the Crown. On the hnal ineva'ence of 
the Cromweliian invaders, he resdlved to join the royal family in France; hut, 
before leaving Ireland, "he staid," says Carte, "to pass his accounts, which he did 
to the satisfaction of all parties, notwithstanding much clamour had been raised 
against him." He then, or in 1051, went into e.xile with his iamily, when King 
Charles II., it is observed, "being sensihle of his good and acce}itable services, and 
willing to show him all reasonal)le favour for the same, created him a Baronet." 
As attached, however, only to a nominal or I'efugee Kino;, such as Charles 11. was 
till IGuO, Sir George, like numbers of banished liish loyalists, had to encounter 
nuich privation and distress on the Continent. In this interval, the youn"- 
(ieorge Hamilton was made 1 of the Royal Pages; after the I'estoi'ation wa.i 
enrolled in the Horse-Guards; and is named by his brother Anthony, in the 
MeiiK/ii's of their brother -indav/, tiie Coirite de Granmiont, among the hrilli.iut 
iiitrigaers of the English Court, as a lover of the i)i-ctty Mrs. VVettenhall. In U)(>7, 
on account of the jealousy of the English against "Popery," the King had to 
dismiss fiom his Horse-Guards such English, Irish, and Scotch oHicers, &c., as 
were Catholics; but was enahled to provide for them els where l)y L(mis XIV.. 
who offered them employment, under young Hamilton. Having gotten due per- 
mission from King Charles to enter the service of France, and beuig considered, on 
their arrival there, as "tous bons homnies et bien faits," or, "all g 'od and v.eli- 
niade men," those who were natives of Scotland were incorporateil with tho 
ancient Compagnie de Gendarmes Ecossois of the Eoyal Guarcls; tho rest Avero 
formed into another Compagnie, called Gendarmes Anglois, of which Louis (m 
order, it would seem, to compliment them the more,) named Idiiiscif the Captain; 
and, Novemher '.:8th, 1G!)7, aiipointed Hamilton his Captain- Lieutenant. Sir 
(ienrge Hannlton (thus entitled, either as having been knighted, or as successor 
tu his fatlicr's baronetcy in 1GG7, or for both reasons,) commanded this Compagiiie 
de Gendarmes Anglois, at the conquest of Franche-Conue in ICGS. In 1G71, 
he raised, under an agreement made in April, "un Begimeut d'Infanterie 
LJojii/oise de 15 compagnies de 100 hommes chacune," exclusive of officers; 
" sa Llajeste," it is added, "ayant satisfaction des services qu'elle a receua 
dcs regimens Irlandois qui out este cy-devnnt a sa solde," and this regiiuent, 
as "infanterie estiangere," to have " les hautes payes." Of this corps, of 2 
battalions, Sir George was comnr.ssioned as Colonel, May 12th, and conjmanded 
it, in iG72, with the French Ajwy of Holland, after its passage of the Khiue. lie 

1) 



34 IlISTOUY OF THE IRISH CRIGADKS 

roginient, beiui^ drnfted into tlic Ocrnuui IJe^iiiK'nt of Furstt'inticrg, ;ui(i 
then of Greider, or (ht'dcr, were ace(>ni])aiiieil by Lee. A Lieutenant 
in the covjis, in 1078. under its a])|>ellatiou of FurstemLerg, lie foifght 
against the Branden\)urghers, near Minden, in 1679; and obtained a 
(•()ni|)any by commission, May 7tli, 16(S2. He served at the siege of 
Girona, in 1 f;84 ; was made Lieutenant-Colonel, by commission of Decem- 
ber 11th, 1G87 ; was with the Army of Flanders, under the Marshal 
d'Humieres, in 1689, wlien he was engag(>d in the unsuccessful afiair of 
Walcourt; and with better fortune, in 1090, under the illustrious Mar- 
shal de Luxembourg, at Fleurus; where tli(> regiment, as that of Greidei', 
was lauded by tshe Marslud, for its vmy good conduct, and its having 
taken 1 or 2 standards. Shortly before that battle, or June 18th, Lee 
received a commission of Lieutenant-Colonel, empowering him to hold 
rank as Colonel of Infantry to tlie new Regiment of O'Brien, (afterwards 
Clare) under which, sec; him noticed, till appointed, b}' commission of 
July 28th, 1694, to tlu; Colonelship of the regiment previously Lord 

then joined the Marshal cleTurenne; shared in the successful 0).eia+inu %i;ainst the 
Elector of Braiidcnlnngh in [bTA; "and," remarks Lodge, "being to uoruit liis 
regiment of foot in the service of the French King, his Majesty,'' King Charles II., 
"sent his directions to tlie L ■rd-bieutenant, 12 January, \()7'A, to give license 
luito him and his dificers to raise (iOO foot soldiers of his Ji-iah subjects by beat of 
drum." lie was at the battles of Sintzlieim, Kinsheim, and Midhausen, in 1574. 
At that of Einsheim, he was severely wounded, and is described, by my French 
authorities, as having " perfoi-nied great acts of valour," or having "with a bat- 
talion of his regiment, cut to ])ieces a ho-<tile battalion, and disperseil the tlragoons 
who supported it " Continuing with the Army of (jennanj' under Turenne, he 
distinguished himself at the battle of Tuikheini, .Tanuary oth, ItiT"); and was made 
a Brigadier of Infantry, by lirevet of March r2th. July 27th, at Salzbach, being 
near the battery which Turenne approached (m horseback to insjiect, he warned the 
Marshal to take a different direction, was, on his f dl, soim after by a cannon-shot, 
the 1st, with presence of mind, to throw a cloak over the corpse; and, in the 
subsetjuent retreat of the French, he signalized himself, by protecting it at Wilstet 
and Altenheiin. The leading French military historian of those times, relating the 
retreat of his countrymen, and the attack upon them by tlie Imperial General, 
MontecucuUi, at Wilstet, states — "The Comte de Montecuculli follovved them with 
all his army, and came up with their rear-guard at Wilstet. He attackerl it with 
a large detachment, with which he had pushed forward; but he was repulsed by 
the Chevalier de BouHers, and l>y the Comte d' Hamilton." And, elsewhere notic- 
ing this affair at Wilstet, and that at Altenluuni, the same historian spcciiiea 
Hamilton, to have "given the greatest ]>roofs of valour" against the enemy; liaving 
"repulsed them after an act'on of the most animated kind," where "the Irish 
did wonders," as well as tlie English, who were then serving with the French. 
Created Mar6chal de Camp, or Major-Ceneral, February 2r)th, 107G, and still being 
with the Army of (Jermany under Tureiine's successor, the Marshal I)i»ke de 
Luxembourg, Hamilton was present, when, in the retreat of the French on Saverne, 
their rear was attacked, and thrown into confusion by the enemy, under the Duke 
of Lorrain. This Luxembourg hastened in person to repair, at the head of his 
cavalry, "and seconded,' according to the French historian, "by the Comte 
d' Hamilton, who had ]iosted his regiment advantageously, he put a stop to the 
enemies by the great tire which he caused to be poured ujion them, and compelled 
them, by means of the cavalry, to retire in discndor. " But the affair, it is added, 
"cost his life to the Comte d' Hamilton, whom the King had made Marechal de 
Camp." At his death, the Count posscss^ed bcjth his Irish Uegiment of Infantry 
and the Compagnie de (gendarmes Angloia, or rather Anglois ef. Irl(inih>hi. He 
married, in l(it>5, the beautiful Frances Jennings, elder sister of the famous Sarah, 
Duchess of Marlborough, and daughter of Biehard Jennings, Esq., of Sandridge ia 
Hertfordshii-e. B.y lier, he left 3 daughters, who were all nobly married in Ir«- 
land; the 1st, Elizabelli, in ]()S."), to Bicli^nxl I'arsons, 1st Viscount Kosse ; the '2nd, 
Frances, in 1()87, to Henry Dillon, Stli Viscount Dillon ; the ord. Mary, in 16S8, 
to Nicholas Barnewall, 3rd Viscount Kingsland. 



IN THE SERVICK OF FRANCE. 3-3 

MonTitC'sluTs. He served that year with the Army of Tt;ily ; ])nsse(1 to 
that of Gernianv. in 1G95 ; was with the Army of tlie Men e, nmler t!ie 
Marshal de Bouffle)-s, in 1696; at the taking of Ath, by the Marslial de 
Oatinat, in 1697; at the great encampment, and the graTid review, hy 
J/onis in person, at Coudun, near Couipiegne, by letters of Augnst 13tii, 
1698; with the Army of Flanders, by letters of June 6th, 1701; witli 
tlie Army of Germany, under the Marslial de Catinat, by letters of May 
8th, 1702; and was created Marechal de Camp, by brevet of D.'ceml>t-r 
!^-!rd, that year. Em]iloyed with the Army of Bavaria, under the Mai-- 
shal de Villais, in 1703, he was at the siege of Kehl ; at tlie taking of 
tlie lines of Stolhoffen, and the retrenchments of the Valley of Hornbeig; 
at the combat of Munderkingen ; at the defeat of the Count de Stirum, 
in the 1st battle of Hochstedt, where he was wounded; and "was also afc 
the taking of Kemjiten. In June, 1704, he transferred the command uf 
his regiment to his sou. Then, attached to the Army of Bavaria, under 
the Marshal de jMaicin, he commanded the French force, united with the 
Bavarian troops, at the glorious defence of the reti^enchments of Schellem- 
bcrg, in July; next fought at the 2nd or unfortunate battle of Hochstedt, 
(more generally called that of Blenheim) in August; and obtained the 
grade of Lieutenant-General of the Armies of the King, by a power of 
26th October. In 1705, he served with the Army of the Moselle, under 
the Marshal de Villars; with the Army of the Rhine, under the same 
General, in 1706 and 1707; and, during the winter of the last-mentioned 
year, was employed in Alsace, by order of 31st October. In 1708, he 
was with the Army of the Rhine, under the Marshal Duke of Berwick; 
when, hearing of the enemy's design of besieging the important fortress 
of Lisle, in Flanders, he threw himself into that place; under the gallant 
and worthy Marshal de Boufflers, contributed nobly to its celebrated 
defence, at which he was wounded; and, by brevet of 12th November, 
was nominated by Louis XIV. to the next vacancy of a Grand Cross of 
the Order of St. Louis, with permission, meanwhile, to wear the insignia 
of that honour. In 1709, he served with the Army of Germany, under 
the Marshal d' Harcourt; in 1710, 1711, and 1712, with the Army of 
Flanders, under the Marshal de Vilhirs. The cami)aign of 1712 was Ids 
last; in which, he was present at the ca])tures of Douay, Quesnoy, and 
Bouchain. He obtained the post of a Grand Cross of the Order of i^.t. 
Louis, by provision of July 3rd, 1719. His son Francis, on whom he had 
devolved the command of his regiment since June, 1704, having died, he 
resumed the Colonelshif), by commission of December 13th, 1720. In 
1733, he made an arrangement, through which he had the regiment 
granted, by commission of Septendier 16th, to the Comte de Bulkeiey; 
and died not long after, or February 16th, 1734, aged 84. 

The Comte Franc^ois de Bulkeiey, as he was called in France, was of 
a noble British Jacobite family, derived from Robert de Bulkeiey, 
Seigneur or Lord of the manor of Bulkeiey, in the Palatinate of Chester, 
under the Anjou-Norman King of England, Johan, or John. Iti 
January, 1643, Thomas Bulkeiey, Esq., of Baron Hall in the Isle of 
Anglesey, was, for his great merit and strict loyalty, created by King 
Charles I., at Oxford, Viscount Bulkeiey of Cashel, in the Kingdom of 
Ireland. The Viscount's 4tli son, the Honourable Henry Bulkeiey, was 
made Master of the Household to Kings Charles II. and James II. , and 
married Lady Sojihia Stewart, by whom he had 2 sons, and 4 daughters; 
who all joined the 2nd exile of the royal race, or that under King 



O') HISTORY OF TIIR IR"''!! BRIO \DKS 

James II. find his f;uiiily, in France. Tlie names cf the sons were 
Jaines unci Ffancis. Those of tlie danglitci's were Charlotte, Aime, 
Henrietta, and Lanra. James established himself in Fi-ance, and lefb 
i.esue there; Francis was the particular hidjecfc of this notice; Charlotto 
was married, 1st, to Cliarles O'Bi'ien, 5th Viscount Clare, 2tidl3', to 
I/ientenant-General Count Daniel O'Mahony; Anne to tlie illustrious 
James Fitz James, Marshal Duke of liciwick; Henrietta and Lanra, 
each the theme of the muse of our couiitryman, Count Anthony Hamil- 
ton, aut!)or of tiie Memoirs of (jri'ammojit, &c., both died unmarried. 
Francis Bulkeley, born in London, September 11th, 16SG, passed into 
France, in 1700, tin; year of his sister's marriage to the Duke fif 
Berwick. He coniiueuced his military career as an Aide-de-(^amp to 
that noVdeman, witii whom he was piesent at the defeat of the Dutc^i, 
al)Out Nimeguen, in 1702. Ho was at the victory of Eckeren over the 
Banie eneuiy, in 1703; and obtained a Lieutenancy in the Duke's 
regiment. In 1704, he fcdlowed the Duke into Spain, and was at the 
i-<Mhiction of 20 places in Tortugal. He vvas made a reformed Captain 
of the Ileginient of Berwick, by commissicyn of January 1st, 1705. Still 
pcting as Aide-de-Cauip of the Duke, Ik; .-iccompanied him into 
Langaedoc for the snlijecrtion of the Camisards, or i'evolce<l Huguenots 
there; thence in Octulx-r, into the C.imte of Nice, in order to liesiege 
tlie strong fortress of tha''. name, which surrendered January 4th, I70(i; 
and, on the 13th, he was commissioned as a vei'ormed Colonel of the 
Regiment of r>ervvick. Again jiassing with the Duke into Spain for the 
campaign of 1706, he shared in its very varied operations, concluded 
l>y the siege and capture of Carthagena, in November, at which he took 
jiart. In 1707, he f(jught, A|iril 25th, at the famous battle of Almanza; 
o'otained, by comnn'ssion of May 11th, a regiment of infantry of his 
name, wliicli v.'as ])ieviously the Chevalier de Te.ss6's ; and commanded 
that regin)ent at the taking of the town and ca,>tle of Lei-ida, the 
ensuing autumn. He acted, in the same capacity, at the redv;ction of 
T(irtt)sa, in 1708. He cpiitted this corps, May 23rd, 1709; i-esumed, by 
commission of same date, l)is former grade of reformed Colonel to the 
Ilegiment of Berwick ; and remained this year with the army of Sjiajn, 
which kept on the defensive. The 3 following campaign.s, or those of 
1710, 1711, and 1712, he served und(^r the Marshal Duke of Berwick, 
in th« Army of Dauphine. In 1713, he was with the Army of Ger- 
many, under the Marshal de Villaivs, and was present at the captures of 
Landau and Friburgh. In 1714, he accompanied the Marshal Duke of 
Berwick to the reduction of Barcelona. Brigadier by brevet of February 
Isc, 1719, and employed, under the same General, with the Arn)y of 
Spain, he was at the .siege and capture of Fontarabia, of the town and 
citadt'l of St. Sebastian, of tlie Castle of Urge!, and also at the siege of 
Roses. Attached, by letters of Se[)tember 15th, 1733, to the Aruiv of 
the Rhine, under iiis illu.^trious brother-in-law, and becoming, by com- 
mission of the Kith, Colonel of the Irish Regiment of Infantry previously 
Le(i's, he v.-as at the capture of Kehl; and was employed at Strasburgh, 
during the winter, by kttei.s of December 1st. Marechal de Camp, or 
Major-Genei-al, by brevet of February 20th, 1734, and continued with 
the Army of the lihiue, by letters of April 1st, he mounted sevei'al 
tanehes at the siege of Philipsburgh; and, by order of Novemljer 1st, 
commanded dtiring the winter in Flanders, under the Marshal de 
1 liy.segur. In 1735, he remained by letters of May 1st, with the same 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 37 

Army, wlio iinrlertook nothing, on account of tl)e ap])roaching peaco, 
Aviiich was made in October. Lieuteiiant-General of tlie Armies of the 
King, liy power of March 1st, 1738, lie was employed, in 1742, witli tho 
Army (jf Bavaria, under the Marshal Duke d' Harcourt, and tlien under 
tiie Comte (afterwards Marshal) de l^axe, by letters of April Isb, an I 
■was with the 4th DivisitJU, at the Camp of Neideraltack ; where they 
maintained themselves for 5 months, in spite of the enemy's .siipeiind* 
numbers. He then marched to the frontiers of Bohemia, uniUr ihij 
Marshal de Maillebois, and returned to France after ihe campaigu. 
Attaciied to the Army of the Rhine, by lettei-s of Aj)ril 1st. 1743, he 
ibught at the battle of Dettingen, in June. With the Army of Flanders, 
under the King, Louis XV., 1)}' letters of April 1st, 1744, he was at the 
.siege and ca|)ture of Menin and Y[)res; and then pas.sing, by letters of 
July 1st, under the orders of the Mai-shal de Saxe, he terminated the 
campaign at the Camp of Courtray. He was by letters of April Isfe, 
1745, with the Army of the Lower Rhine, under the Prince de Ccniti; 
wlio made themselves masters of Guermsheim, July 15th, and cros.se(l 
the Rhine, within sight of the enemy, the liJth; but continued on tho 
defensive, till the end of the camjiaigu. He was i-et lined at Strasburgh, 
during the winter, by order of November 1st. Transferred to the Army 
of Flanders, under the Marshal de Saxe, by letters of May 1st, 1746, 
he fought at the victory cf Rocoux, in October; commanded, during the 
winter, at Bruges, by letters of November 1st; and was not removuii 
from that command till April 30th, 1748. That year, January 1st, he 
was named Chevalier of the Orders of the King, and was received as such 
February 2nd. He was made Governor of St. Jean-Pied-de-Purt, hy 
provision of January 29th, 1751 ; resigned his regiment, in favour of hia 
»5<>n, in March, 1754; and died, January 14th, 175G, in his 70th year. 

1'he Lieutenant-General had married a daughter of Piiilip de Cantillon, 
a gentleman of Noi-man-lrish origin, who had followed the foi-tunes of 
the exiled Stuarts to France, and, besides founding one of the principal 
banks in Europe at Palis, was distiugui.'<lied by his writings, and cor- 
vesjxtndingly high [)Osition in society. Under the various spellings of 
Cantelou, Cantelupe, Cantillo, Cantello, and Cantillon, several members 
of this family established tiieniselves in England under one Norman 
conquest, in the kingdom of Naples under anof/ier, and in Ireland, since 
the period of Strongbow's landing there. This last branch of the name 
acquired the Lord.shij) of Ballyheigh, or Ballyheigue, in the County of 
Kerry, besides lands in the County of Limerick; and intermarried with 
an <iI}khoot of the Stua-rt line itself, as well as with the Fitz-Geralds, 
O'Briens, Mac Mahons, O'Sullivans, Seymours, O'Connells, &c. Of the 
liuuse of Ballyheigh, we are informed, that "its fidelity to tlie Catholie 
religion, and its attachment to its legitimate King.s, the victims of 
adversity, were the cau.ses of its dispersion and its ruin. it sulfeied all 
the mi.sfbrtunes of exile, and forfeiture. Many of its members were 
reduced, in a foreign land, to a condition next to destitution; but they 
never iorgot, on the field of 1 attle, this noble and glorious motto to their 
armorial lieaiings, Furtis in hello.''"'' Long after the lords of Ballyheigh 
v.ere disposse.-^.sed of their ancient inheritance, they were remembered 
there. Dr. Smith, the historian of K(!rry, 'in 1756, when mentioning 
tlie b;iy uf Ballyheigh, states, — " The neighbouring inhabitants shew 



French ]MS. account of Cautihon family presented Ly the " Barou de Bally- 
ti' lie ' to Lr. E. 11. iiaucleii, and oblii,.ii-iy ceiuLiiuiiicaLed to me. 



38 IIISTOKY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

some rocks, visiLlc in this bay only at low tides, which, they say, are the 
ifinains of an ishind, that was i'ornierly the bmial-place of the family of 
Cantillon, who were the ancient propi'ietors of Ballyheigh." And when, 
in onr day, or December, 1839, the most distinguished military represen- 
tative of his line in E' ranee, Antoine Svlvaine de Cantillon, was grHnt('(l 
a title by King Louis-Philippe, he took that of a Baron, in connexion 
Avith the name of the patrimony of bis ancestors in Kerry. Of tho 
marriage of Lieutenant-General Comte de Bulkeley with Mademoiselle 
de Cantillon, Franc^ois Henri Comte d^ Bulkeley was born in 173!J; 
succeeded to the Colonelship of his fatlier's regiment, March 7th, IT-'H; 
was m:ide Brigadier of the Armies of the King, July 2')th, 176:3; 
Mare(;hal de Camp, January 3rd, 1770; and Lieutenant-Ceneral, January 
1st. 1784-. He was Minister Plenipotentiary from France to the Diet 
of the German Em])ire, and was pensioned proportionably to his services, 
about the commencement of the Revolution, or in 1789. But, in June, 
1775, by a new arrangement in the French arniy, under the Ministry of 
t<he Marshal du Muy, the Regiment of Bulkeley about 92 yei^»-s from its 
1st formation by Charles II., and 85 years from its entering the Frencii 
service, under Louis XIV., was incorporated with the Regiment of 
Dillon. 



THE INFANTRY EEGIMENT OF OBRIEN, OR CLARE. 

This regiment was raised, clothed, and armed, for the service of King 
James II., by Daniel O'Brien, 3rd Viscount Clare, early in 1689. On 
jiassing into France, in 1690, with the other regiments of Mountcasliel's 
Brigade, it was called O'Brien's regiment, from the eldest son of Lord 
Clare, the Honourable Daniel O'Brien, through whom it was levied, and 
who was re-aj)pointed there its 1st Colonel. As a new corps, howevei-, 
neither it nor its Colonel appearing in France to have had the knowledge 
requisite for immediate service; and the 1st Lieutenant-Colonel, Fitz- 
Mauiice,* returning to Ireland to take possession of the property coming 
to liim by the death of his father; Lieutenant-Colonel Andrew Lee, of 
the German Regiment of Greider, received, June 18th, a commission of 

* Tlie Fitz-Manrices of Kerry derive their origin from one of the most distin^ 
guished cheviiliers of the early Anglo-Norman settlers in Erin, Raymond le Gros. 
Raymond, being invited by Dennod Mac Carthy, King of De-sinond, or South 
Minister, to assist him against Itis rebellious son, Cormac, who had imprisoned, and 
cruelly treated him, enal)led the King to succeed against, and i>ut to death, the 
unnatural rebel; in consequence of which, the King rewarded Raymond, about the 
year 1177, with the territox-y of Lixnaw, in Kerry. There Raymond established 
his son, Maurice ; whence the territoiy was designated as that of Clan-Maurice ; 
and the descendants of its owner were known by the name of Fitz-Maurice. The 
lieads of this family, though subordinate to the great Earls of Desmoud, were re- 
markable for bravery, power, nolde alliances, &c., and were styled Barons of Lixnaw 
and Lords of Kerry — the 21 st of whom, Thomas Fitz-Maurice, was created, by 
(Jeorge I., in January, 1722, Viscount Clan-Maurice, and Eaid of Keny. In France, 
the chief officers df the Irish Brigade, named Fitz-Maurice, were, — 1. Thomas Mac 
Robert Fitz-Maurice, born in 1721, at Dingle, in Kerry. He joined the Irish Regi- 
nient of Roth (afterwai'ds Roscommon) very young ; retired with the rank of 
Ijientenant-Colonel in December, 176(5 ; and was a Chevalier of St. Louis. 2. Thoma3 
J''itz-Abiurice, born in 1725, at Listowel in Kerry ; entered the Regiment of Roth, 
as a (.'adct at IG, in wliicli corps lie continued to serve under its successive Col nels, 
I;ord itosconimon and the Comte de Walsh-Serrant ; was created a Chevalier of St. 
Ldiiis in 1770; and -svas afterwards a [ieutenant-Colonel, and (lovernor of the Isle 
ol bt. Eustache. He receivcu the retuing pension of his rank in 178J. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 39 

Lieutenant-Colonel to the Regiment of O'Brien, with power to hold rank 
as Colonel; and an order was likewise given, to withdraw, from Greidcr's 
corps, all the Irish veterans, nearly 200 in nniuber, the remains of Count 
George Hamilton's levies ; that, by snch an incorporation of old officers 
and soldiers with O'Brien's regiment, it might be the sooner fitted for 
the field. Lee, whom the Marshal de Luxembonig noticed as an officer, 
that, from his professional merit, and the esteem in whicli he was 
generally held, would be well suited for the new post allotted to him, 
acted as Colonel to the R(>giment of O'Brien, in Savoy, that summer, 
with much distinction ; and, October 17th, was commissioned Inspector 
General of the Ii'ish Troops. He was subsequently stationed with tlie 
regiment at Pignerol, and served with the Army of Piedmc nt. under 
the Marshal de Catinat, till 1G93. Meantime, the Honourable Daniel 
O'Brien, by the decease of his father in 1G91, becoming 4th Viscount 
Chire, the regiment was named that of Clare, instead of O'Brien. This 
Daniel, 4th Viscount Clare, dying at Pignerol, in 1G93, of the wounds he 
received at tlie victory of Marsaglia, gained October 4th, by Catinat, over 
the Allies, and at which the Regiment of Clare was present, Lee was 
commissioned, November 18th, in his Lordshi])'s place, as full Colonel, 
and served in Piedmont the remainder of that year, and during the next; 
wlien. on Ft bruary 6th, he was created a Chevalier of St. Louis, and, on 
Jidy 26th, he was made Colonel of the Regiment of Mountcashel. 

The Colonelship vacated by Lee, in the regiment previously his and 
Lord Clare's, was next filled by a natural son of the celebrated Duke of 
Tyrconnell, and bearing a simihir name, or Richard Talbot. Tliis officer 
had served in France froni his youth; had greatly distinguished himself 
at the decisive if[i\dse of the Prince of Orange, September 6th, 1690, 
before Limerick ; was Colonel of the Regiment of Limerick, on the 
jiass'ng of the Irish army into France ; became there, (as he had pi-e- 
viously been in Ireland duiiiig the Williamite war) a Brigadier, April 
28tli, 1694; and, August 2-)th following. Colonel in the place of Lee. 
Brigadier Talbot remained Colonel until April, 1696, when, from some 
observations or proposals offensive to Louis XIV., that Monarch ordered 
him to be committed to the Bastille, and deprived of his command. He 
never regained the regiment, lost by his imprudence; yet was, after a 
year's detention, released from confinement, i-estored to active service, 
and fell, at the battle of Luzzara, in Italy, August 15th, 1702. 

After the disgrace and imprisonment of Talbot, the regiment was 
granted, by commission of April 8th, 1696, to Charles O'Brien, 5th Loid 
Clare, who, on his elder brother Daniel's decease, at Pignerol, in J 693, 
became his successor in the title. As the Honourable Charles O'Brien, 
he connnanded, in 1689 and 1690, 1 of the regiments of foot in Ireland, 
raised by his family, for King James IL, against the Revolutionists; and, 
in 1691, he was Colonel of a cavalry regiment, that served as late as the 
2nd siege of Limerick. But, of this corps, after the Treaty, only a renmant 
existing to sail for the Continent (with similar portions of the cavalry 
regiments of Tyrconnell, Galmoy, Lucan, Sutherland, Luttrell, Abercorn, 
Westmeath, and Purcell) Charles O'Brien was made, before leaving 
Ireland, a Captain in the Gardes du Corps or Horse Guards of King 
James, with which rank he arrived in France. He was afterwards 
attached to the Queen of England's Regiment of Dragoons a pied, under 
Colonel Francis O'Carroll, with which he fought at the battle of Mac- 
saglia, in Italy, October 4th, 1693; and, on the fall of that distinguished 



40 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

officer tliefe, was appointed to his post. His Lordsliip, (for, abont the 
t-anie time, this Cliarles, as before obsm-ved, succeeded his brother, Daniel, 
in tlie title of Clare) was Colonel of the Queen of England's Dnigoons 
a pml. until his ti-ansfer, by comuiissiou of April Sth, IfiDG, to the 
Colonelship of the corps originally raised by his fauiiiy; and its title as 
the regiment of Clare was revived by hiin. He commanded it the s;ime 
year at the siege of Valenza in Lombaidy; and with the Army of the 
Meuse, in 1GD7, the year of the Treaty of Ptyswick. On the renewal of 
hostilities, he was attached with his regiment to the Army of Germany, 
in 17('l and 1702. Created Brigadier of Infantiy by brevet, Api-il 2nd, 
1703, he and his coi-ps were at the 1st or successful battle of Hochstedt, 
September 2Uth, that year ; at the 2ud or unsuccessful battle of Hochstedt, 
(better known as that of Blenheim) August 13th, 1704; and signalized 
themselves, in the latter day of advei-sity, as well as in the former of 
j)rosperity. His Lordship was made Marechal de Camp, by brevet of 
October 2Gth following; was employed with the Army of the Moselle 
under the Marshal de Villai-s in 1705; and, having been ]irespnt at the 
disastrous engagement of Bamillies, May 23rd, 1706, he died at Bruxelles, 
or Brussels, of the wounds he had received in the action, under circum- 
stances of great ghny to himself and his regiment. By his marriage with 
Charlotte Bulkeley, (eldest daughter of the Honourable Henry Bulkeley, 
Master of the Household to Kings Charles II. and James II.) his Loid- 
ship left (besides a daughter, Laura, married to the Comte de Breteuil) 
a son Cliarles, the 6th Vi.scount Clare, born at St. Germain-en-Laye, 
March 27th, 1G09. He was consequently but a child at his father's 
death; and as Louis XIV. did not wish to let this regiment out of a 
family, that had abandoned all but their lioriour and their swurJs for the 
cause tliey embraced,* his Majesty re.served a right of succession to the 
Colonelship of the regiment ior the minor; in the meantime appointing 
its Lieutenant-Cohmel Murrough O'Brien, a very experienced and 
distinguished officer, to command by brevet; in consideration of ])aying 
to th<" \'oung Loi'd Clare, out of the ap}K)intmeuts of the corps, an annual 
pension of GOOD livres. 

Murrou:,li O'Brien of Carrignginniol, or C-ii-iigogunnell, in the County 
of Limerick, belonged to a branch of the O'Briens, derived iVom Conor 
O'Brien, King of Thomond in 140G, through his son Brian, suinamed 
" Dubli," or "Huff," otherwise tlie dark, who settled in that B;irony of 
the County, yet styled " Pobble-ni-Brien," or " Pobble-Brien," that is, 
the (umntrij of Brian. This Brian tJie dark, established his residence at 
Garrigogunnell, where his castle, and that of his descendants, nobly 
situated u[)on the summit of a lofty hill, continued to be a place of 

* The estate forfeited liy Lord Clare, for his loyalty to his legitimate Sovereicru, 
consisted of not less than 5G,93l acres! This pro[)erty, like the rest of the Insli 
forfeitures, M'as designed by Parliament to he sold, for paying the debt of the War 
of the l!evolntion. But William, instead of reserving such lauds, as far as possible, 
for thnt ]mrpose, made immense a=:signments of them to several of hi.s favourites — 
the Dutch ones, of course, not being without ample shares of what was going! — 
and, among such Batavian grantees, Joost Van Kc2)pel, besides being created Karl 
of Albemarle, had the moilcst transfer to him, by patent, in lG9o5, of the Clare 
projjcrty ! The result of this transaction, between the royal, nolde, and other parties 
concerned in it, was, that the 5G,931 acres, when resumed by Parliament, and sold, 
brought, towards defraying the cost of the wa.-, Init the com;)aratively trilling >.uiii 
of £10,101, 17.S-. 5:j(/. ! 8ee Mr. O'Donoghue's learned Historical Memoir of t!ie 
O'Briens ; and, for fiu-ther misappropriatious of the Jacobite forfeited estalcs, the 
uexb Book of (h.6 history. 



IN THE SKliVICE OF FliANCE. 41 

ptvptic:tli till ufti-T tlie War (if the Revolution. Mnrrnngh O'Brien was a 
volunteer in the Irish regiment of his countryman Count George 
](aniiltoii, when it jiassed into J''rance in 1G71. He was present at tho 
sieges of Orsoy and IiliimV)erg, at the passage of the Rhine, and the 
tnking of Duesbnrgh, in 1672; at the siege of Maestricht, in 1673; ami 
tliat year became an Ensign. He was at the battles of Sintzheim, Ein- 
sheim,and MnUiansen, in 1674; and of Turkheira and Altenluim, in 1675. 
He was at the combat of Kokesberg, in 1676; and, after the death of his 
Colonel, Count Geoige Hamilton, that year, was involved in the changes 
by which tiie Irish of his regiment were transferred into the corps, 
successively eii titled the Regiment of Furstembei-g and of Greider. He 
was at the siege of Fribnrgh, in 1677 ; at the combat of Seckingen, and at 
the siege,-; oi Kehl and Lichtendjerg, in 1678. He served at the siege of 
Girona, in 1684; obtained a commission, as a reformed Captain, in 1688; 
ar.d a company, in 1689. He commanded the company with the Army 
of Rnnsillon, or Spain, under the Duke de Noailles, in 1690 and 1691 ; 
and from this company, in the regiment of Gi-eider, was I'emoved, in the 
latter year, to a similar command in the Regiment of O'Brien, or Clare; 
])reserving his rank of Captain, according to the date of his commission 
in the older regiment. He fought at the victory of Mar.saglia, in October, 
1693; was made Major by brevet of March 12th, 1694; and remained 
with the Army of Italy till the conclusion of the war there after the siege 
of Valenza, at which he took part. In 1697, he was attached to the 
Army of the Meuse. He made the campaigns of 1701 and 1702, 
in Germany. He was at the siege of Kehl, the combat of Munderkingen, 
and the victory of Hochstedt in 1703; and at the defeat of Hochstedt, 
(or Blenheim) in 1704. Lieutenant-Colonel of his regiment by com- 
mission of January 25th, 1705, he served that year f)n the Mo.selle; 
fought valiantly at the unsuccessful engagement of Ramillies, in May, 
1706; and, to the Colonelship vacated by Lord Clare's fall there, waa 
commissioned August 11th following. He commanded the regiment iu 
Flanders during the 6 fullowin .; campaigns; in which important interval, 
he was present at the battle of Oudenarde, in July, 1708; that of 
Malplaquet, in September, 1709; was made Brigadier of Iniantry by 
brevet, March 29th, 1710; served at the attack of Arleux, in 171 1 ; and 
at the sieges of Douay, Quesnoy, and Bouehain, the ensuing year. 
Transferred to the Army of the Rhine, in 1713, under the Mar.shal de 
Villai's, he was engaged in the sieges of Landau and Friburgh. He was 
brevetted as Marechal de Camp, or Major-General, February 1st, 1719; 
and held the regiment, again known under his Colonelship as die 
" Regiment d' O'Brien," until July 1720, when he died. 

Murrough O'Brien is characterized as having been an officer both of 
bravery and ability; in pi'oof of which, his gallantry at Ramillies, and 
the tine manoeuvre at Pallue, by which he saved Cambray, are particularly 
cited; and it is added, on official authority, — "If M. le Marechal de 
Montesquiou had done him the justice which was due to him for the 
affair of Pallue, he would have had a greater share of the royal favv)urs 
than he attained" — or have been elevated, (as would seem from the 
context) to a higher rank, than that of Marechal de Ciinip, or Major- 
General. "That biave old soldier, Majoi-General Morongh O'Brien," 
ob.serves a contem|)orary adherent to the House of Hanover, "has left a 
son behind him, that joins all the abilities of the statesman, with the 
politeuess of the courtier, to the martial spirit of his father." This sou, 



42 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

Daniel O'Brien, was a Colonel of Influitrj' in tlie service of France; waa 
made a Chevalier de St. Lazare, or Knight of St. Lazaru.s, in 1716; was, 
by the e.xiled son of King Janie.s IT.,»whoin lie regarded as King James 
III., created a Peer of Ireland, in 1747, vinder the title of Earl of 
Lismore, and Visconnt of Tallow; was appointed a Grand Cross 
Clievalier or Knighc of St. Lonis, in 17o0; and was Secretary of State 
to, as well as Minister fioni. his Sovereign, at the Court of lionie, where 
he died, November 5th, 1759, aged 76. James III. writing, N(jvember 
20th, to the gentleman who was to succeed, " in quality of Minister, but 
without the title of Secretary of State," thus expresses himself i-especting 
liis Lordship, — "You will, I am sure, be concerned for poor Lord Lismore's 
death. I am myself very much, and with reason; for I have lost in him 
a true friend, and an old and most faithful servant." His LordshijAs 
son, James Daniel O'Brien, the 2nd and last representative of this* 
Stuart title, was born in 1736; finally attained the grade of a reformed 
Lieutenant-Colonel to the Regiment of Clare, and the honour of a 
CJjevalier of St. Louis; and died, some time ])revious to the year 1789. 

Charles O'Brien, 6th Viscount Clare (usually styled in France Mylord 
Comte de Clare) as pensioned ui)on, and destined to tlie command of, the 
family regiment, was, when veiy young, enrolled among its officers as a 
reformed Captain, July 1st, 1703, as Captain-en-Second, October 24th, 
1704, and was commissioned, as a r( formed Colonel d, la suite, October 
14th, 1718. He commenced his active military career with tlie Army 
of Spain, under the Marshal Duke of Berwick, in 1719, at the sieges of 
Fontarabia, of St. Sebastian and its citadel, of Urgel, and of Roses. On 
the decease of the Mai-echai de Camp and Colonel Murrough O'Brien, in 
July, 17:^0, he was commissioned, as full Colonel of the Regiment of 
Clare, Ajigust 3rd following. During the peace which prevailed between 
France and England, under the reign of George L, this young nobleman 
"was invited, and came over several times, to England, to see his cousin 
Henry O'Brien, the 8th Earl of Thomond. On one of these occasion.s, 
he is related to have been presented to King George by the Earl, as the 
heir-at-law to his estates and honoui'S, and to have been promised forgive- 
ness fiir the opposition of his family to the alteration of d3'nasty effected 
by the Revolution of 16^8, if he would conform to the Established 
Church of England and Ireland. But Lord Clare could not be induced, 
by considerations of mere dignity and emolument, to forsake a religion, 
which he had been r(!ai-ed to believe as the only true one. On the Ijreak- 
ing out of the war between France and the Empire in 1733, his Lordshij) 
■was attached to the Army of the Rhine, under the Marshal Duke of 
Berwick, and was present at the siege of Kehl, which capitulated October 
28th. Made Brigadier of Infantiy V)y brevet, Februaiy 20th, 1734, he 
served, by letters of April 1st, with the same army; was at the siege of 
Philipsl)urgh, taken July 18th; and received a contusion on the shoulder 
there, from the same cannon-shot which killed his uncle, the Marshal 
Duke of Berwick. He remained, by letters of May 1st, 1735, with 
the same ai-my, which undertook no ex])edition. He was advanced 
to the grade of Marechal de Camp by bi'evet of March 1st, 1738; became 
Inspector General of Infantry by order of May 22nd, 1741 ; and was 
em])l()yed with the Army of B.)hemia by letters of July 20tli. The same 
year, Henry O'Brien, the 8th Earl of Thomond, died in Dublin: willing 
his estates to Muirough, Lord O'Brien, eldest son and heir to the Earl of 
liichi(|uin, as being a Protestant; yet not forgetting Lord Clare, as a 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 43 

Catliolic, but bequeatliing him a legacy of £20,000. On his relative's 
decease, Lord Clare took the title in France of Corate or Earl of 
Tliomoud.* Intrusted, in 1742, with the defence of the town of Lintz, 
in Upper Austria, under the Comte de Segur, he displayed much reso- 
lution and bravery, until comprised in the capitulation of the place, 
signed February 23rd ; by which the troops and General Officers w Iv) 
had been inclosed there were not to serve for a year. Employed witli 
the Army of the Khine, under the Marshal Duke de Noailles, by letters 
of May 1st, 1743, he fought, June 27th, at the battle of Dettingen. 
Emjiloyed with the Army of Flanders, under Louis XV. and the Marshal 
Duke de Noailles, by letters of April 1st, 1744, and created Lieutertant- 
General May 2nd following, he marched to the siege of Menin, wliich 
capitulated Jane 4th. Acting by letters of the 7th as Lieutenant- 
General, and serving at the siege of Ypres, he mainly contributed, by a 
successful attack, to tlie capitulation of the place on the 27th. He was 
at the siege of Furnes, surrendered July 11th; and remained with the 
army under the Marshal de Saxe, by letters of the 19th, when Louis 
XV. quitted Flanders for Alsace. Attached to the Army of Flanders 
by letters of April 1st, 1745, he was present, May 11th, at the victory of 
Fontenoy ; the gaining of which was so much owing to the valour of the 
Irish under his command, in contributing to break the previously-success- 
ful English and Hanoverian foi-ces. He received 2 musket-shots there, 
but luckily on his cuirass; and, a few days after, was wounded by 
the bursting of a bomb, at the siege of Tournay, which was entirely 
reduced, by the surrender of the citadel, June 20th. Continued ia 
Flanders, under the Duke de Richelieu, by letters of December 18th, he 
was destined for an emliarkation, and landing in England, to second the 
invasion of Prince Charles Edward Stuart; which plan of co-o])eratiori 
was, however, frustrated, by the superior maritime force of the English. 
Nominated Chevalier of the Orders of the King, January 1st, 1740, he 
obtained permission, February 2nd, to wear the insignia of that rank. 
Remaining with the Army of Flanders, by letters of April 1st, he took 
a leading part in the gaining of the battle of Rocoux, fought October 
1 Ith. He was received as Chevalier of the Orders of the King, January 
1st. 1747; and, early in the same year, he signalized himself, by his 
dt-fence of Malines, of the biidge of Valheim, and by other operations, 
tlii'KUgh which the best intelligence was acquired respecting the enemy, 
for Louis XV. Acting with the Army of Flanders, by letters of May 
1st, he fought, with the Irish. July 2nd, at the battle of Lafl'eldt; there, 
as at Fontenoy and Rocoux, had a principal share in the success of the 
day; and had 1 of his Aides-de-Camp shot next him. Employed with 
the Army of Flanders by letters of April 15th, 1748, he commanded at 
Bilsen a body of troops, which covered the right of the army, occupied 
with the siege of Maestricht. During the armistice, he was placed over 
the troops cantoned in the territory of Malines. He was, by letters of 
November 1st, 175G, Lieutenant-General in Normandy, under the 
Marshal de Belle-Isle. He was made Govei-nor of Neuf-Brisac, by pro- 
vision of the 5th. Created Marshal of France at Versailles, Februaiy 
24th, 1757, he was nominated to command in Guienne, by order of 

* Of "les ilhistres maisons des 6 Briens," notes Abbe Mac Geoghegan in France, 
in 1758, " le cli>^f aiijoiu'd'hui est Charles 6 Brien, Lord Cointe de Thomond, ci- 
devant a]i])elle Lord Clare, Marechal de France, Chevalier des Ordres du Itoi trea- 
Clirutieu, et Colonel du Eegimeut Irlandois de Clare, au service de Sa Majeste." 



44 HISTORY OF TKE IlilSII BRIGADES 

March 1st. He took the oath, as Marslial of France, the 13th. He was 
named to comniaiid the ticops on t!ie coasts of the Meiliterranean, by 
])ii\ver of November 1st, 17-37; and Cotnmander-iti-Chief in tlie Province 
of Latigiiedoc, by order of the same day. He obtained the entrees cltez 
le Rui, by brevet of May 7th, 175'>. In 1759, he was specially considted 
iipdii. and woidd have been eno;a,:fed in, the great landing meditated from 
Ihi t: g i(i in Mnnster by the French, but for the d<'feat of C'onflans at 
sea by Havvke. The veteran noV)Ienian's decease, at Muntpeliier, in his 
(i3rd year, Septeitdx-r 9th, 17C1, is mentioned in a contemporary 
(jiintinental periodical, with an enumeration of his dignities, as that of 
"Charles O'Biien, Earl of Thomond, Viscount of Clare, &c, in the 
Kiu'ddiu (if Ireland, Mai-slial of France, Chevalier of the Order of the 
Holy Gliost, Commander for the King in the Province of Langnedoc, 
Covcrnor of Neuf-Brisac in Alsace, and Colonel of a Ri'giment of Irish 
] iirintiy." The " ]\Iarecha] de Thomond," as he was called, was much 
jegietted, and, iy his marriage, in 175-5, with the Lady Marie Genevieve 
Loni'^e Ciiutliier de ( 'hiffreville, Marchioness of Chilfreville in Normandy, 
](4't, as his heir, Charles O'Brien, 7tli Viscount Clare, and Idth Comte 
or Earl of Tlionion<!.''' 'I'hat young nobleman was born at Paris, in 1757, 
and being therefore, at his father's decease, a minor, tlie Colonelship of 
the Ilegiiiieiit of (Jlare was reserved for him, on condition that, out of the 
12,000 li\res a year which it was then worth, GOUO livres should be 
allowed to whatever officer might be appointed to command it in his 
]'hice, as ( 'olonel-en-Second. 

The odict'i- appointed was Brigadier James Fitz-Cerald. He entered 
the Ilegiinent of Diilon, as a reformed or supernunuM'ary Lieutenant, in 
173(1. He sei'ved at the siege of Kehl in 1733; at the attack of the 
lines of Etiingen, and at the siege of Philipsbiirgh, in 1734; upon the 
Bhiue. and at tlu; affair of Clausen, in 173-5. He obtained a full 
Ijeutenaney in 1739; and served, in that grade, with the Army of 
I'landias, in 1742. Nominated a reformed Captain, in the same regi- 
ment, by commission of January 8tli, 1743, he was at the battle of 
D.'ttingen in June; and iinished the campaign on the banks of the 
lih.ne. In 1744, he served at the sieges of Ypres and Furnes ; was 
emjiloyed at the camp of Courtray; ami obtained, October 6th, a com- 
]iaiiy in the Irish Regiment of Tally, at its formation. He commanded 
this com]iany at the battle of Fontenoy, at the sieges of the town and 
citadel of Tournay, of Dendermonde, of Oudenarde, ami of Ath, in 
174-5. He was granted a commission, July 1 1th, that year, to hold rank 
iiti a Colonel of Infantry. He served on the coasts, in 1746; fought at 
the battle of Latleldt, in 1747; was at the siege of Maestricht, in 1748; 
and was employed, at the camp of Dieppe, in 1756. The Eegiment of 
I ally being designed for tlie East Indies in November, 1756, the Sieur de 
Fitz-Gerald was nominated, by order of the 10th of that month, to com- 
mand the 2nd battalion; but, circumst mces having juevented his 
embarkation, he quitted that regiment. He was attache d, by order of 

* Charles O'Brien, 6th Lord Clare, 8th Earl of Thomond, and Marshal of France, 
had, bes^ides his heir, a son, horn in 1761. deceased in 1764, and a (hiuyhter, 
Antoiuette-Charlotte-Marie-Septimanie 0'1'rien, horn at Paris in 1758, and married 
to the Duke de Clioiseid-Prashii. The representative of that title, vvho nuirdend 
his I)uchess in 1847, was their grandson. Besides O'Briens of tlie *2 ennoljled 
branches in the French service, there were in the Irish Brigade, or French infantry, 
f» officers of tlie name, from the rank of Captain to that of Lieuteuaut-Colouel, who 
Were Chevahera of St. Louis. 



IN THK SERVICE OF FRANCE. 45 

Febinaiy 16th, ]7o7, as a reformed Colonel, to the Eegiment of Clare, 
with which he remained, for the jirotectioii of the coasts, dining several 
campaigns. He was created a Bi-igadier by brevet. May 1st, l7o8. He 
made tlie campaigns of 1760 and 1761 iu Germany; being engaged at 
the affairs of Corback and of Warbnrgh in 1760, and at that of Feling- 
haiiscn in 1761. In conseqnence of the decease of the Lord Marshal of 
Clare or Thomond that year, and the minority of the young Earl his 
8on, Fitz-Gerald was commissioned, September 20th, to be, during the 
Tniiiority, (^ohmel -en-Second in con)tnand of the Regiment of Clare. 
He obtained the grade of Marechal de Camp by brevet, February 2:)th, 
1762; was employed as Brigadier, at the camp of Duiddik ; and was 
declared full Marechal de Camp, in the December of tliat year. He 
tlien resigned the command of the Eegiment of Clare; and finally died, 
at the close of 1773. 

The Sieur de Fitz-Gerald's successor in tliat command was the 
Chevalier de Betagh, or, as anciently spelled, Biatagh. This officer, 
belonging to a very respectable Irish family, (believed to have been 
originally of Danish extraction) was the grand-son of a gentleman, 
whose case has been .specially recorded, as an instance of the frightful 
injustice with which so many of the Irish Catholic gentiy, or royalists, 
were, after the Restoration, stiipped, through legalized fraud and ])erjur3', 
t)f their estates, for the benefit of Pailiamentarian or Cromwelliau 
revolutionists, and other English land-adventurei-s. Hugh O'Reilly, 
Ej-q. of Lara, Master-in-Chancery, Clerk of the Privy Council, Mend)er 
of Parliament for the Borough of Cavan, during the reign of Jame^ in 
Ireland, and titular Lord Chancellor for Ireland to the King at St. 
Germain, after noting the iniquities connected vvith the proceedings of 
the tribunal called the Court of Claims in 1662 and 1663, as intro- 
ductory to the general land-spoliation carried out by the Act of Settle- 
ment, and its tail-jiiece the Act of Explanation, thus refers to the case 
of Mr. Betagh in 1693, when he was still living at St. Germain. " Mr. 
Francis Betagh of Moynalty, whose ancestors, for 700 ov .^00 years 
together, wei'e in the possession of a considerable estate in the County 
of Meath, was but 9 years of age in October, 1641; yet he was sworn, 
in the Court of Claims, to have been then in actual rebellion, at the 
head of a foot company, plundering and stripping the Protestants; and 
that by 2 of the nu^anest .scoundrels of the whole kingdom, hired for that 
jiui])Ose ; whereof one was then and there pi'oved, not to have been 3 yea'rs 
old, at the time of that insurrection ; and the other, no way qualified to 
be believed, when the gentry of the whole country declared and testi- 
fied the contrary. Nevertheless, upon the bare oaths of these fellows, 
the gentleman was adjudged nocent," or guilty, "by the Court; am', 
although the perjury was afterwards more fully detected; insomuch, 
tliat Sir Richard Rainsford, (Chief Commissioner or Judge of that 
Court) when the ?Tarchioness of Antrim expostulated the matter with 
him, ])lainly acknowledged the injustice of it to hei'self, to the now Earl 
of Limerick, and to other persons of quality; yet no redress con' d be 
had for the gentleman, nor any remedy to be expected, while the 
inehantment of the Act of Settlement was of force." The grand-son of 
this gentleman joined the Irish Brigades, was a Captain in Fitz-James's 
Regiment of Horse previous to the battle of Fontenoy, or in 1744; 
horn 1749 to 1762, had been its Major and Commandant, or acting 
Colonel for the Colonel-Proprietor of the Fitz-James family; was 



4G HISTORY OP THE iniSII niUOADKS 

wonndi'd with the rejiiinent at tlic; h.itth' of R()s\)iich, in TTovciiiVior, 
IT'')?, \vh( i\ it Wi\n so much (liHtinguislicd ; aiul became, a Chevalier of 
8t. fjoiiis. Siicceediuii, in 17G;?, as Colduel-eu-SecoMd of the Rcf^iiiieiit 
<tf (!hii-e,* lie W!iH created a liri^adier of Iiilautry, April IGtli, 17(!7, and 
H Mareclial de Camp, Januai'y 3rd, 1770; re.si<^tie(l the Colonelship that 
year; and is mentioned as still livinif, with the title of Count, in 177-5. 

Hi> was followed, as Colonel-en-8econd, in 1770, by the Chevalier de 
Meade — the i-eprc^sentative of a name, respectable in Munster to our 
own times. Tiiis <ientleman, who ha<l previously served in the Rei^iment 
of Lally, continued to lie Colonel-en-Second to the Regiment of Clare as 
long as it was kept up. or until 1775. For the young Comte or Eai-1 of 
Thoinond ami Lord Clare dying niidcM- ag((, and unmarried, at l*.»ris, 
December 2lttli, 1771:, and the unit(nl titles of Thoniond and Clare ^ 
ceasing in his pc^i'son, according to the new iiri'angement of the French 
armv, ah'eady spoken of as having occurred in June, 1775, the Regiment 
of Clare, about ISG years i'roin its Hrst formation in Ireland, and 85 years 
from its arrival in France, was incorporated with the Irish Infantry 
Regiment of Berwick. 



THE INFANTRY REGIMENT OF DILLON. 

This regiTuent was, as previously mentioned, 1 of the 2 infantry 
regiments levied by Theobald, the 7th Lord Viscount Dillon of Costello- 
Callen, for the service of King James IT., and that selected to be sent 
to Fnince, in ihc. sjiring of IGiJO, as part of Jjord Mountcashel's Brigade. 
L(n-d Tiu'obald conferred the Colonelship in Ireland upon his 2iul .son, 
the Hoiu)urable Arthur Dillon, who wa.s born in 1G70, and, in HiiiO, 
consequently not of age. This grant was confirmed in France, by a 
commission, dated June 1st, IGDO. On the young Colonel's cousin, 
Jaines Lally of Tullaghnadaly, Ccmnty of Calway, Sovereign, in 1G87, 
of the Corporation, and Member of Parliament, in 1689, f jr the Borough, 
of Tuam, the rank of Colonel, as Commandant of the 2nd battalion, was 
likewise conferred; a considerable portion of the regiment having been 
made up from Independent Companies, raised through the exertions 
of Lord Theobald's nepiiews of the Lally family. The Honourable 
Arthur Dillon, Colonel- Pro|)rietor of the corps, was first, or in 1G)1, 
attached to the Army of Rousillon commanded by the Duke de Noailles, 
iimhir whom he served at the siege of Urgel, and the relief of Pratz-de- 
Mollo. In 1G',)2, he continued with the same army, which kept on the 
defensive. In June, 1G'J3, he was at the taking of Ro.ses, the only 
acquisition of the campaign, owing to the wi^akening of the army of the 
Duke de Noailles, in order to reinforce Catinat in Italy. In lGl)4, he 
f uglit, May 27th, at tlie overthrow, by the Duke de Noailles, of the 
Spaniards, under the Duke of Escalona, on this river Ter; at the suc- 
ceding cajitures of Palaraos and Gii-ona in June, of Ostalric, or 
llostalric in July, of Castelfollit in September, and at the raising of 
the siege of Ostalric, attempted to be retaken, the same month, by the 
S[)a,uiartls. In 1G1J5, being attached, in May, by the Duke de Noadles, 

* Tliere was a family connexion between the names of Betasjh and O'Brien, 
which mai/ not have been without its influence in the (Jlievaher de Ret.igh's 
i'livancenient to the command of the Re2;inient of Clare. See the Transactions of 
the Ihevno (,'eltic Society, or O'lleilly 8 account of native Irish whtei's, under tht 
year 1720. 



ly THE SKRTTCE OF FRAXCTi 

to tte force a]»pointed, under the Marquis de St. Svlrestre, to rerictnal 
Ostalric. he distinguifibed himself, when retnrniijg from the ]>]ace, in 
comruaud of the rear-gnard, hy r<<ntJDg several thon&md Miquelets. or 
guerillas. In Jnne. 16^»6. he was at the raising of the siege of Palamos, 
liv the Duke of Vendome. who was a])jX)int.ed to succeed the Duke de 
!Noailles in Sjoin. In June. 1690, he was at the defeat of the Si<anish 
cavalry under the Prince of Hesse-Darujstadt, by the Duke ot Vendome, 
near Ostalric. In 1697, he served at the capture of Barcelona bv the 
game illustrious General; the last o]>er:itioji of consequence yirecediu"- 
the Peace of Ryswick. On tlie commencement of the War of the 
S]ianish Succession, he was under the command of the Marshal de 
TiJleiov with rhe Army of Germany, which undertook no expedition. 
In 1702, he was removed to the Army of Italy, under the Duke of 
Tendome, then op]X)se<i to the Imperialists, under the famous Prince 
Eugene of Savoy; fought at the affair of Santa Vittoria in Julv, at the 
liattle of Liuzzara in August; was cieated Brigadier Viy brevet of October 
1st; and employed, in that grade, by letters of the same date. He was 
]ire.sent in 1703 at the defeat of the rear-guard of the Imj^erial General 
Count Stahremberg at Ca^itelnuovo-de-Burmida in January ; acconipauied 
the Duke of Veudome on his invasion of the Trentin in July and 
August, where he signalized himself at Riva; was at the overthi-ow of 
Genei-al Yisconti, the following October, in the combat of San-Sebastiano ; 
and at the reduction of Asti and Villanova d Asti. in November. lu 
1704, he was at the important capture of Yercelli, of Ivrea and its 
citadel, by the Duke of A'endome : and, being made Marechal de Camp 
by brevet, October 26th, that year, marched to the diiScult siege of 
Terue, or Terrua, in November; which was not terminated bv the 
Duke, until April. 1705. Ti-ansferred to the force under the I>uke's 
brother, Lieutenant-General and Gi-and Prior Philippe de Tendome, he 
served at the siege of Mirandola, taken in May; signalized himself at the 
very gallant defence of the Cassiue of Moscolino against the Prince of 
Wirtemberg in June; and at the victoi-y of Cassano, gained, August 
16th, by the Duke, over Prince Eugene. He likewise signalized him.self 
\uider the Duke, at the defeat of the Count de Pveventlau. April IDth, 
1706, in the battle of Calcinato; and September 9th following, under 
the Count de Medavi, at the defeat of the Prince of Hesse, in the battle 
of Castiglioue. The 24th of that month, he was made a Lieutenant- 
General. Employed, by letters of Ajiril 20th, 1707, with the army on 
the frontiers of Piedmont, under the Marshal de Tesse, he eminently con- 
ti-ibuted to the disastrous result of the great expedition of the Allies 
against Toulon, under the Duke of Savoy and Prince Eugene, aided by 
Admii-al Sir Cloudesly Shovel He continued with the same army 
under Tesse s successor, the Marshal de Tillai-s, in 1708; and under the 
Marshal Duke of Berwick, in 17U9. While stationed that year in the 
vicinity of Briancon, he defeated 2 considerable bodies of the Allies; 
the former, August 2Sth, under General Count Eebeiider; and the 
latter soon after, under the Governor of Esille-s. In 1710, 1711, and 
1712, he remained in the south, under the orders of the same ^lait^hal; 
and geneially commanded at the camp of Briancon. On the expedition 
into Catalonia, undeitaken in December, 1712, for the relief of Girona, 
then besieged by the Couut de Stahremberg, he accompanied the 
Marshal Duke of Berwick, as 1 oi lis 5 Lieutenant-Generals : and, 
being ordered, in January 1713, to pursue Stahremberg who raised the 



48 HTSTOIiY OF THE TRTSH BRIGADKS 

siege, he routed tlie detaclinient left by that Greneral at a defilp, to covet 
liis )-etreat. ISenmved to tlie Afiny of tiie Rhine in 1713, under the 
Marslial de Vdlars, lie took Kaisevslaiiterri and made its garrison 
prisoners of wai-, in June; also took the Castle of Verastein ; mounted 
the trenches, on several occasions, at the siege of Landau, which defended 
itself from June till August; and, during the operations for the reduc- 
tion of Friburgh, whicli occupied from Se})tember 30th to November 
IGth, was placed, by the Marshal de Villars, at the head of a separate 
force, to foim a camp for the protection of the siege. His last campaign 
was that of 1714, when he served with much distinction, under the 
Marshal Duke of Berwick, at the conquest of Barcelona. Lieutenant- 
General, the Honourable Count Arthur Dillon, is represented to have 
been a gallant and able oilicer, universally esteemed by the gr^at 
Generals of his time, and beloved by the soldiery. He was in person 
beautiful, and very fortunate, having never received a wound, notwith- 
standing ail the dangers to which he was exposed, from 1691 to 16'J7, 
and froiu 17U1 to 1714. Though led into some irregular amours during 
his cara])aigns, he is stated to have been a fond husband, as well as an 
attached father; and, in short, to have ranked, in an age of illustrious 
men, among its best and most estimable characters. It is consequently 
the more to be regretted, that the literary materials left by him for a 
liistory of his life, were destroyed, amidst the excesses of the 1st Revolu- 
tion in France. Such materials, too, from the leading position which he 
occupied at Paris with reference to the affairs of his exiled Sovereign, or 
James III., would have been very valuable, as comprising so much in- 
formal ion respecting the plans concocted, and the corres})ondence kept 
up, from "l)(ith sides of the water," by the restless Jacobites, in order to 
realize what tliey used to sing — 

" We'll root cat nsi'irpation 
Eiitii'ely from the uation, 
And cause the re.'^toration 

Of James, our lawful King ! " 

By his mnrringe with Catherine Sheldon, daughter of Ralph Sheldon, 
Esij., niece <if Li(Mitt-nant-Gleneral Donrnick Sheldon, Lady of Honour 
to Mai'v, t^^uceu of James II.. and who died at Paris, in 1757, aged 77, 
ijcuU'iiiiiit-Ceui lal Arthur Dillon, besides daughters, had 5 sous. In 
17^!<>, quitiiiig the service, as he was then in his GOth year, he resigned 
Ii;s regiment to his eldest son; and died, February otli, 17''3, at the 
I'alace of ^t. Germain-en-Laye, aged 63 yenrs. 

The C(iiiit(^ Churles de Dillon, born in 1701, was, so ea!iy as 1705, 
named on the rolls of his father's regiment as one of its iri tended officers; 
became a i\dl Captain, November 10th, 1718; and Colonel, May 1st, 
1730. He commanded the i-egiment on the Rhine against the Germans, 
in 1734; was advanced to be a Brigadier, January 1st, 1740; and re- 
tained his Colonelship till the following year. Having married his 
Irish cousin-german, Lady Frances Dillon, in January, 1735, he came 
over to I)-eland, in September, 1736, to take possession of the property 
to vvhicli he was entitled; and, on the decease of her father, Richard, 9th 
"Viseotint Dillon, in 1737, succeeding to the family honofir,s and estates 
as 10th Viscount, he did not return to Fiance. He died in London, 
e-ivly in November, 1741, aged 40, without issue. He was succeeded, as 
11th Viscount Dillon in Ireland, as well as in the coaiaiand of the family 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 49 

regiment in France, by his next brother, the Comte Henri de Dillcui. 
This i^)V)lemun was, when very young, or in 1716, Ensign to the Colonel, 
his father; became full Captain in May, 1730; in the war from 1733 to 
1735, against the Germans, served at the sieges of Krhl and Philips- 
burgh, and the affairs at Etliiigen and Clausen; between February, 1735, 
and November, 1738, obt;i:ued b.is Majority, and a commission to hold 
lank as Colonel; was appointed full Colonel, November 14tli, 1741; and 
was made Brigadie-r by brevet, February 20th, 1743. But, after the 
battle of Dettingen, at which he was present, the English, from auxili- 
aries, becoming principals in. the war against Louis XV.; and an Act of 
Parliament being then in pi-eparation, to prevent Briti.sh subjects from 
entering foreign service; hy which his Lordship's remaining in the 
French army would have exposed him, as a Peer of Ii-eland, to the con- 
fiscation of his estates; he, by the consent, and even by the advice, of 
Louis, quitted France in the spring of 1744. He arrived in London in 
May; and not long afterwards married the Lady Charlotte Lee, eldest 
daughter of George Henry Lee, 2nd Earl of Litchfield; by whom, besides 
daughters, he left 3 sons, and died in October, 1787. When he was 
about to quit France, in 1744, he resigned his regiment there to his next 
brother, the Chevalier Jacques (or James) de Dillon, Knight of Malta, 
who was killed at its head, May 11th, 1745, at the victory of Foutenoy. 
The Colonelship was then given, on the field of battle, by the French 
Monarch, to the 4th brother, the Comte Edouard de Dillon, who, like 
the Chevalier, did not long survive his advancement; being mortally 
■wounded at the victory of LafTeldt, July 2nd, 1747. 

After the death of this Colonel Count Edward Dillon, no son of 
Lieutenant-General Count Arthur Dillon remained in France, but the 
5th, or >oungest, Arthur Bichard. He had entered the Gallican Church, 
in which he became one of the most eminent Prelates of his time. He 
was succxissively Bishop of Evreux, Archbisliop of Toulouse, then of 
Narbonne, Commander of the Order of the Holy Ghost, Primate of tha 
Gauls, President of the States of Languedoc, twice a Member of the 
Asstanbly of Notables, and twice President of the Clergy of France. 
"To this Pi-elate," adds our leai'ued Protestant countryman, the Bevd. 
Mervyn Archdall, previous to the 1st French Revolution, "the literati 
of this country confess much obligation ; he has manifested a liberality 
of principle, almost hitherto unknovvti; and, through his enquiries, and 
exertions, the antiquities of Ireland have lately been much elucidated." 
This only sui-viving son of Lieutenant-Genei-al Dillon in France; being 
t-hus incapacitated for military employment, Louis XV. was earui-stly 
solicited to give away the regiment, on the plea, that there was no Dillon 
to claim it. But the French Monarch good-naturedly replied, in allusion 
to the nobleman, whom he had kindly advised, in 1744, to leave the 
French service, for fear of forfeiting the family estates in Ireland — 
"Lord Henry Dillon is married; and I cannot consent to see, that a 
j)roprietorship, cemented by so many good services, and so much blood, 
should go out of a family, as long as I may entertain a hope of witnessing 
its renewal." From 1747, the jnoprietorship of the regiment was conse- 
quently allowtd to remain with the Lord Henry Dillon referred to; who, 
though I'esident in England, drew the profits on the ap])ointinents; as 
far as circumstances admitted, took part in the alHiirs of the corj)s, and 
recommended those to be employed in it; the actual militai-y <Iuty, 
connected with the post he held, being pei formed by competent oflicer** 



•60 niSTOUY OF THE IRISH BRIOADES 

successively deputed for the purpose, during about 20 years, or until 
August, 17G7. 9 

By that time, the Lord Henry DlHon's eldest son, Charles, nanT^d 
Dillon-Lee, from his becoming heir to the Lee or LitcliHeld estates iu 
Eiighmd, as well as to those of Dillon in Ireland, and af'terwai-ds the 
I 12th Viscount Dillon, was in his 22nd year, having been born in No- 
j vember, 1745; and the next son, Arthur, born in September, 1750, was 
■ in his 17th year;* or of an age deemed sufficient for entering upon tlie 
i Colonel-Proprietorship of the regiment, which had been reserved for liim 
in France. He accordingly obtained it by a brevet of August 25 h, 
1767, from Louis XV., referring, in suitable terms, to the Irish origin of 
the cor]is, and to the honourable military services of the several members 
of the family by whom it, had been successively commanded. The youn j 
Colonel revived the name of his giundfather. Count Arthur Dillon, in 
France; under the same designation, distinguishing himself, with his 
regiment, against the English, during the War for the Iiitlependence of 
the United States of America. He powerfully contributed to the con- 
quest of the islands of Grenada, St. Eustacia, Tobngo, and St. Cliris- 
toj)her, in the West Indies. He .served under the Comte d' Estaiug, at 
that officer's unsuccessful oj)erations, in September and Octobe-r, 177i), 
against Savannah, in Georgia. He was subsequently ajipointed Governor 
of the island of St. Christopher, and proved himself so well qualified for 
ihe post, that, upcm the restoration of the island to the English by tiie 
Peace of 1783, they confirmed the regulations he had made there; and, 
an his visiting Lt)nd()n, and being presented at the English Court, he was 
"Officially complimented for his display of such eminent administrative 
■ability, as well as militaiy talent. He was created a Brigadier of In- 
i'antry, March 1st, 1780; transferred the command of his regiment, the 
following month, to the Comte Theobald de Dillon ; and was made 
Marechal de Camp, or Major-Genei-al, January 1st, 178-1. Some time 
after his i-eturn from England to France, he was nominated Governor of 
, the island of Tobago; where he resided 3 years, when he was chosea 
Deputy to the Etats-Generaux or States-General of 1789; in which 
capacity, he was a steady defender of the colonial interests. Wher. 
France was invaded by the Prussians and Austrians, in 1792, he was, 
from his military reputation, a General of Division; sliared with Du- 
mouriez the honour of the successful o])position made to the invaders in 
the plains of Champagne and the forest of Argone; and, ])ui-suing the 
retreating enemies to Verdun, retook that town, which he entered in 
triumph, October 14th, at the head of his troops. November 18th 
following, he was at the " English civic feast, at White's Hotel, in Pai-is, 
to celebrate the triumph of liberty, in the victories, gained over their 
late invaders, by the armies of France." Though designed to be merely 
a Br-itish festival, it was attended, nevertheless, by the natives of various 
countries, as well as by Deputies of the National Convention, with 

• The 2. elder -sons of Henry, 11th Viscount Dillon, by the Lady Charlotte Lee, 
or CIkiiIck, subsequently l'2tii Viscount Dillon, and Arthur, Colonel-Proprietor of 
the Irish Eegin.ent of Dillon in France, were born in England ; the former at 
J ( i.don, in ]So\ ember, 1745; the latter at Braywick in Berkshire, in Sejiteniber, 
jTCO. The old and^nily remaining son, lUnn-y, a Colonel of J of the Regiments uf 
the Irish Brigade in British pay after the French Revolution, and a Major(Jencral 
in the same service, was also born in England, in ,lune, 1759. Charles, the 12Lh 
A'iscount Dillon, cQiiformed to the Established Church of England and Ireland, iu 
December, .17Ci7. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 51 

General Officers and others of the different French armies. The a])art^ 
inents, ornamented with civic and militaiy trophies, were greatly 
crowded, and the assembly was enlivened by tlie bands of the 1st 
liegiment of Cavalry, and of the Grerman Legion. Among the y)ro- 
ceediiigs, wliich were marked by the greatest revolutionary enthusiasm, 
" Sir Kobert Smith and Lord Edward Fitzgerald renounced their titles;" 
the former giving the toast, "The abolition of hereditary titles in 
England." Then General Dillon rose, and "expi-essing the satisfaction 
which he felt at meeting .so respectable an assembly on so happy an 
occasion, testified the joy he had felt in being one who had contributed 
to drive the horde of its invaders from France, and his willingness, when 
called on, to jierform, if necessary, similar service to his own country." 
After which lie proposed — "The ])e()ple of Ireland; and may Govern- 
ment profit by the exam])le of France, and Reform prevent Revolution." 
The political principles of the Geno^al were conformable to the toast 
thus proposed by him, in favour of Reform, as a means of averting 
Revolution. He was, in fact, the advocate of a limited or constitutional 
system of Monarchy in France, like that in England. He had conse- 
quently opposed the foreign invasion of France, in as much as the 
apparent results of that invasion, if it succeeded, would have been % 
restoration of the late absolute Monarchy, with the many abuses which 
had attended it. In his hostility to the invasion of France, he was, so 
far, united in opinion with her democracy. But, for advocating 
Monarchy in any shape, he became regarded, at first, in a suspicious, 
and finally, in a hostile, light by that maddened democracy, hurried into 
every crime, as it wa.s, by its unscrupulous and sanguinary leaders. His 
services, and those of his family, to France, were consequently insufficient 
to save him, under the increasing domination of the mob, the demagogue, 
the accuser, and the guillotine. He was arrested, early in 1793, by the 
Mayor of Paris, upon an order of the so-called Committee of Public 
Safety, and confined in the Luxembourg. Subsequently arraigned, as 
having conspii-ed to deliver the celebrated Danton and his accomplice's 
detained in tlie same prison, and as being desirous of proclaiming for 
King the young Prince who should have been Louis XVII., he was 
delivered over to the Revolutionary Tribunal, and, as in such cases usual, 
condemned to death. He was executed, April 14th, 1794, in the Place 
de la Revolution, or that of the guill tine ea permanence! It is related 
of 1 of the female victims who wei-e to share his fate, that when, after 
getting out of the vehicle in which she and others were conveyed to the 
Scaffold, she was touched on the shoulder by the executioner, and beck- 
oned to ascend the ladder conducting to the guillotine, she shuddered, 
and turning to her companion, .said — " Oh ! M. Dillon, will ycu go first?" 
To which, with his customary politenes.s, he replied, smiling — "Any 
thing to oblige a lady!" and proceeded. His last words, "Vive le Roi !" 
or "God save the King!" are mentioned to have res(Hinded from the 
scaffi)ld through the Place de la Revolution; having been pronounced in 
as loud and firm a tone, as if he had been givnng tiie word of command 
for a military evolution. General Arthur Dillon was married 1st to 
Mademoiselle Lucie de Roth, daughter of the Comte Chailes Edouard de 
Roth, (of the Kilkenny family of that name) Lieutenant-General in the 
service of France, and Colonel-Proprietor of Rotli's (previously Dorring- 
ton's) Irish Regiment pf Infantry. By this lady, deceased in Sejitembcr, 
1782, he had a son, who died young; and a daughter, married, in 178G, 



52 IIISTOllY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

to a French nobloman of very I'igli rank, tlie Comte de la Tour rlu Pin 
Gouvernet. General Dillon's 2nd wife, whom lie married in 1784 was 
the widow of the Comte de la Tonche. This lady was a native of the 
island of Martinique in the West Indies, where she had a considerable 
landed property; and she was first-cousin to the subsequent Empress of 
France, Jose|)hine. She died at Paris in 1810, leaving, by General 
Dillon, a daughter, who was the wife of General Bertrand that accom- 
panied the Kmperor Na])oleon I. to St. Helena, and remained with him 
theie, till his death. From General Arthur IJillon, as a wi-iter, we have 
a publication, entitled '■'■ GomiM rendu au Ministre de la Guerre, suivi de 
pieces' just i/icatwes, (b confenanl des details militaires, dont la connaisance 
est rtecessaire pour apprrcier la partie la phis ititeressa/ide de la, meiaorahle 
campagne de 1792; Paris, Migneret, 1792, in 8ro. de 108 pages.'" H^ 
was also author of the following tract, made due use of in the present 
work, and designated " OhservaMons historiques sur Vorigine, les seririces, 
& Vital civil des ofjiders Irlandois au service de la France, adiessees d 
V Assemhlee Nationa'e. liedigees far M. A. D. Depute tt rAsseniblee 
Nationale." 

Tiie Comte TheoV)ald de Dillon, to whom, as previously remarked, the 
regiment of his name had devolved, was generally known as " le beau," 
or iJieJiatidsoiiie, and commenced life, with great prospects, at the Court of 
Vcisailles. He was ap])ointed Mestre-de-Camp-Proprietaire, or Colonel- 
I'roprietor of the Pegiment, Apiil KUh, 1780; was made Brigadier of 
Infantry the same year; and Marcclial de Camp, or Major-General, 
June 13th, 178.3. After the Revolution, serving under Dnmoui'iez and 
Kocluimbeau in Flanders, the Count ])erished at Lille by assassination, 
\inder the folh)wing melancholy circumstances. He was ordered, April 
28th, 1792, to advance towards the Austrians from Lille u})on Tournay, 
at the head of 10 squadrons, G battalions, and 6 pieces of cannon; with 
directions, however, to avoid every soit of cond)at. At dny-brcrik, 
•Sunday, the 29th, he discovered a body of Austrians, estimated at 3('00, 
on the heights of Marqnain, who made preparations to engage him. 
Upon this, he commanded a retreat, according to the directions he had 
i-eceived, to that effect, from his su])erior officers. The French soldiery, 
who, at this period, were filled with the strongest suspicions, that their 
officers, as membeis of the aristocracy, were privately confederated with 
tlie Austrians to restore the ancien reginie, or former absolute monarchy, 
and feudal 7ioblesse in France, immediately regarded themselves as 
betrayed. On the firing of some random cannon-shot by the Austrians 
without injui-y to man or horse, the squadrons a])pointed to cover the 
i-etreat, breaking through the infantry, and abandoning them and the . 
artillery, amid such cries as, ^^ Let every one shift for liimsejf ! We are 
hefraj/ed ! Aristocrats to the la7np-post /" gallo|)ed off towards Lille. The 
Count did all he could to halt and rally his men, till he was himself 
assailed with tumultuous shouts, and insulting exclamations, struck with 
a jiistol-shot fired by an enraged soldier, and obliged to get into a 
cabriolet. Meanwhile, the infantry in this panic-struck and exasperated 
state, beginniiig to re-enter Lille, seized upon M. Berthois, an engineer 
officer, hung him up by the feet with cords, discharged several shots 
through his body, and inflicted other mutilations and indignities on it, 
.IS well as on the bodies of 4 unfortunate Austrian pi-isoners, who were 
trampled under foot, and run through. The fatg of the unha|)]:)v Count, 
and other matters connected with it, are thus narrated by a gentleman, 



J IN THE SERVICK OF FRANCE. O-J 

his intimHte fiieiid for 15 years, wlio dined witli hiiu the day before, and 
was present at his death. " About 4 o'clock, 1 went towards Fiffe gata 
In the entrance of the street, the agitation was great, and the howling 
most terrible. At last I heard the cry of ' lie's coniiag ! lie's coniiug'! 
To lite lantern ! ' I asked, with a trembling voice, ' WIio .? ' ' Dillon^ 
they answered, ' the traitor, the ar\st'>crat I We are goimi to tear him Ux 
pieces, lie and all that hehiiKj to him! Rochambea.u must also perish, and 
all the nuhi/itij in the army ! Dillon is coming in a cabriole ; hii thigh ii 
aheaily broken; let's go and finish him !' The cabriole soon appeared; 
the General was in it, without a hat, ivitlt, a ctdm and firm look; he was 
escorted by 4 horse-guards; he had hardly passed through the gate, when 
more than 100 bayonets were thrust into the cabriole, amidst the most 
horrible shouts. The horse-gnards made use of their sabres, it is true; 
but, I don't know, whether it was to defend themselves, or to protect 
the (j'eneral. The man who drove the cabriole disa{)peared, the horse 
jilnnged, and no bayonets had yet been iatal, when a shot was fired into 
the carriage, and I think this killed M. Dillon, for I never saw him 
move afterwards; he was taken from the carriage, and thrown into the 
sti-eet; when they trampled upon his body, and ran 1000 bayonets 
through it, I neitiier heard from him com])laints or groans. Between 7 
and 8 o'clock, I wnnt to the maiket-place, where a great fire was lighted, 
in which his body was thrown. French soldiers danced round the 
bui-ning body of their General. This barbarous scene was intermixed 
■witii the most savage bowlings. Parties of Swiss were ])assing and 
j-epassing in good i)rder during this atrocious scene, with the greatest 
indignatiim painted in their countenance." The National Assembly, 
when informed of this Tuurdei-, and other >»'.rocities with which it was 
flccomjianied, denounced the jierpetiators for punishment, and setll^d 
])en.si(.ns on the family of the unfortunate Count Theobald Billon. The 
Count was the last Colonel-Proprietor of the Regiment of Dillon; wliich 
alone, of all the Irish Regiments in the French service, continued under 
the command of members of the same name during about lOl years,. 
that elapsed, from the landing of Lord Mountcashel's Prigij'e in France, 
in 1600, till 1791, the period of the breaking uj) of the Irisli Brigade. 
It was towards the close of the Colonelship of Theobald Dillon, or in 
the latter year, that, according to the regulation occasioned by the 
Revolution, the various regiments of the French Army, except the 
Swiss, instead of being named from any ymrticular district, family, or 
nation, were numbered; when the ci-devant Regiment of Dillon was 
entitled, the 87th. A number, also, it may be observed, illustriously 
associated with Irish militaiy fame, in the Ai'my of the United Kingdom 
of Great Britain and Ireland, as represented by the 87th Regiment of 
Infantry, or Royal Irish Fnsileers. 

Of Lord Mountcashel's Brigade, as the 1st body of King James's 
troops who went to the Continent, it is now necessary to notice the 
services there during the 2 cam|)aigns of 1690 and 1691; or down to 
the arrival of the remainder of tiieir countrymen in France, after the 
ratification of the Treaty of Limerick, in the autumn of the latter }^ear. 
In May, 1690, when Mountcashel's Brigade landed from Munster at 
Brest, the enemies of Louis XIV., though already so numerous, were 
increased, on the side of Italy, by Victor Amadeus II., the ducal 
Sovereign of Piedmont and Savoy. The French, by the 2 great 
foitresses of Pignerol and Casal, had a sort of bridle over his state»; 



54 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

and, wlienever tlie garrisons of tliose places i-eqnired any change or re- 
viotnalling, Louis's imy)efio\is Minister of War, Louvois, was accustomed 
to send troops through the territory of the Duke, as if he were a inere 
vassal to France. This was natuially so ii-ritating to the Duke, who 
was a Prince of equal courage and ability, that, although from a similar 
aversion to Protestantism as Louis XIV. 's, he had for some time united 
his forces with that Monarch's, to wage a war of extermination against 
the poor Waldenses, Vaudois, or Barbets of the Alps, he had long 
determined ujioii joining the Allies, in order to vindicate his indepen- 
dence He had tlierefore been a secret party to the League or 
Augsburg from the tnne of its formation, and had more recently 
gtrengtliened his connexions with the Allies, though ])rivately; that he 
might not be overpowered by the French, before he coidd be joined by 
a sufficient aid, to enalih- him to set them at defiance. Louis, becoming 
aware of this, directed Lieutenant-General Catinat, with 12,000 men, to 
enter Piedmont in May, 1690. and to demand a satisfactory explanation 
fi-om Victor Amadous. Should the Duke not give it, he was to be 
attacked there ; wliile another French force was to invade Savoy. The 
Opei-ations of the latter expedition alone belong to our subject. 

The cam])aign in Savoy commenced later than in Piedmont; and, 
when it was decided upon by Louis XIV., lie appointed Monsieur de St. 
Ruth to command. That otiicer had served from 1667, through the 
wais of Holland, Flanders, and Germany; became a Lieutenant-General 
in 1688; and was attached to the Army of the Moselle, when he 
received his commission of June 28th, to ])roceed to Dauphine, in order 
to make the neces.sary arr-angements there against Savoy. The troops 
were to consist of aV)out 5(j0O French, and 3000 lri.sh belonging to the 
Iiegiments of Lurd Mountcashel and the Honourable Daniel O'Brien. 
I'he royal order, for St. Kuth to leave the Army of the Moselle for 
Dauphine, being dated so late in the season; the distance between such 
opposite destinations being so considerable; and the 3000 Iiish, iu 
addition to the remodelling which they (with the re.st of their country- 
men) underwent after landing in Bretagne, having to take such a long 
march as that to Savoy; the summer was necessarily far advanced, 
before every thing could be ready for action. When the preparations 
fur invading that diflicult, or rocky, mountainous, and precii)itous 
country were completed, St. Ruth directed the Marquis de Varennes to 
march towards its cajjital, Chamberry, by the route of Les Echelle.s, (or 
the ladders) while he himself sliould a])proach it by (?hamparluen. The 
Coiujt de Bernex, Governor of Chamberry for Victor Amadous, on 
intelligence of those movements by the French, evacuated the {)lace. 
St. Ruth reaching it, August 12th, garrisoned the town with 400 of the 
Irish, and the castle, or citadel, with as many more troops of the same 
nation, under the command of the Marquis de ThoUy, Brigadier. 
Annecy, following the example of Chamberr3% was likewise secured by 
a garrison; Rumiily, attempting to dei'end itself, was cai'ried by assault; 
and 2000 militia, and 500 fusileers, that were collected to defend the 
river Rue, having retired before the French Genei-al, the noblesse and 
peasatitry of that part of the country suV)mitted to the King of Fra'nce. 
St. Ruth then reduced the districts of the Chablais, of Fansilly^ th(! 
Tarentaise and the Genevais, or territory as far as the borders of the 
little Calvinistic Republic of Geneva. His next object was to overtake, 
and defeat, 2 bodies of Victor Amadeus's troops, under the Baroii, 



IN THE SERVICE OF VVf-rrV 55 

Marquis, or Coiint, de Sales, or de Salles, (as he was variously entitled) 
and the Count de Bernex. Their superior knowledge of such an 
intricate country, and the facility for retreat amongst its mountains, 
assisted them to elude all j)ursuit, until they had clmseu 2 such strong 
positions about the river Isere, as the}' judged woidd best enable them 
to defend the passes that led into Italy by the Little St. Bernard and 
Mount Cenis. St. Ruth, marching with 2 battalions of infantry, and a 
regiment of cavalry, for the banks of the Isere, directed the Brigadier 
Marquis de Tluiiy, who hud been left at Chamberry as its commandanfc 
with c^OU Irish truo]>s, to set out and join him with those troo])s; and 
"the Marquis de Vins to do the same from Annecy, with the Brctagne 
regiment of dragoons, and a detachment of cavahy. They were all 3 to 
meet ou the Isere: whence, after being joined by 2 ])ieces of light 
artillery, thej' were to proceed to action. Having entered the upper 
valley of tlie Isere, and gone to inspect the ways with 300 men, St. 
Ruth found De Sales in the lower valley, posted, with 1200 men, u]ion a 
rock, fronted by the river, and extending to the great mountain of the 
same naiue. At the foot of this mountain, he ordered the Brigadier 
Marquis de Tholiy, with the regiment of Bretagne, and 100 of the Irish, 
to watch during the night between the 11th and 12th of September, for 
the purpose of guarding against any design of De Sales to escape in that 
direction; who, however, was so far from making such an attempt, that 
he occu])ied himself in adding as much as possible to the strength of his 
position by an abbatis of felled trees, that embarrassed the whole way 
between the rock and the river. It was necessary to pi-oceed by this 
way, although it constituted a defile so narrow, that it could only bo 
passed 1 by 1. St. Ruth, after reconnoitring the ground, arranged his 
troops ior attacking the rock, at 3 different points. The dragoons, 
under the Maiquis de Vins, were to pass by the little way along tho 
river, in order to ascend the rock. The cavalry were to clamber up iu 
the centi-e. Lord Mountcashel., at the head of his own Irish regiment 
of infantry, with the Brigadier Maiquis de Thoiiy, was to march along 
the mountain, to gain the same rock, through a very rugged gorge. St. 
Ruth himself ascended among the first, at a very steep ])lace. The 
a.ssailants were recei\ed with a great tire. But the defenders of tlio 
i-ock were dislodged ; vigoiously ])ursued to the highest tops of the 
mountains; and about 150 of them .slain. Their leader, De Sales, after 
his Lieutenant-Colonel had been killed beside him, took refuge amidst 
some vines, where he was, with difficulty, discovered, and made ])risoner, 
by the Irish. Several other officers were also taken. St. Ruth is 
related to have had only from 10 to 15 men, and 3 or 4 horses, killed 
or wounded. There were, say the French accounts, " 3 Irish killed, and 
2 wounded, with Milord Moncassel slightly, by a musket-shot, in the 
left breast; having been very much distinguished, as well as those of hi.s 
nation." And a hostile narrative observes of the same troops — "The 
Irish, commanded by Milord Moncassel, who were present at this 
encounter, fought exceedingly well, and having seen how their Chief was 
wounded, they refused to abandon the pursuit of their enemies, till they 
should have taken the Comte de Sales, who commanded them. They 
led him in triumjih to Lord Moncassel, in order to console hiui for the 
wound which he had received." After this advantage, St. Ruth, being 
joined by more cavalry, and the Irish infantry of the Regiment of tlio 
Honourable Daniel U'Brien. proceeded towaids the souices of the iscio 



56 HISTORY OF THE IIIISII CIUGADES 

in tlu- Tfi,L;li Alps, between tlie little St. I5ernard and Mount Cenis; in 
order to di.slodjft! the Count do Bernex Ironi a still stronger position, 
where he was entrencli(Hj, with 400 men. It was situated in a very 
narrow delile. bounded, to the left, by niountaiiis, regarded as inaceessilile, 
and, to tli(; right, by the isere, which was no where forduble. Neverthe- 
less, under Lieutcniant-Colonel Andi-ew Lee, the officer then in command 
of the Regiment of O'Brien, "a mountain to the left was climbed up to 
the top, and gotten round by passes, which seemed so impracticaVjle, that 
the imagination could with difficulty be brought to conceive the success 
of such an attempt!" liy these means, Lieutenant-Colonel Lee " came 
right down upon the enemy's I'etrenchments, [)rotected by several fosses, 
as wide as they were deep. As soon as the enemy saw this, they fled ; 
abandoning those retrenchments, with their cannon and falconets," or 
lighter artillery. Then, descemling the river to a bridge, leading, on 
the other side, to a mountain upon the right, the beaten troops escaped, 
in the direction of Italy, by the Valley of Aosta. After a ))ursuit for 
some ti nu', the; enemy's spoils were very fairly applied, by the French 
General, to leward those troops, to whom, on this occasion, his success 
was moiit attribut:d)le. "We found in their camp," says my contem- 
j)orary French historian, " some bread and some wine, which Monsieur 
de St. Kuth caused to be given to the Irish; whom," it is likewi.'^e 
added, "he allowiid to go into the mountains, to seize the flocks, that 
were known to be at pasture there." The French, in this affair, are 
eaid not to have had 1 man killed, and but 3 wounded. The same 
evening, St. lluth recc'ived the Deputies of Montiers, and the L3th, in 
the morning, at a small distance from the town, had its keys brought to 
him by the Archbishop and Magistrates; u[)on which, making his entry, 
he caused Te Deum to be chanted there. Two days after, he marched 
to Mori(niiie, whose keys were also brought to him; and, the 15th, 
reaching Brisansonnet, with his whole army, he encamped there, to rest. 
Lord Mountcashel, with the 3000 Irish, were appointed to garrison 
Chamberry ; and no post remaining untaken in Savoy, but the town and 
Ktnmg citadel of Montnudian built on a lofty rock, St Ruth blocked up 
the placi!, caused it to be bombarded, and was able to spare 3 of his 
Fri'nch reginu'uts, to reinforce Catinat in Piedmont. By these con- 
quests, foi- which he was so much indebted to tlic Iiish, the French 
General rendered a great .service to his master; it being calculated, that, 
in addition to the quartering of troo[)s, a considcu'able i-evenue could he 
vealizid I'rom Savoy; while a country was secured, respecting which, it 
was alleged, on the side of the Allies, that 50,000 of their men could 
not be better employed than there, from the facility it would aUbrd, of 
communicating with, and exciting an insuirection among, the ojiprcssed 
Huguenot or Protestant population of L)au]jhine, Provence, and Lan- 
guedoc, agaiiKst their government. 

The next campaign, or that of 1691, the Irish of Ijord Mountcashel's 
Brigade served partly in Savoy, and ])artly towards Catalonia. Lieu- 
tenant-General St. Ruth, being destined to command for King James II. 
in Irehind in 1091, was replaced in Savoy, in the autumn of 1690, l)y 
the ]\Iar(piis de la Hoguette, Mai'echal de Camp, who had returned, with 
the iorce of tlie Count de Lauzun, from Ireland. The blockade of th(! 
town and citadel of Montmelian was continued ; the French and Irish 
lroo]is being stationed in palisaded lines and redoubts at certain distances 
around the place, to I'cduce it, if possible, by famine; and it was 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 57 

attempted, early in Febmavy, to apjiroach so near, as to subdue it, b}' a 
regular liattering, and bombardnient. The Frencli bombs did consideralile 
injury to a magazine of grain in tlie place; but the garrison could not be 
jire vented making i'requent soi-ties or forays, with considerable losses to 
both sides, of which the Irish had their share. The French cannon and 
mortars were also dismounted; so that close operations had to be given 
up, and the blockade resumed, until a regular attack could be undertaken, 
with a foi'ce both stronger as regarded the garrison within, and entirely 
secured against any interruption from without. To effect this security 
ere such a force could be as.sembled, M. de la Hoguette, leaving the 
Tarentaise, June 16th, with 7 battalions and 2 dragoon regiments made 
his way, in spite of the enemy's parties, across the rivers and through the 
difficult passes of those mountainous regions, as far as the valley and 
town of Aosta. On his approaching the town, the 22nd, it submitted; 
the valley furnishing a great abundance of cattle. Alter securing a 
general submission of the country, and niiuing or blowing up such 
bridges as might give a passage to any relief conring from Piedmont by 
Ivrea and the Little St. Bernard, through the Valley of Aosta, to Mont- 
melian, the French commander had trenches o]jened before that town, 
the night between July 27th and 28th. It was tinally agreed, August 
4th, that the town of Montraelian should suri-ender the 5th ; its reduction 
having cost the besiegers, in these last operations, but from 100 to 200 
men killed or wounded. The citadel very advantageously situated, and 
still defended by the brave Marquis de Bagnasco, with 600 men, 30 or 
40 guns, ifec, was then blocked up, till fuither assistance to attack it 
could be obtained from the Marshal de Catinat, in Piedmont. There, 
meanwhile, the Allies, having collected a veiy ffne and numerically 
superior army in order to arrest that Marshal's progre.ss against Victor 
Amadeus, the tirst design of their Generals was, to relieve Montmelian 
■with a detachment of 8 battalions of infantry and 5 regiments of c;ivalry, 
by the way Hoguette had foreseen. But that officer, in addition to his 
other ])recautions, having obtained a i-einforcement from Catinat, so as 
to command the pass, by the Little St. Bernard, with 12 battalions of 
infantry and 3 regiments of cavalry, the intention of relieving Mont- 
melian had to be abandoned. After the campaign in Piedmont was 
terminated, Catinat, to complete the reduction of Savoy, made such 
arrangements with Hoguette, as, by November 22nd, to assemble, lor 
attacking the castle of Montmelian, a competent force, with 40 cannon, 
25 mortars, and proportionable amnnmition. The castle held out till 
December 22nd, when, of 600 troops that liad comjio.sed its gan-ison, the 
gallant Governor (already named) having only 200 lamished men, 
capitulated, on condition of marching out with military honour.s, arms, 
baggage, 3 cannon, and of being escorted, with sufficient ])rovisions, 
carriages, etc., into Piedmont ; where he was knighted, and pensioned, as 
he deserved to be, by Victor Amadeus. In the blockade of tliis {)lace, the 
Hegiment of O'Brien took part, being marked as stationed at Montcassel, 
under the title of the Kegiment of '■Clare;" its Colonel, the Honourable 
L)aniel O'Brien, by the death of his father, Daniel, the 3rd Lord Clare, 
this year, in Ireland, having become the 4th Lord Clare; and a consequent 
change being made iu tiie name of the regiment, fi-oui that of " O'Brien," 
to that of "Clare." At this blockade, also, was slain James O'Mrrllaly 
or Lally. Esq. of Tulachr)adala. Tolenadally, or "^rolerrdal. Comity of 
Guhvay, who, in Irelarid had been, under King James iL, iu 16S7, 



1)8 mSTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

Sovereign of th<' OorporMtioTi, and, in the Purlinment of 1G89, Memher 
for the Borough, of Tiiani, and wlio, through the several Inde] pendent 
Companies, raised by himself and his younger brothei-s, Gerard. William, 
nr.d Mark, having niairdy contributed to form the 2iid battalion of the 
regiment of his first-cousin, the Honoui-able Colonel Arthur Dillon, had, 
in that corps, by commission of June 1st, 1C90, the rank of C(jlonel, too, 
as commandant of the battalion in question, hence called " Lally's 
battalion." 

On the side of Catalonia, wdiere its Viceroy, the Duke of Medina 
Sidonia, was expected to have a force of 10,000 foot, and 4000 horse, 
the Duke de ISToaillcs was appointed, in April, to command for the 
cam]>aigu of inOl. The French army, besides the disadvantage of its 
being genei-ally made np of new troops, consisted of but 6500 infantry, 
and 2340 cavalry. With these. Lord Mountcashel, Colonel Arthur* 
Dillon, and a select body of 1000 of their cout)trymen, were to serve. 
Notwithstanding the adverse circumstances for offensive operations 
])resented by broken-up roads and a I'ocky and mountainous country, 
through which, while favourable for native skirmishers, yet an invader's 
artillery, in many places, was only to be conveyed by clearing a ]iassage 
for it with mines, the French General determined to advance against and 
besiege Uigel. Tiie roads being repaired, and the Catalonian miqnelets, 
militia, or guerillas, being repulsed by the detachments sent forwai-d in 
May to open the march towards XJrgel, the Duke secured his communi- 
caticnis with France against the Duke of Metlina Sidonia, by encamping 
and fortifying himself in the post of Belver, or Belvert, where he kept 
the 1000 Irish with him; and, meantime, caused his battering guns to 
be drawn across the mountains, and gotten through the rocks, with 
gunpowder. The management of the siege of XJrgel was committed to 
M. de Quinson, Marechal de Camp. Ground was brokeii before the 
place, June 5th; the artillery coining up the 10th, ojiened tire the 11th, 
and, with such effect, that, in the course of a few hours, the Spanish 
Governor had to surrender himself prisoner with his garrison, of between 
900 and lOOO regulars of 2 regiments, among the best in Sjjain, and 1200 
armed peasantry, or guerillas. The Duke, after some weeks, demolished 
the fortifications — while strengther)ing his head-quarters at Belver, sent 
t>ut detachments that advanced, in the direction of Barceh)na, 3 days' 
march beyond Urgel, and towards the frontiers of Aragon, foi-agitig the 
country and capturing several castles, among which were those of 
Valence, Boy, and Soor — beat the hovStile parties wdien they showed 
themselves^obliged the Spanish army, after retiring from before Belver, 
to abandon the siege of Pratz-de-Mollo — and, notwithstanding the con- 
siderable numerical inferiority of his force, closed the campaign with 
honour to himself, and such good care of his troops, that their loss, in 
every way, was no more than between 400 and 500 men. Of the Irish 
generally, it has been observed, that the 1000 men, of whom they con- 
sisted, were disposed of by the Duke, for the security of his head-quarters 
at Belver. Of the Irish officers. Lord Mountcashel is mentioned to have 
been at the taking of Urgel, the castles of Valence and Boy, and the 
relief of Pratz-de-M(jllo; and Colonel Arthur Dillon to have been ])i-esent 
at the first and last of these affairs. The loss suffered by Mountcashel's 
Brigade, in those 2 campaigns, was, on the whole, considerable ; since, 
tor the 3 regiments, 5371 strong, when organized in France Ijefore the 
campaign of 1690, and subsequently increased by nearly 200 veterans 



nr THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 59 

drnftt^d from the Regiment of Greider, we find, by a letter of the French 
Minister of War, Louvoisi, to the Duke of Tyrconnell, that, even so early 
iis the spring of 1691, there were 1:^00 recruits then required from 
Ireland. Tliis loss mostly occurred in Savoy, owing to the hardsliips 
necessarily connected with a blockade and siege like that of Montuielian, 
which lasted, in those Alpine regions, from the autumn of 16UU till the 
latter end of December, 1691. Henceforward, the history of tiie 
llegiments of Mouutcashel's Brigade unites with that of the rest of tho 
Irish troops, who followed the fortuues of Kiug James II. to the 
Coutineut. 



HISTOEY OF THE lElSH BEIGADES 

IN 

THE SERVICE OF FRANCE 



BOOK II. 

Of the Irish forces, amonntitig to above 19,000 men and officers, who, 
from tlie conclusion of the Tieaty of Limerick, in October, l(i91, to the 
monlh of January, 1G92, left their country in successive embaikations 
for Fiance, it has already been stjited, that those who were to act under 
King James's commission, as his army — or, so far, as a distinct force front 
Lord Mountcashel's Brigade, and others of their countrymen in the 
French service, — were to lie divided into 2 Troops of Horse Guards, 2 
Piegiments of Horse, 2 Regiments of Di-agoons. d. pied, or dismounted, in 
order to serve as Infantry, 8 Regiments of Foot, (these last making 
between them 15 battalions) and, finally, 3 Independent Companies of 
Foot. The heads of the original capitulation, or agreement, between 
Louis XIV. and James II., with reference to those troops, specified, thab 
they were to be, says the abbreviator of the document, " under the com- 
mand of James, and of such General Officers as he should appoint. All 
the officers were to receive their commissions from him, and the troops 
were to be subject only to such rules and discipline of war, as he should 
appoint." For the government of those forces, lie was to have a Secietary 
at War, a Judge Advocate General, a Provost Marischal General, a 
Chaplain General, with subordinate Piiests, besides Physicians and 
Surgeons. The last article of this document, in which, from a previous 
statement, it appears, that the Brigade of Mountcashel, as well as ti\e 
troops arrived from Limerick, were to be equally comprehended, siiould 
James choose to require the aid of both for his " restoration," is as 
lollows, — "That the King of Great Britain be at liberty, at any time 
hereafter, to bring all, or such part of, the said forces, as he shall think 
fit, into any of his Majjfsty's dominions, or elsewhere, as he shall judge 
necessary, or convenient." The 3 Regitnents of the Brignde of M(3unt- 
cashel and their commanding officers having been duly treated of, the 
remaining corps of the Irish troops in France have now to be similarly 
noticed. 

THE 2 TROOPS OF IRISH HORSE GUARDS. 

The formation of these 2 Troops of Horse Guards, or Gardes dn Corp^, 
ir: Ireland, was commenced by King James II. in 1689, some time after 
his arrival from France. Previous to the eneounter of the Boyne, or in 
A[!ril, 1690, each of the Troops of Guart^a in stated to have consisted of 
200 privates; the 1st Troop, under Ht.'nry Jcruiyn, Lord Dover; tlio 



62 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

2nd Trcyop, uruler the King's son, James Fitz-James, Duke of Berwick. 
To these, there is mentioned to have been a Trooj) of Mounted Grenadiers 
attached, comrnarided by Colonel Butler. According to the regulations 
of the service 9t that period, the privates of the Troojis of Giuud-j were 
gentlemen, ana tiie officers stood liigher, botli in point of rank and pay, 
than the officers of other corps. The proportion of officers, &c., to each 
Ti-oop of Guards, besides its commander or Captain, who raidced as a 
Colonel, consisted, by the same regulations, of 2 Lieutenants, 1 Cornet, 
1 Guidon, 4 Exempts, 4 Brigadiers, 4 Sub-Brigadiers, 1 Chaplain, 1 
Surgeon, 4 Trum])ets, and 1 Kettle-dium. The officers, etc., of tlie 
Troop of Mounted Grenadiers attached, besides their Captain, or Colonel, 
were 2 Lieuteniants, 2 Serjeants, 2 Corporals, 2 Drums, and 2 Hautbois. 
Thus each Troop of Guards would contain 224, both Troops 448, the 
Troop of Mounted Grenadiers attached 71, and the whole, 519 men anff 
officers. These Gardes du Corps, as was to be expected from their com- 
position, distinguished themselves during the war in Ireland, and suffered 
in proportion. On the remodelling of the Irish army, after its arrival in 
France, the Irish Life Guaid, as it was called, was again formed into 2 
Troops. The complements of these Troops of Guards are specified as 80 
privates, (if this word can be applied to gentlemen) and 20 officers in 
each Troop; the total of both Troops consequently making 200 men. 
The 1st Troop was bestowed, by King James, on the Duke of Berwick; 
a memoir of wliom will be given, in connexion with the Infantry Regi- 
ment of Berwick. The 2nd Troop was conferred on Major-General 
Patrick Sarsfield, Earl of Lucan. 

This nobleman was descended from a sufficiency old and respectable 
race jxiternally, and from a most ancient and illusti-ious race maternally. 
The name of Le SaresfcKl, Sarstield, Ac, is related t(» have first appeared 
in Ireland with King Heni-y II. ; it occurs among those of the Anglo- 
Norman gentry of the Pale, summoneil tor militaiy attendance, on King 
Edward I. and King Edward HI., into Scotland, in 1302 and 133o; 
and, between the reigns of King Henry VIII. and (^ueen Elizal)eth, that 
name is to be found among tho.se of tlie chief civic magistrates or Mayors 
of Dublin, distingui-shed for munihcent hosjiitality in the city, and 
activity and gallantry in the field. Of the Sarsfields, in the reign of 
King James I., the head of one branch, Sir Dominick Sarsfield, was the 
1st Baronet ci'eated in Ireland, and was likewise ennobled l:)y the title of 
Viscount Kinsale, subsequently agreed to be changed to that of Viscount 
Kilraallock; another bianch, represented by Sir William Sarsfield, held 
the manor of Lucan, in the County of Dublin. The origin of the race 
of O'Moi'dha, O'Mori'a, 0'Mf)re, or O'Moore, is deduced from the mo.st 
remarkable royal house of Erin, in the heroic times; that of the Kings 
of Uladh, or Ulster, of the line ot Ir, who ivigiied ;it Eman, or Emania, 
li!l its destruction by the brother Princes, ('olhi, of the Heremonian line 
')f Con of the Hundred Battles, a.d., o32. Ot this Irian dyriasty in 
liitidh, the most celebrated epocli at I^inania (according to our best 
technical cioonology, idiout the eoniiiKiicemetit of tlie Christian era,) 
was the period of King Conor Mac iN'essa, and his Champions of the Red 
Branch, of whom the icnowned Conall, or Conneil, him.self of the royal 
race, and known as " Cearnach," or tl(e Viitorians, was the most eminent 
hero. A descendant of this Achilles of Uladh, and, like him, a great 
wairior, was Lugad I aighis. The people of Mnndia, or Mnnster, having 
attacked Laighiu, or Leinster, and overrun the country almost as far as 



IX TTIK SKUVrCE OF FRANCE. fi3 

the bill of Mullacli-Maisteat), now Mulla^li-inast, the King of Laighm, 
Cuclioi-b, sought the aid of Lugad Laigliis, who, in a sei-ies of encounters, 
(U'stroyed the previously-Riiccessfnl invaders; in consideration of which, 
he was granted the district, called Laigliis, or Laoighis, subsequently 
latinised into Lagisia, or Lisia, and anglicised into Leix, oi- Leax. 
Lugad's descendants, after the introduction of surnames, tot)k that of 
O'Mordha, (otherwise O'Morra, O'More, or O'Moore,) from " Mordlia," 
or tlie Majp-stic, the 25th in descent from Conall " Cearnach," or the 
Victorious. Over the territory of Leix, comprehending, at lirst, that 
portion of the modern Queen's County coramensurate witli the B.ironies 
of East and West Maryborough, Stradbally, and Cullenagli, and sub- 
sequently all but the Baronies of Poitnahinch, Tinnaliinch, and Upper 
Ossory in that County, the posterity of Lugad Laigliis, who for ages 
resided at Dun-Mask, now Dunamase, were the ruling race, with more 
or less power as Princes or Chiefs, according to the fortune of war, niitil 
about the middle of the 10th century; and, even when expelled, they 
recovered their country more than once by the strong hand, until the 
time of Calvagh 0'Moi-ra, or O'More, and the final ].lantation of his 
country by "the stranger." This Calvagh, called Charles in English, 
had 2 sons, Rory or Roger, and Lewis, both Colonels; the former oi 
■whom was, in 1041, so famed in song among his countrymen, whose 
general exclamation was, "God and our Lady be our assistanci% and 
Rory O'More!" — or, as the idea has been well versified, in the ballad ou 
the subject — 

" Do you ask why the beacon and banner of war, 
On "the inountaiiis of Ulster, are seen from afar? 
'Tis the signal, our rights to regain, and secure, 
riirough God, and our Lady, and Kory O'Moore!" 

Colonel Rory O'More, or O'Moore, by his marriage with Jane, eldest 
daughter of Sir Patrick Barnewall, of Turvey, and Grace-Dieu, in the 
County of Dublin, had 1 son, Charles, (Colonel of Foot, nnder King 
James IL, slain, at the battle of Aughrini, without issue,) and several 
daughters.* Of these, Anne O'More was married to the grandson of Sir 
William Sarsfield, head of the branch of Lucan, in the reign of James L, 
or Patrick Sarsfield, Esq., by whom she was the mother of 2 sons, 
^Villianl and Patrick. William Sarsfield, leaving no son by his marriage 
with iMary, sister of the unfortunate James, Duke of Monmouth, the 
family residence and estate of Sarsfield at Lucan, &c., were inherited by 
Patrick Sarsfiehl, with an income of about £2000 sterling a year. 

Patrick first served in France as Ensign in the Regiment of Monmouth ; 
then as Lieutenant in the Guards in England; whence, on the success of 
the Revolutionists supjiorted by the Dutch invasion, he followed King 

* The race of Colonel Rory O'More, of KUl celebrity, ending in Colonel 
Charles O'More, the headship of the O'Mores, with the property of Ballynagh, or 
Ballyua, (a grant from Queen Elizabeth,) devolved to the line of his brother. 
Colonel Lewis O'More ; from whom descended, in successive generations, Anthony, 
Lewis, and James. This James O'More, Esq., of .Ballyna, (whose will is dated 
l~)ecember loth, 1778,) left no issue but a daughter, Letitia, who married Itichard 
O'Ferrall, or O'Farrell, Esq.— also of old Irian descent. Their eldest son wa-s 
Ambrose O'Ferrall, Esq., of Ballyna House; and that gentleman was father of the 
Eight Honourable Richard More O'Ferrall, Member of Parliament for the County 
of kddaie, and Governor of Malta. A portrait (in his po.ssession) of his famous 
maternal ancestor. Colonel Roger or Rory O'More of 10 il, had, very properly, a 
liliice at the great Exhibition in Dublin, in 185,1 



64 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

James II. into Franca In March, 1689, he accompanied the King to 
Ireland; was created a Member of the Privy Council; made a Colonel 
of Horse, and Brigadier; and appointed to command the roj'al force for 
the protection of Connaught against the northern Revolutionists, whose 
head-quarters were at Iniskilliug, or Enniskillen. With that force, he 
remained in north Connaught, until the effects of the unlucky affair at 
Newtown-Butler, and the raising of the blockade of Derry in August, 
by the Innding of Major-General Kirke's relief from England and 
Scotland, coni])elled him to retire to Athlone. That autumn, however, 
lie retook Sligo, and entirely ex])elled tlie Revolutionists from Connaught. 
In July, IG'JU, he was present at the affair of the Boyue; and, after the 
Kings departure to France, he, by his vigorous exhortations to his 
countrymen to continue the war, and, by his surprise of the Williamite 
battering-artillery, amnnniition, <fec., in August, only 7 or 8 miles from tVre 
enemy's camp, mainly contributed to the successful defence of Limerick 
against William III. In December and January, 16U0-91, he foiled the 
military efforts of the Williamites, though aided by treacliery, to cross 
the Shannon into Connaught; and was, at the next promotion, made a 
M.ijor-General, and ennobled by King James, as " Earl of Lucan, Viscount 
of Tiilly, and Baron of Rosberry." In June and July, he was at the 
defence of Athlone, and the battle of Aughrim, or Kilconnell. Soon 
after, he detected, denounced, and arrested, for corri-sponding with the 
enemy, his intimate friend and neighbour. Brigadier Henry Luttrell, of 
Luttrt'llstown, in the County of Dublin; though that officer was either 
too wary, or too powerful, to be condemned. After the Treaty of 
Limerick, in October, 1691, to which his Lordship was a chief contracting 
party, he used all his influence to make as many as possible of his 
countrymen adhere to the cause of King James, and accompany the 
national army to France; thus sacrificing to his loyalty his fine estate, 
and good prospects of advancement from William III. In 1G92, he was 
aijpointed by James to the command of his 2nd Troop of Irish Horse 
Guards, after the grant of the 1st Troop to the Duke of Berwick. On 
the defeat at Steenkirk, in July, 1692, oftlie Allies, under William III., 
by the French, under the Marshal de Luxembourg, the Marshal compli- 
mented Lord Lucan, as having acted at the engagement, in a manner 
worthy of his previous military reputation in Ireland. In March, 1693, 
in addition to liis i-ank of Major-General in the service of James II., his 
Lordship was created Marechal de Camp, or Major-General. in that of 
France, by Louis XIV.; and, at the great overliirow, in July, of the 
Allies, under William III., by Luxemboui-g at the battle of Landen, 
(otherwise Neer-Winden, or Neer-Hespen,) he received his death-wounrl. 
The character of Patrick Sarstield, Earl of Lucan, may be comprehended 
ill the words, simplicity, disinterestedness, honour, loyalty, and bravery. 
In person, he was of a prodigious size. By his marriage with Lady 
Hf)nor de Burgo, 2nd daughter to William, 7th Earl of Clanricarde, he 
liad a son, who fought under his illustrious step-father, the Marshal 
Duke of Berwick, in Spain, and was honoured accordingly there by King 
Philip v., but left no family — the Sarsfields, since distinguished iu the 
milicary services of Franco and S^jain, being, cou.sequently, of other 
branches of the name. 

The successor appointed by King James, in October, 1693, to Lord 
TiUcan, as commander of the 2nd Troop of Guaixls, was Donough Mac 
Cartljy, Earl of Clanoarty, The history of this nobleman has already 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 65 

hopn given previous to the captuve of Cork by the Williamites in October, 
1()'J0, when, being made prisoner of war witli the Jacobite garrison bv 
the Earl (afterwards Duke) of Mai-lboix)ngh, he was conveyed to the 
Tower of London. He was still there, when named, Ijy King Jamos, 
successor to the command of the 2Tid Troop of Horse Guards, recently 
Lord Lucan's; and he remained in confinement for about another vear, 
or till the autumn of 1G94. Then, as his uncle, Lord Mountcashel, had 
formerly done at Enniskillen, he managed to escape. Leaving, it is said, 
his perriwig-block dressed up in his bed, with this inscription, Th^, block 
■must answer for me, he got out of the Tower, and finally to France, where 
he commanded the Troop of Horse Guards assigned him, until after the 
Peace of Ryswick, in September, 1697. In January, 1098, it being 
intended in France, that King James's Horse Guards should be broken 
up; in England, such an Act of Parliament being designed against King 
James's adherents, as made the Earl think it most expedient for him, 
to endeavour to effect an accommodation with the existing government 
there; and his Lordship, at the same time, being naturally most anxious, 
after his long absence, to see his Lady, the daughter of the Earl of Sunder- 
land, he left France, and came over to England. He was received with 
joy by his wife, but they were only 2 or 3 hours in bed, when he was 
arrested, and led away to prison, in consequence of information to the 
Williamite government, given by his noble brother-in-law, the Lord 
Spencer! When asked the reason for thus venturing into England? the 
Irish nobleman alleged, — " Having learned the Parliament proposed to 
pass an Act against those who should be in the service of, or correspond 
with. King James, he had resolved on coming over to England, to place 
himself again at the disposal of King William's clemency; and, that, 
before he was arrested, it liad been his intention, to pi-esent himself to 
the Secretary of State." The Eai'l, nevertheless, was strictly guarded for 
some months, till King William sent him a pardon. With this, his 
Lordshij) was brought before the Court of King's Bench, in June, 1698; 
he presented the document for enrollment; and the Judges announced 
the necessity of his immediately leaving the kingdom. The purport of 
the agreement connected witli the grant of this j)ardon to the Earl wa.s 
— that he should reside abroad — that he should not attemjit to disturb 
the political settlement of aliairs, made in Great Britain and Ireland by 
the Revolution — and that, on these conditions, he was to receive an 
annuity of £.300 a year. This pension was but an inadequate source of 
livelihood for the Earl, the representative of a race of Princes, Chiefs, 
or Nobles, for so many centuries! and whose estate, notwithstanding the 
colonial acquisitions which had continued so long at the expense of tlie 
Mac Carthys, and notwithstanding that the rent boi-e no proporti(jn to 
the vast extent of the property, was still worth £9000 per annum. To 
the magnitude of that property, in fact, its owner's proscription was 
owing. For, not long after his conveyance from Cork to the Tower at 
Loiulon, or in 1691, an exertion was made in England, that, for a Dutch 
officer of rank, taken prisoner the year before by the French at the 
battle of Fleurus, the Earl might be exchanged as a prisoner of war, in 
order that, as a fair enemy, instead of "a rebel," he might, in a short 
time, be restored to his fine estate. And indeed, that the Earl should 
have been regarded as a fair enemy, and treated accordingly, it was the 
iuoL-e natural to expect, if it were only on account of his extreme youth, 
at the j)eriud of the War of the Revolution in Ireland; he having been 



06 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

bnr aoout 19 years of age at the commencement of the ti-oul)les in 1688, 
and but about 22 at the termination of the contest in 1691! Such a 
restoration, however, as tliat of liis Lordship's large landed property, wag 
not suitable to the designs of that forfeiture-advocating party in Ireland, 
whose views, if carried out, would have condemned all tlie Catholics of 
Ireland with estates to confiscation or beggary; but more especially all 
those of the old Irish race — the chief of whom was the Earl of Clancarty. 
As the unfortunate Earl of Desmond, with such a vast prf)perty in 
Elizabeth's time, was an " antler'd monai'ch of the herd" in too fine con- 
dition not to \n\ hunted down, that land-seeking blood-hounds might 
divide so much noble territorial venison amongst them; so, in the War 
of t'le Revolution, Mac Donnell, Earl of Antrim in the North, and Mac 
Carthy, Earl of Clancarty in the South, were marked out, as 2 Hiberno- 
Popisii deer, in the primest order for feasting a similar estate-hunting 
])ack.* The Earl of Antrim was luckily placed beyond the fangs of the 
W^iliiamite animals referred to, by being included in the Articles of 
Limerick. With respect to liim, consequently, however great might be 
the iiTitati(ni of famished disappointment, theie could be no gratiticatiou 
of covetous gluttony. 

" So roams the niohtly wolf alioat the foM : 

Wet with desf^endinc; show'rs, and stitt with cold, 
He howls for hunger, and he jxrius for pain, 
(His gnashing teeth are exercis'd in vain) : 
And, impotent of auger, tinds no way. 
In his distended paws, to grasp the i>rey. 
The mothers listen ; but the bleating lambs 
Securely swig the dug, beneath the dams." 

Dryden's Virgil, ^neis ix., GG-73. 

Tlie Earl of Clancarty, on the other hand, having, unluckily, been 
^pounced ujion the year before the Treaty of Limerick, or at the suri-ender 
of Cork, his merciless hi;nters were proportionably determined, that such 
.a rich and keenly -anticipated banquet, as the ])artition of his Lordshi])'3 
immense inheritance would furnish, should be secured, beyond doubt, by' 
the ravening partiznns of the " glorious Revolution. " Tlieir princi])ie, 
with reference to what would afibrd such ample and savoury " cutting 
■up," was— 

" This be the burden of our song, 
To day a stag must, die ! " f 

In noticing how the opulent Duke of Bedfoi-d would fare at the hands 
of the Fx-ench Jacobins — or rather how the French Jacobins wo dd fare 
at the expense of the opulent Duke of Bedford — if, alter effecting one 
"glorious Revolution" in France, they could have landed to elf'ecb 
another "glorious Revolution" in England — our great countryman, 
Edmund Burke, remarks, how, according to the maxims of such Revo- 
lutionists, " his Grace's landed possessions" would be " irresistibly 
inviting to an agrarian experiment" as " a downright insult upon the 
rights of man!" — while, as to any alleged claims of his Grace to those 
jiossessions, it was not to be imagined, that such " flimsy cobwebs" should 
'■ stand between the savages of the Revolution, and their natural prey !** 

• Memoire donn§ par un homme dii Comte O'Donnel a M. d'Avaux. 

+ The Clancarty arms disjJay a stag on the shiekl, as if in allusion to the " days 
of old," when the heads of that race had such iimple territory, iu South Mausteffj 
" to liuut the deer, with houud and horu." 



IN TIIK SKRVrCE OF FRANCE. 67 

Ar\i] so it was with iinfovturiMte Lord Claiicartv. o her "savages of 
the Revohition," and what they, in his case, regarded as " their natural 
jtrey !" Burke a(his of the Jacobin advocates for such a partition, at the 
cost of the English Duke — "the sans culotte carcase butchers, and tlie 
])hih)Sophers of the shambles, are pricking their dotted hnes npon his 
iiide, and, like the print of the poor ox that we see in the shop windows 
at Ciiaring-Cross, alive as he is, and thinking no harm in the world, he 
is divided into rumps, and sirloins, and briskets, and into all sorts of 
])ieces for roasting, boiling, and stewing!" Just, in fact, as the extensive 
possessions of the Irish Eiirl likewise caused him to be marked out for 
Williamite subdivision into several joints, on which othe7-s were to feed, 
to his ruin ! 

This confiscation-roaring party, as specially represented by the colonial, 
Ci'omweUo-Williamite, "glorious-revolution," or Whig Grand Jury of 
the County of Cork, exerted itself but too successfully to frustrate any 
]n'oposal in favour of the obnoxious, or Hiberno- Popish, Earl. Their 
learling advocate for this meriforioiis object was the Williamite Justice 
of the Court of Common Pleas in Ireland. Sir Richard Cox; who, having 
had the drawing up of the Declaration of William III. after his success 
at the Boyne, instead of endeavouring to end the war, as Wi/Jiam ivas 
inclined, by offering an amnesty for the past, excluded all the Irish 
Jacobites, with estates, from an// terms short of forfeiture, in order to 
make them persevere in resistance, v»ntil forced, as he hoped, to submit 
merely at discretion, or thus be all reduced to forfeit; who was conse- 
quently dissatisfied at the very different termination of the struggle, not 
by an/j submission at discretion, but by the regular Treaty, or Articles, 
at Limerick, that nullitied his scheme for such -A^^eneral forfeiture; and 
who, in fine, was under the influence of a two-fold, or national and 
sectarian animosity to the Irish, that cannot be better illustrated than 
by the reflection, which, in his work, called llihenda Anglicana, he 
connects with the execution of King Charles I., in 1649. "And now 
how gladly would I draw a curtain over tiiat dismal and unha])])y 30th 
of January, when the royal Father of our Coimtry suffered martyrdom. 
Oh: fJuU I c/inld sa.ij they were Irish iw^n that dkl tliat abominable fact, or 
thid I could, jnstly lay it at tlie door of the Papists!"* Cox was success- 
ful in ])is application to the prejudice of the unfortunate Earl, whose 
enormous landed spoils in Williamite " appi'opriation claws," gave rise 
to due j)olitical and legal joV)bing, at the expense of justice and humanity 
even to women ; or to such a with-holding even of the fair i)ecuniary 
claims of the female members of the family, on the property, for their sup- 
port, as reduced those unfortunate Ladies to great {privation and suffering. 
The printed Case of the Ladies Margaret, Catherine, and Elizabeth Mac 

* The pickings whi :h this land-robherj'-ad vocating gentleman had out of the estates 
of the Earl of Clancartyandof the Dul^e of York, or James 11., in Ireland, are adduced 
hy liiniself, in August, 1714, as due reasons for his attachment to the Hanoverian 
succession. "The part I have acted," he writes, "has heen jierfectly Hanoverian, 
as to the succession; and £400 p^r annum I have of Lord Clancarfifs forfeiture, 
and £150 per annvm mit of the. Duke of York'ti pi irate estate, are suffir'ient niotirfs 
t/iereunto." Of this bitter enemy of tlie old Ii-ish, nUve and dead, it may he added 
here, how, accordoig to Mr. Gilbert's History of Dul)lin, lie "availed himself of liia 
position, to imprison illegally, for a year, in Newgate, Hugh Mac Curtin, an Irish 
liistoriographer of the County of Clare, for having, in a treatise, published in 1717, 
exjxised the nnfo'jnded statements, whicn were ])romul:iated, in his Hrooiiiia 
Au-licana, reUtiv^a to the laws aa«i customs of the Iriah, previous to fcko EiigiisSt 
invasion. " 



68 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

CVi'tliy, dmighters of Callaglian, and sisters of Donnnijli, Earl of Olancart.y, 
addressed to the English Parliament, presents a melancholy picture of 
the state to which they were reduced, by this Willianiite seiziu'e of theT 
lirother's estate. Having, among other matters, set forth, how the 
Countess of Clancarty, their mother, was entitled to a sum of al^ve 
■£12,0(10, and each of themselves to a fortune of £-1:000, from thc'w 
)trothei-'s ])roperty, and how William's Queen, Mary, pitying their con- 
dition under the detention of this money, gave the Countess, in July, 
liiyy, a letter to receive by patent the larger sum from the forfeited 
testate, accompanied with assurances of the Countess's 3 daugliters being 
likewise paid, the document adds of William III.'s gras|)ing Dutch 
favourite, William Bentinck, whom he created Baron of Cirencester, 
Yiscount WotKlstock, and Earl of Portland. — "Bi.i, before the said 
Countess, or her said daughters, could have anij benetit of the said grants, 
or prevail to have the same pass the seals, the whole estate was granted to 
the Lord Woodstock, who had better success in passing patent, without 
nny, the least provision, for the said Countess or daughters, or any notice 
taken of her said grants, or of several caveates entered against the said 
Lord's passing patent of tlie said estate. The said Countess, having lived 
8ome years in misery, and being quite si)ent and fatigued by her solici- 
tation about this affair, and worried by creditors, wlio, upon the credit 
of this debt, advanced money for the managing and carrying on her .said 
business, and for the support of hei'self and her daughters: and seeing, 
by these disa))pointments, all her credit failing, and no way left to pay 
■what she owed, or to keep herself or her said daughters from the greatest 
distress and want, she died; leaving her said daughters in a most 
deplorable condition, w.ithout any, the least subsistence, and exposed to 
«ll the calamities, that can attend persons of their age, sex, and circum- 
stances. Therefore, the said Ladies, Margaret. J^lizabeth, and Catherine, 
being all Protestants, do humbly address themselves to tiie honor and 
justice of the great and wise Council, the Parliament of England, for 
relief, in their most dejilorable condition;" &c. "And," concludes the 
document, " the parties in this case have this farther to say for themselves, 
that they are so many innocent persons, and miserably necessitous, to the 
highest degree of distress; to which may be added, the consideration of 
their sex and quality; in all wdiich regards, over and above the equity <if 
their ])retentions, they ho]>e to be found proper objects of Christian 
ciiarity, humanity, and common justice." lu the "Report made to the 
Honourable House of Commons, December loth, 1699, by the Com- 
missioners appointed to Enquire into the Forfeited Estates of Ireland," 
Ave find, among other extravagant grants of such lands, from Williaoi IlL 
to his foreign favourites, — " To William Bimtinck, Esq., commonly called 
Lord Woodstock, 135,820 acres of land." And how anxious tjiis Dutch 
patentee was to wring all he could out of the property he had gotten into 
his ])o.ssession, before such unjustifiable grants of William could be 
resumed, as they afterwards weiv, by Parliament, ap[)ears in another part 
of the Report, or that respecting the enormous waste perpetrated on the 
forfeited estates, by felling the woods, in order to turn the trees, as 
quickly as possible, into ready money. On this hoad, the Report ol)serves, 
~ '-The waste on the woods of the late Earl of Clancarty 's estate, now iu 
gr.int to the Lord Wood.stock, is computed at £27, 000" — adding in illus- 
tration of such waste, how, " indeed so liasty have several of the Grantees, 
or tiieir Agents, been in the d';;^position of the forfeited woods, that vast 



IN THE SERVICE OP FRANCE, G9 

■numbers of trees have been cut and sold for not above 6 pence a piece!"* 
Thus, tlu'v, who were so unfortunate as to have incumbrances on 
such properties, were, like the Ladies Clancarty, kejit out of their just 
(hiinis, or reduced to poverty; and we read of the forfeited estates in 
Ireland having been so much deteriorated in value before they could lie 
resumed by Parliament, that, when finally sold, they realized iiothino; 
like what was expected, towards defraying the great expense of tlie Irisli 
Avar! The audacious begging, by the above-mentioned Bentiuck, L ud 
Woodstock, Earl of Portiaud, &c., from William, in 1695, of the Loivl- 
ships of Denbigh, Bronifield, and Yale, with other lands in the Priuri- 
jiality of Wales, the ancient demesnes of its Princes, and William's 
monstrous grant, also, of such a territory and revenue to his favourite, 
until obliged, by the English Parliament, to recall that j)resent, constitutes 
a portion of English histoiy. But the foreigner, though compelled to 
disgorge in England, was left "ample room and verge enough," to till his 
pockets, from the devastation and misery of Irdaiid! At ail events, 

" What a king onght not, that he cannot give, 
And what is more than meet for princes' bounty 
Is jiltuider, not a grunC — Young. 

Of the exih^d Earl Donough, my English aiithority says, — "This 
unfortunate noVdeman retired to Hamburgh, on tlie Ell)e; and, of the 
citizens of Altena," or Altona, "on the same river, (which Vielongs to 
Denmark, though but h:Jf a mile from Hamburgh,) purchased a little 
island, in th-e mouth of the Elbe, which went by his own name. There 
he built a convenient dwelling-house, with a range of store-houses, and 
formed a convenient plan of an useful garden. In this place, he made 
great profit by shipwrecks that drove on shore; vtot like tlie robbers on 
oiir coasts in England, thit wish as much for a storm, as our farmers do 
for a good harvest,'' and " who will sooner murder tlie unfortunate wretches^ 
that tlieg may plunder at pleasure, than assist them. But this unfortunate 
nobleman gave the distressed all the assistance in his power; saviug the 
lives of many; taking them from the arms of death; and, by proper 
remedies, restoring them to life. With the same assiduous care, he 
endeavourod to save their vessels from a wreck, when the fore-.ninitione t 
hrutes loill murder, to make one. All this gentleman's profit arose Imm 
those goods that were tlu'owu upon the coast of his little island, whicli 
he carefully placed in his store-house; and, if demanded by the true 
owners within the year, he honestly returned them, receiving only 2 per 
cent, for store-room ; if not, he made use of them as his own. When my 
brother and I were at Hamburgh, in our travels home last year," con- 
cludes this fair English writer, " our Consul there, Sir C 1 W h, 

took us in his yacht to view this island; and, from that worthy gentle- 
man, I had this account." t Under King George I., or in 17-1, Earl 

* As an additionally-flagrant instance of such " eeneral waste committeil on tlie 
forfeited woods" in Ireland, the iieporfc mentions that, on the Kenmare estate, in 
Kerry, "where, to the value of £'20,00L> has," it says, "been cut down, and 
destroyed! " 

+ A Tour tlirouiih Ireland in several Entertaining Letters, Avlierein the Present 
State of tliat Kingdom is considered; and the most noted Cities, Towns, Seats, 
IMvers, Bu Idin-s, &o., are described. Interspersed with Observations on the 
Maimers. Customs, Aiiti(|uifcies, Curiosities, and Natural History of that Country," 
&r., " by 2 English geufcleuien. Dublin: Fiiuced for Peter VVilaoa, Bookaellor in 
Uame-slreet. 1 74S. 



70 IIISTOIIY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

Donou^h's attaiiidf-r was reversed, and liis hoiiciurs restored. But lie 
remained abroad till liis deatli, which occurred at Prals-Hoff, in tliH 
territory of Hanibnrnh, September 19th, 1734. His titles and a]»|)oint- 
ments under King James II., in Ireland and France, were " Eail of 
Clancarty, Viscount of Muskerry, and Baron of Blarney, Lord of the 
Bedchamber, Lord Lieutenant or Civil and Military Govei-nor of the 
County of Cork, Clerk of the Crown and Peace for the Province of 
Munster, Colonel of a Royal Regiment of Foot Guards, Captain of the 
2nd Troop of Horse Guards, and Brigadier-General t>f Infantry." The 
Earl's death was regretted abroad and at home by his countrymen of 
the race and religion to which he belonged. Of those abroad, Janie.s 
jVIac Geoghegan, author of ^'■Qeuvres Melees en Latin, Anglois, et Fram^nis 
SHI' Divers Sujets, ea Prose et en Vers" printed at Haml>urgh, in 1730^ 
and dedicated to his Lordship, comp(Jsed an elegy on his patron's decease, 
soon after its occurrence, and ])ublished it the same year, 1734, at 
Hamburgh. Of those at home, Eoghan or Owen Mac Carthy, a gentle- 
man of the Earl's own tribe and district, and a good Gaelic poet, in a 
song to the praise of the river Lee, which flows through Cork, does iif)t 
conclude, without an ajtpropriate allusion to the fall of the great head of 
his clan. After dwelling upon the beauties of the country along 



Le adds- 



" That river, so sliinina;. so sni'ioth, 

8u fam'd both fur watera ami shore," 

" And yet tho' the noliles, and jiriests, 

And (xaels, of both lii^h and low i-anks, 
Tell tales, and induli^e in ^ay feasts, 

On its dark -green and flowery banks, 
I mourn for the great who are gone — 

And who met Viy the Lee long ago — • 
Bat viDntfor the Church's trwi son. 
Who now in Altuna lias low.'" 

By his estimable English Lady, who accompanied him into banish- 
TTienr,, and died abroad in June, 1704, the Earl's son Robert, Lord. 
Muskerry, Commodore in the British navy, was his successor in the title 
of Clancarty, as he should also have been in tho family estates. These 
hail been so secured by Donough's marriage-settlement, that no alleged 
■ie.hell\on or treason, on his part, in supporting King James II. against the 
iu-vulutionists, even admitting the snpi'oi't of the King to have really 
X^i't'w rebellion m' treason, c<m\iX legally affect more than Donough's life- 
interest in such estates; and his marriage having taken place in 1G84, 
any children he might have had by that marriage down to any period of 
the War of the Revolution in Ireland, (from 1688 to 1691,) would 
necessarily be of such a ''tender age" then, as to be quite incapable of 
rebellion or treason; and therefoi-e equally inca])able of being subjecteil 
to any forleiture of ])roperty, for offences of which they could not be 
adjudged guilty. Robert, Lord Muskerry, who, on his succession, by 
his lather's death, to the title of Earl of Clancarty, was in command of a 
fillip of war off" the coast of Xewfonndland, consequently returned to 
Europe, to endeavour to recover his property in Ireland. The intiuence 
which existed for the purpose was vi^ry considerable. The Earl's sister, 
J/ady Charlotte Mac Carthy, was married to John West, 1st Earl de hi 
"W'arr. created, in 172"), Lord of the Bedchamber to King George I., and 
Ki]i;^ht of the Batb; and, iu 1731, appointed Treasurer of tlie House- 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 71 

hold, and a Member of the Privy Connci], to King George IT. Savah, 
Duchess of Marlborough, (widow of the celebrated John (Jhurcliill, Duke 
of Marlborougli,) whose sister, the Duchess of Tyrconuell, suffered so 
much by the Revolution in Ireland, and who, through the common 
union of the Marlborough and Clancarty families by marriage with that 
of Sunderland, sympathized with the Earl of Clancarty as a connexion, 
or relative, likewise agreed to furnish him with money, for the attain- 
ment of his rights. Cardinal Fleury, too. Prime Minister of France, 
made use of such interest with Sir Robert Walpole's administration, 
that the British Cal)inet were indiiced, in 1735, to countenance a 
measure, for the restoration of the Earl to his confiscated estates; at 
that time producing, according to the English Lord Primate of Ireland, 
Dr. Boultei-, the noble income of j£GO,000 a year. But the landed spoils 
of the Earldom of Clancarty had fallen into so many hands, that the idea 
of any thing like a restoration of those spoils excited a great consterna- 
ti<m and clamour in Ireland, not mei'ely among such as were livin"- 
upon the immediate spoils of the Earldom, but among the existing 
"ascendancy" there in general, owing to the injurious effects which such 
a precedent as any restoi-ation of confiscated lands might have upon the 
recently-acquired fortunes of a colonial proprietary, " 2-3ds " of whose 
estates, according to the remonstrance oi tlieir advocate. Primate Boulter, 
to the British Cabinet, " were Popish forfeitures originallv." On this 
closer, or inore "English-interest," view of the matter, the London 
Ministry became alarmed, and left Lord Clancarty to such redress as he 
could obtain by law from the dominant T^epresentatives of that "interest," 
or the so-called "glorious Revolution," in Ireland. " The law," says my 
legal authority, Mr. O'Conor, with respect to the Earl, " was clear in his 
favour. A minor at the Revolution, he was incapable of treason; and 
he claimed under a marriage settlement, which placed his title beyond 
the reach of attaint. Witli this incontestible title, he brought an eject- 
ment; but met an insuperable obstacle, in the unconstitutional, un- 
exampled interference of Parliament. By a resolution of tlie Common^, 
all Barristers, S )licitors, Attornet/s, or Proctors, tliat should be concerned 
for 1dm, were voted public enemies. His Loj-dship's cause was, in con- 
sequence, abandoned." His situation, on this occasion, was, in fact, no 
better than that of " one," as the national saying expresses it, " goinx/ to 
law loith the Devil, and the Court in Hell I " It was only natural, that 
the splendid birth-right, which he liad been deprived of by shameless 
robbery, should be detained from him by as shameless injustice. 

" Crowns bought by blood must be by blood maintain'd !" — Shakspeare. 

The despoiled Earl, though feeling as we may so easily imagine he felt, 
yet remained, from expediency, in the English navy for some years, or 
till after the breaking out of the war in 1741, when he was promoted 
to the command of a 1st rate vessel. By this time, the rankling i-eflec- 
tion of what he onli/ was then, compared with what he had been boi-ii 
to — his attachment, as a Tory, to the House of Stuart, deprived of tlieir 
kingdoms, as he was of his immense estate, for the loyalty of his father 
to their interest — and the prospect of the Stuarts making an attempt on 
England, diu-ing the existing contest, in order to effect their " restora- 
tion " to royalty, through which alone he could hope for a recovery of 
his birth-i-ight — caused him to throw u[) his commarid under the 
Hanoverian reyinie, pass into France, and actively connect himself with 



72 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

the cause of the exiled Royal Family. There, during the enterprise of 
Prince Charles ill Britain, or November 8th, 1745, we find his Lordship 
with the Prince's brother, Prince Henry, Duke, and subsequently 
Cardinal, of York, writing thus, trom Paris, to their father, as King 
James III. of England and Ireland, and VIII. of Scotland. " In my 
opinion, things have a very favorable aspect. I hope, and believe, the 
French are in earnest. His lloyal Higliness, the Duke, dispatched (4 
days since) the same person that was in England in May last, by whom 
I have, in concert with my Lord Marischal," Keith, " wrote to the 
people attached to your Majesty's cause, as was the desire of the French 
Mini.stry. We have sent for a person, who is a gentleman of estate and 
worth, and entirely devoted to your Majesty, and of great weight and 
interest with the party. I expect him in 3 week.s, and, so soon as h« 
arrives, I hope we shall embark, and, by what I know of the dispositions 
of the |)eople, I make no doubt, if it ])lease God that we debarque the 
troops in safety, (of which, I think there is no great hazard,) but that 
his Royal Highness will carry his point. I most humbly beg leave to 
assure your Majesty, that nothing shall ever be wanting, on my part, to 
manifest how profoundly and zealously I shall ever be. Sir, your Majesty's 
most dutiful, most loyal, and most devoted subject, and servant." The 
year after Prince Charles's overthrow at Culloden, or March 2Gth, 1747, 
the Pi-ince, notifying his design of being "absolutely in private" at 
Paris, while endeavouring to bring the French Ministers "to reason, iff 
possible," as regards a new invasion of Britain ; and likewise observing, 
of himself and his adherents, how they "must leave no stone unturned, 
and leave the rest to Providence;" then adds, in writing to Lord 
Clancarty — "Iff you have anything to lett me know of, you have only 
to write to me under cover to young Waters, who will always know 
where to find me. At present, I have nothing more particular to add 
so remain, assuring you anew of my particular reganle and friendship." 
In the Hanoverian or Georgeite edict of ])i-oscription designated an "Act 
of hi(/einhiti/," passed in June, 1747, and purporting to pardon, with 
what are termed " certain exce])tions," all persons engaged in the i-ecent 
contest f(u- the restoi'ation of the Stnarts— but these exceptions being so 
numerous as to dive.st the Act in question of any ])retension " to the 
cliaracter of gr-ace or favoui%" since, in addition to so many already 
attainted by Act of Parliament, judgment, conviction, verdict, confession, 
or otherwise, above 80 })ersons were specially condemned by name — the 
2nd of those denounced was " Robert Maccarty, styling himself Lord 
Clancarty." 

According to a curious account of the Earl in Walker's Hibernian 
Magazine for 1796,* his situation in France, when considered as that of 
the adherent to a defeated cause, and of a disinherited exde, was, on the 
whole, as good as could be expected: including due military rank, a 
distinguished position at Court, and privileges of the higher class of 
nobility. He, nevertheless, was rendered ludiappy by the recollection 
of his past misfortunes. Regretting, also, his banishment from England, 

* The article referred to is in the muiilicr for July, and is commented on by 
another writer in the number for Aui;ust. The paraj^rajihs I take from tlie former 
are sometimes given by me in a ditierent or what has seemed a better order, than 
that observed in the originaL Several statements, too, have Ijeen collected, 
abridged, or moditied, where it appeared requisite, irom other authurit.es, or 
■siiijcrior iiiformutioii. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE, 73 

■whore, having V)een born, he would have preferred to reside ; and, though 
iiuable to return there, yet being desirous, he said, "to live and die in 
sight of it," he removed from Versailles, to settle at Boulogne-sur-mer. 
A widower by the decease of his 1st Lady, a Miss Jane Piyer, daughter 
of Captain Piyer of Gosport, County of Southampton, he, at the advanced 
age of G3, married a young wife, who biought him 2 sons; and to whom 
he is stated to have been " veiy much attached, by every tic of aftection 
and esteem." But, in this tie, a new and deep mortitication, "the 
unkindest cut of all," awaited him. "Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, 
on her death, left him a legacy of £20,000; and, as he could not go 
over in person to receive this legacy, he sent his dearly-beloved wife, with 
full powers to act for him. The executors of the Duchess fulfilled her 
(trace's request, and paid the money to Lady Clancarty. But, alas! 
under this temptation she fell. Such a sum offered independence, and 
jileasures," a]iart "from the controul of her Lord; and she was base 
enough to ])refer those to her duty. In short, she remained in England; 
and, tliougii letter after letter fmin the Earl entreated her to come back, 
and be forgiven, they never met afterwards. This was a finishing blow 
to his misfortunes; "he felt more the loss of her affection than the money; 
and he proved it by his continued attachment to her children." The 
Earl resided in a chateau on the skirts of the town of Boulogne. His 
pension from the King of France amounted to £1000 per annum, 
" exempt from wine-duties, postage, itc ; and, as the articles of life were 
then very reasonable, his income enabled him to live with splendour, 
and hospitality. Every Thursday was his open day for a select party of 
the inhabitants to dine with him ; who generally were composed of as 
many English gentlemen, as were either resident, or pa.ssing through the 
town; and to them he paid particular compliment, except when English 
2)olitics became the subject of conversation. Here he sometimes forgot 
the decencies of his rank, and situation as a host, — but, as the com])any 
genei-ally knew the liistory of his misfortunes, they boi-e everything with 
good humour. To the.se days of meeting his friends and mighbours, he 
added another, which could not be positively fixed, but happened generally, 
once in 3 weeks, or a month ; and that was a club dinner at his countryman 
O'Doherty's, who ke]>t Le Lion Ei,uge, in that town. On these days, 
there was a lai'ge round of ox-beef, brought over from Leaden-Hall 
Market by one of the Boulogne packets, ready salted, and this was 
served up boiled, entirely in the English fashion. To this was added 2 
courses in the French style; and, for this dinner, with as much Burgundy, 
Champagne, and other liquors, as the company could drink, (such vxis 
the cheapness of living in France) the reckoning amounted to no moie 
tlian 6 livres per head. At these meetings, his Lordship always ])re- 
sided, and was partic\darly convivic\l. He enquired, with obliging 
attention, after the healths of the persons present, and their families; 
gave his eye, and ear, to everybody around him; told his stories very 
])]easantly; and generally finislied the eveuiijg, in an oblivion of all his 
foi-mer cares and misfortunes." As for the Eai'l's disengaged evening.s, 
he mostly pas.sed them "at O'Doherty's Hotel, where he selected 1 or 2 
of the townsmen to drink a bottle with him. In these lounges, he \sas 
fond of some butt, on whom he could let olf his wit and sarcasms — and 
Monsieur Jacques, (a partner of O'Doherty'.s, and a shrewd, humorous 
IVtilow,) always undertook this character with great readiness. The Earl 
lo\ed his bottle, as well as joke, and, as the latter generally encouraged 



74 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

a repetition of tlie former, Monsieur Jacques, at a certain hour of the 
iiit(ht, did not lose siglit of liis knowled,2;e of multiplicatioit, in the reclcon- 
ing. This the Earl knew very well, tliov.gh he blinked at it, and some- 
times used to say — ' Well, Jacques, though I joke ujwn your head, yovi 
are even with me, for you score upon iniae most damnably.' ... In 
this sim])le, uniform life, his Lordship passed the remainder of his days, 
veiy vigorous, both in body and mind, to the last. He died, after a few 
days' illness, at his cliateau, about the year 1770, in the 84th year of his 
age; leaving 2 sons, who were very little better provided for, than having 
commissions in the army." 

The Earl "was, in his person, about the middle size; stout-made, 
long-visaged, pock-marked, and, until he softened in the civilities of cun- 
versation, had rather an austere and haughty look." He had lost tlie^ 
sight of 1 of his eyes, having, in the younger or wilder period of his 
career, one night given the lie direct to the infamous Duke of Wharton; 
M'ho, in consequence, flung a bottle of claret at him, thereby occasioning- 
the injiuy mentioned. It is asserted of the Earl in the Magazine, that 
"his Lordship always owned the justice of his punishment"- — though, as 
an Irish Peer, and I may add, as a British naval officer, it will nut be 
believed, that this was all he did, in connexion with the matter— but, 
at any rate, could obtain nothing in the way of "])ersonal satisfaction" 
from such au unblushing compound of the bully and the poltroon — such a 

" Monster, mix'd of insolence and fear, 
A dog in forehead, but in lieait a deer! " — 

Pope's H.,mer, llkid f., 297-298. 

as W^harton. "He wanted personal courage," writes Dr. William King 
of Oxford respecting Wharton, which " would ])i-obably have been con- 
cealed, if he had been a sober man. But he drank immoderately, and 
was very a6^f6•^^'e, and .sometimes vi^xy mischievous, in his wine; so that 
lie dreiv on Jilniself frequent chcdlenges, tvhich he tvouJd NEVER answer! " 
The Earl, "though not very highly educated, had a .strong, observing 
mind, lo\ed,"as has been shown, "the ])leasures of the table, and con- 
tributed very considerably to them himself, by his wit, and humour." In 
tli<^ early portion of his life, " lie was a visiting member of the famous 
Saturday Club, established by Lord Oxff)rd in Queen Anne's reign, con- 
sisting of most of the leading Tories of that time, and which Swift so 
much celebrated in his Journal, Letters, etc. . . . The Earl was likewise 
an acquaintance of Swift, and he always coincided with Lord Oirery, in 
thinking tlie Dean was not wliolly entrusted with the secrets of Oxford's 
Ministi'y.* Tlie Saturday Club, he said, as it appeared to him, was 
merely convivial and literary, and when juditics were introduced, they 
were no more than the rej)orts, or the published news, of the day. He 
acknowledged the Ministers paid great court to Swift, as likewise most 
men of the Club. . . . He disci-editeil the assertions of Swift and 
Bolingbroke — 'That Queen Anne's last Ministry had no thonghts* of 
bi-inging in the Pretender, in bar to the Hanoverian succession.' He 
said, he knew to the contrary, and that the tirst of the quarrel between 
Oxford and Bolingbroke was upon that head — the latter Mantiiig to 
])iisli that matter forward with expedition, and the other Wcivering 

• Or. it would s^cm, among tliose "secrets," tJiat of the correspondence for con- 
tinuinjf the royal fciiccession, after Queeu Axiue's decease, in the pei-sou of her 
bidther, as ,bunes 111. 



IN TIIK SK1!VICE OF FRANCE. 75 

lietweeii the danger and the impracticability of it. Had the Queen 
lived a little longer, Bolingbroke would have attempted it alone.* . . . 
He alwaj's spoke on this point with warmth, and," I'emarks the Georgeite 
wi-jter of this nar'i'ative, "in such terms as were not so pleasant for a 
Britisli subject to hear. . .• . The Duke of Ornumd was anotlier of his 
contemporary friends, of whom he always spoke, as a noblenuui of the 
highest honour and integrity, and with whom he corresponded till the 
Duke's death, which ha])pened at Avignon," in 1745. "He always 
spoke of !?;irali, Duchess of Marlborough, with great res])ect, and pro- 
fessed his obligations to her, V)oth for the share she had in lier protection 
of him, and education. . . . He, however, totally disliked her politics — 
she was a Whig — and the Earl, from ])rinciple, as well as the bias which 
his misfortunes gave hinj, was a rank Tory, or, in the language of that 
day, a Jacobite." Throiigh his grandmother, jirevious to her marriage, 
Lady Elizahetli Fitz-Grei'ald, the Earl " was allied to the Leinster family," 
and used to call James, 20th Earl of Kildare, and 1st Duke of Leinster, 
" when only Earl of Kildare, his cousin ; but, no sooner did he hear of 
his being created a Duke, than he renounced the relationship in great con- 
tenif)t" — as, it appears, a connexion with one, who had dishonouied the 
antiquity, &c., of his race so much, in accejjting a Dukedom from such a 
reprehensible or Hanoverian source. The " original estates in L-eland," 
of which, through the ^^ glorious Revolution," or dominant Whiggery, 
the Earl of Olancarty was so scandalously I'obbed, " were, \ipon a loose 
calculation 20 years ago," concludes my authoi-ity in 1796, "supposed to 
be worth £150,000 per year ; and, perhaps, now, what from the rise of 
lands, and the cultivation they may have undergone by the industiy of so 
manyditferent families, may be worth £200,000 ; whilst his 2 sons, if living, 
have, perhaps, little moi-e than their commissions, in the French service, 
to support them." We know no more of those 2 sons than is here 
stated; so that, in the person of their father — additionally alluded to by 
his venerable contemporary, Charles O'Conor of Belanagare, as "a noble- 
nuin of the strictest probity, a sea-otficei' of the greatest valour and ex- 
jjerience," and his unjust treatment as "the hard fate of one wortliy of 
a better- — the Earldom of C'lancarty, as a dignity denoting the head of 
the great sept, or name, of Mac Carthy, may be said to disa])pear from 
history. Of the Irish Brigade, in the naticmal Regiments of Lee, 
Dorrington, Roth, Clare, Berwick, Walsh, there were Mac Carthys 
officers, including various Clievaliers of St. Louis, down to the Revolution 
under Louis XVI. The heads of the eminent branch of Mac Carthy 
" Reagh," from Spring-House, in the County of Tippei-ary, have also 
flouri.vhed in France with the honours of French nobility, heightened by 
those of literary taste and military rank, down to the present century. 
Nor have other Mac Carthys been without distinction in the services of 
the 2 kingdoms of the Iberian peninsula, and that of Austria. 

The Duke of Berwick was Captain of the 1st Troop of Guards, as 
long as it was kept up in France. After the Peace of Ryswick in 161J7, 
a great reform or reduction, among the Irish troo[)s in France, being 
resolved upon, the remains of the Ii-ish Life Guard, amounting to no 
ni<u-e than 105 men, were broken up, as such, in February, 1098, and 
drafted into the corps, successively known as the Royal Irisli Regiment, 

* The niaoazine writer adds here, "thoncrh not with proViaV)le success." la 
rffutatiou, 111) v\ ever, ot such an evident Uick to what tlie Earl reul/ij said, see 
the concliuliu^ purtion of Book V., connected with tlie Queen's death, &,c. 



76 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

or the King's Foot Gimnls, commanded by a veteran of the Irish wars 
and subsequent Continental campaigns, Colonel William Dorriiigton. 
]n tliis regiment, those lOo survivors of the Horse Guards remained 
until 1701, wlien they were attaclied to the Duke of Berwick's Irisli 
Infantry Regiment, as Cad-ts, with high pay, and thus continued, until 
they became extinct in 1710. 



THE KING'S AND QUEEN'S REQIMENTS OF HORSE. 

Tliese 2 horse regiments wei-e organized fr-oin the remains of 9 cavalry 
regiments of the Irish army — namely, Tyrcontiell's, Galinoy's, Lucan's, 
Siithei-land's, Luttrell's, Abercoiii's, Westmeath's, Purcell's, and O'Brien'* 
— that came over from Ireland to France. The 2 regiments each con- 
sisted of 2 squadrons; each squadron of 3 troops; each troop of 50 
privates; each regiment, with its 2 squadrons, or 6 troo])s, consequently 
mustering 300 ]irivates, and the 2 regiments 600. The officers to both 
corps were comparatively few down to the period of the list of them by 
Abbe MacGeogliegan, or 1695. In the King's, or " Regiment du Roi, 
Cavaloie," tliey were — " Dominick Sheldon, Colonel — Edmond Prender- 
gast, Lieutenant-Colonel — Edmond Butler, Major — 4 Cayitains — 6 Lieu- 
tenants — 6 Cornets." In the Queen's, or " Regiment de la Reine, 
Cavalerie," they were — "L<n-d Galmoy, Colonel — Rene de Came, (a 
Frenchman,) Lieutenant-Colonel — James Tobin, Major — 4 Captains — 6 
Lieutenants — 6 Cornets."* Thus each of these regiments of 300 
i^irivates, having 19 officers, would, so far, consist of 319 men; and both 
regiments would be 638 strong. But the officers being subsequently 
increased to 72 per regiment.t each of these corps of 300 troopers and 
72 officers was 372, and both 744 strong. The Colonel of the 1st, or 
King's Regiment, Dominick Sheldon, was an officer of experience; 
having first served in the army of Louis XIV. on the Continent, and 
aft-erwards in that of James II. through the whole of the War of the 
Rovolution in Ireland. The Colonel of the 2nd, or Queen's Regiment, 
was Pierce Butler, (originally Le Botiler) 3rd Lord Galmoy, who also 
served with distinction through the wdiole of the latter war. The 2 
corps were under the command of these Colonels during tlie contest 
teiniinated by the Peace of Ryswick, in September, 1 697. In the 
extensive reduction which occui-red among the Irish troops in France, 
early in 169<S, the King's and Queen's Regiments of Horse, or, as they 
were likewise styled from their Colonels, SkeldoiCs and Galmuys, were 
broken into 1 Irish Regiment of Horse, to consist of 2 squadrons. Of 
this, Hominick Sheldon was made the Colonel, and Lord Gctlmoy was 
elsewliere {provided for, as Colonel of an Irish Regiment of Lifantry. 
Of Sheldon, an account will be found under the head of his new Regiment 
of Horse, next that of Nugent, and finally that of Fitz-James. Of Lord 
(Jalmoy, a similar notice will be given, in connexion with his Regiment 
of Infantry. 

* It would seem that, in these 2 Regiments of Horse, the Colonel was without 
a special troop; the Lieutenant-Colonel and Major making 2 Captains, in addition 
to the 4 eniuiierated, in order that each of the 6 troops might have a Cajitain. 

t The very considerable augmentation of officers here, as iu the other Irish corps, 
from 1095, would ap])ear to have arisen from an increased ne(;essity to provide, m 
that cipacity, for the number of unfortiuiate gentlemen, who hecanie more aiid 
nujie the victims ot the Revolution, and its various disastrous results tor Ireland. 



IN THE SERVICE OP FRANCE. 77 



THE KING S EEOIMEXT OF DI8M0UXTED DRAGOONS. 

This corjDs was a modiHcution of one formed in Ireland, so early as 
16^5. It was called the Earl of Limerick's Dragoons, from William 
Dongan, (commonly, though erroneously, spelled Dungan,) Earl of 
Limerick, who was its Colonel, till the spring of 1689. The Earl, who, 
from his advanced period of life, and the bad state of his health, was 
nnfitted for the active military exertion that would be required in the 
Avarm contest which was then approaching, about the middle of A])ril 
that year, resigned his command ; and the Colonelship of the regiment 
was transferred to his son, the Lord Walter Dongan. The family of 
Dongan, distinguisherl, in the 17th century, by its extensive landed 
property, high connexions, and honourable civil and militaiy posts, was 
equally remarkable for its loyalty to the Crown in the Parliamentarian 
and Cromwellian wars, and its adherence to the St\iarts, during their 
exile on the Continent, after the execution of King Charles I. It was 
among the few Irish families who wei'e restored to their etates, when 
Monarchy was re-established, under King Charles IL In 108.5, its head, 
William Dongan, was created, by King James IL, Viscount Dongan of 
Claine, in the County of Kildare, and Earl of Limerick. His Lordship 
was also made a Member of the Royal Privy Council for Ireland, Lord 
Lieutenant of the County of Kildare, and Governor of the Province of 
Mnnster; and, upon the breaking out of the Revolution, he adhered to 
King James, and sat in the House of Lords of the Parliament convened 
b}' that Monarch in Dublin, in 1689. After the loss of his only son, 
(hereafter more particularly noticed,) at the Boyne. the Earl pi-oceeded, 
with the rest of the Irish Jacobites, to Limerick. He was, consequently, 
attainted by the Revolutionists, or Williamites, in April, 1691; but, 
coiitinuing stedfast to the royal cause, retired to France. There, Captain 
Peter Drake, of Drakerath, in the County of Meath, his exiled relative, 
(and whose father, the Eai-1, before the Revolution, had appointed, at 
Limerick, 1 of the Commissioners of Customs, and Chief Comptroller of 
the Mint,) speaks warmly of his Lordship's good nature; mentioning 
him, in the year 1694, as "my best friend, William, Earl of Limerick, 
who took nie to his house, and there supported me;" and, in 1696, it is 
added, sent him, with a recommendation for a military provision, to 
Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander Barnwell, of the Queen's Regiment of 
Dragoons, commanded by Colonel Oliver O'Gara; and then forming part 
of the French army of Catalonia, under the Duke of Vendome. By 
following his banished Sovereign to France, rather than acknowledge the 
revolutionary govei^nment by remaining in Ireland, the Earl of Lin)erick 
forfeited a noble estate, in the Counties of Kildare, Dublin, Carlow, 
Meath, Kilkenny, Longford, Tipperaiy, and Queen's County, containing 
2(),48U acres, beside house-property in the City of Dublin, and many- 
tithes; all which, (and much viovp,) were granted, as a reward for his 
successes against the Irish, to the Dutch Lieutenant-General, Baron de 
Ginkell, created Earl oi Athlone, and Baron of Aghiim. or Aughriin. 

Under King James's administration in Ireland, the Earl of Limerick's 
Sim, Lurtl Walter Dongan, held by Deputy and Sub-Deputy, the civil 
situatiuu of Clerk of the Common Pleas in the Irish Court of the 
Exchequer; was, with Charles White, Esq., of Leixlip Castle,* 1 of the 

* " Aiiionf,' the different fninilies of the Whites," in Irclaml, alleges Abbe Mac 
Gcogliegciii, " that of Leixlip was the most celebrated, as well for its virtues, as its 



78 HISTOHY OP THE IRISH BRIGADES 

Meniliers for the Boroiif^rli of Naas, in the County of Kili]are, in the 
Parliament of 1689; and, in the national army, Colonel of the Regiment 
of Dragoons Viearing hi,s name. The regiment was part of the small Irish 
force, despatcheil early in 1689, by King James's government, against the 
Eevolutioni.sts of Ulster. With that force, it assisted to beat the superior 
numbers of the Williamites out of the field into Derry; was at the 
lilockade of that place; and, after the disembarkation of the Prince of 
Orange's commander, the Mai'shal Duke of Scluniberg, in Ulster, and his 
advance to Dundalk, is noticed, in the Irish official account, as one of 
the best cavalry regiments in the army, by which that campaign was 
brought to its miserable termination on the side of the invaders. Next 
year, 1690, the regiment were at the engagement of the Boyne, where 
the death of their Colonel, by a cannon-ball, as they were coming into, 
acti(m, produced such depi'essiug effects u[)ou them, that King James, ia 
his account of the conduct of the Irish cavalry there, which, with the 
exception of tiiese and the Clare dragoons, he describes as excellent, says 
— ''Lord Dungan being slaine, at their first going on, by a great shot, 
liis dragoons could not be got to doe anything." His Lordship's body 
was conveyed from the field to the family mansictn of his father, the Earl 
of Limerick, at Castletown, near Celbridge, in the County of Kildare; 
where, on the retreat of the Jacobite troops from Dublin to Linaerick, 
the day after the battle was devoted to the ceremony of the funeral; the 
trooj)s, on the next, resuming their joui-ney to the south.* 

Lord Walter Dongan was succeeded, in command of the regiment, by 
his relative, Walter Nugent; descended from the old French or Norman 
race of the Nugents, through the respectable branch of Moyrath and 
Dardistown, in the County of Meath. The father of Walter Nugent, 
Francis Nugent, Esq., of Dardistown, was the 2nd son of Sir Thomas 
Nugent, Baronet; and his mother was the Lady Bridget Dongan, sister 
of William Dongan, Earl of Limerick. Of this marriage, 3 sons wei'e 

o]nilence, magnificence, and illustrious alliances." In the reign of James II., 
Charles White, Escj., of Leixlip, was a Menilier of the Royal Privy Council of 
Ireland— a Deputj' Lieutenant to William Dongan, Earl of Limerick, as Lord- 
Lientenant for the County Kildare — joint Meinher, with Lord Walter Dongan. the 
Earl s son, for the Borough of Naas, in the Irish Parliament of 1(389 — Clerk of the 
First Fruits and Twentieth Parts in the Irish Court of Exchequer — ami Captain of 
au Indeiiendent Troop or Company, in the Irish army. Of the baronial residence 
of tliis family, or the Castle of Leixlip, an interesting notice, in 1840, alkulLUg to 
that editice as so "magnificently situated on a stee]> and ricldy-woided bank over 
the Lififey," &c., states — " This Castle is supposed to have been erected, in the reign 
of Henry II., by Adam de Hereford, one of the chief followers of F]arl Stronghow, 
from whom he received, as a gift, the tenement of the Salmon Leap, and other 
extensive possessions. It is said to have been the occasional i-esidence of Prince 
John, during his governorship of Ii'eland," or i-ather of the Anglo-Norman sMle- 
nieijts in Ireland, " in the reign of his father ; and, in i-ecent times, it was a favourite 
retreat of several of the Viceroys." 

• According to legal documents connected with the family of Dongan, William 
Dongan, Earl of Limerick, died in 1G98, without leaving issue ; in consecpience of 
the death of his son. Lord Walter Dongan, Colonel of Dragoons, at the Boyne, in 
lb!)0. The title of Earl of Limerick then came to Colonel Thomas Dongan, lirother 
of Earl William. Thomas, under the will of his father, Sir John Dongan, Baronet, 
inherited an estate in the Queen's County, and served in the army of Louis XIV., 
tdl 1(578, as Colonel of an Irish Kegiment, "worth to him above £5000 per annum." 
He had from Charles II. a life-pension of £500 a year; was made Lieutenant- 
(Jovei-nor of Tangier in Morocco; and subsetpiently Governor of New York in 
America. The title of Earl of Limerick ceased, in the Dongan family, m December, 
1715. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 79 

officers of eminence ; (Mii-iwlopher, attaining tlie rank of Lieutenant- 
Colonel of Horse under King James II., and of MmJ or- Gen era I of 
Cavalry in France, of whom moiv, at laige, farther on ; Patrick, after 
serving as Captain in Lord Dongan's Dragoons, becoming Lieutenant- 
Colonel to the Duke of Beiwick's Regiment in Fi'ance ; and Walter, 
(who was the elder brother of Patrick) succeeding, as Colonel, to liis 
cousin, Lord Dongan. Colonf>l Walter Nugent being slain at the 
battle of Aughrim or Kilconnell, in July, 1091, the next Colonel w;is 
the Honourable Richard Bellew, 2nd son of John Bellew, 1st Lord 
Bellew. 

The origin of the Bellevvs, (or, as the name is sometimes corruptly 
■written, " Bedlow," and " Bedloe,") is traced to Normandy ; whence a 
nobleman, called " Belew," and holding a high post in Duke William's 
army, appears enrolled in the lists of the French conquerois of England. 
It is uncertain, at what period, after the extension of the invasion of those 
conquerors from England to Ireland, the Bellews passed into the latter 
country, and commenced the acquisition of those large estates, owned by 
bearers of the name to this day. But from the latter end of the 14th 
century, the immediate ancestors of the ennobled representatives of the 
race appear, on the records of the English settlements in Ireland, among 
those of honourable rank ; or with considerable landed possessions, and 
intermai-ried with the leading families of the Pale, such as the Fitz- 
Geralds, Nugents, Dillons, Talbots, Barnwells, Fhnnings, Plunkets, Fitz- 
Williams, Sarstields. After the restoi-ation of King Charles II., John 
Bellew, Esq. of Custletown, near Dundalk, in the County f)f Louth, was, 
by the Act of Settlement, reinstated in the lands belonging to his father, 
and which had been usurped by the Parliamentarian or Cromvvellian 
rebels. Li the reign of King James II., he was at first knighted ; after- 
wards, or in 1G!S6, was ennobled by the title of Baron Bellew of Dnleek, 
in the County of East Meath; and was also made a Member of the P.oyal 
Privy Council for Ireland. At the Revolution, Lord Bellew adhered to 
the royal cause against the Prince (jf Orange; early in 1689 was a[)pointed 
Ijord Lieutenant and Governor of the County of Louth for King James, 
and Colonel of a Regiment of Infantry in the Irish army; and, in the 
Parliament of the same yeai-, tof)k his seat in the House of Peers. When, 
towai'ds the latter end of that campaign, the Williamite forces, under the 
Marshal Duke of Schonberg, occu])ied Dundalk, Lord Bellew suffered a 
great loss upon his property; his castle, not far from that town, having 
been made a garrison-post by the invaders; about 2000 of his sheep 
having been killed by them ; and his orchard-trees cut down, as wood for 
their camp. In the autumn of 161)0, the 2nd year of the war in Ireland, 
his Lordship, for his continued services to King James, had all his estates 
sequestered by William II [., for the benefit of 1 of his English favourites, 
Henry Sidney, created Viscount Sidnt-y, and Earl of Romney, and 
enriched by grants of 49,517 acres of the forfeited lands of Ireland, 
intended by Parliament to have been appropriated towards defraying the 
large public debt incurred for the War of the Revolution there ! In 
Ajjril, 1691, Lord Bellew was outlawed by the Revoluti.onists ; and, the 
ensuing July, being present with his regiment of infantry in the Irish 
army at the battle of Aughrim or Kilconnell, he was severely wounded 
there, and made prisoner by the enemy. His Lordship only survived the 
effects of his wound until the following Januai-y, 1692, and with his 
Lady, who died iu 1694, was^ in the mitldle of the south aisle of Duleek 



Bo HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

Churcli, interred in a large tomb, decorated with their coat armour, and 
^us inscribed — 

•'This tomb hath been repaired and the vault made by 
Dame Mary Eekmingiiam of Dunfert, wife to John, Lord 
Bellew, who was shot in the belly in Aughrim fight, 
the 12th of July IGlJl. As soon as he found himself 

ABLE to undertake A JOURNEY, HE WENT WITH HIS LaDY TO 

London, where he died the 12tii of January 161)2. He 
WAS laid in a vault in Westminster, till the April follow- 
ing, HIS CORPSE was brought IHTHEK." 

By his inarriapje, in 1663, to Mary Berniinghara, who, with her younger 
sister Anne, (afterwards Lady Chmmalier,) was co-heiress of* Walter 
Berininghani, Esq. of Dunfcrt, in the Connty of Kildare, to a property 
of about c£1500 a year, Lord Bellew hail 2 sons, the Honourable Walter 
find the Honourable Richard Bellew, both officers, like their father, in 
liie Irish army. Walter, Captain of a trooj) of horse in the Regiment of 
Richard Talbot, Duke of Tyrconnell, fought tlu'oughout the war in 
Ireland, or till its conclusion by the Articles of Limerick. He then 
succeeded his father, as 2nd Lord Bellew; and, partly by be ng included 
in those Articles, and, partly by forgiving Lord Sydney £oW0 received 
o\it of the Bellew propei'ty while in his jiossessioii, as well as remitting 
Lord Raby a debt of between £1700 and £1800 in order to secure the 
favourable influence of those 2 English Lords with King William, 
recovered the family estate, which still produced £1000 a year. This 
Walter, 2nd Lord Bellew, died in 1094, likt; his father, as it is said, or 
from the effects of a wound at Aughrim; leaving by his Lady, Frances 
Arabella, eldest daughter of Sir William Wentworth, of North-Gate- 
Head, Yorkshire, sister to the Earl of Strafford and Maid of Honour to 
Mary, Queen of King James II., only 2 daughters. 

The other son of John, the 1st. and brotiier of this Walter, the 2nd, 
Lord Bellew, or the Honourable Richard Bellew, the immediate subject 
of (inr notice, was, early in the War of the Revolution in Ireland, Ca))tain 
of a troop of dragoons in the Regiment of the Eail of Limerick. On the 
first i'lisui rectionary disturbances by the Prince of Orange's partizans in 
Ireland, he was only a Lieutemyit, and commenced his active military 
career with distinction, at the head of his troop, against a body of tlie 
enemy, doulde his number, under a Major Pooe ; the circumstances of 
which affair are thus given in a Jacobite account. "Major Pooe, a 
Cromwellian officer, opened the scene, and began hostilities. He com- 
manded 2 troops of hiu-se, and desiring to put the country under con- 
tribution, he commenced his demands with tin; tenants of Lord Bdlew. 
He required of them the sum of £500 sterling, on pain of military 
execution. The Lf)rd Bellew, being informed of what was going on, 
despatched, to the assistance of his farmers, his 2nd son, aged 18 years, 
at tlie head of a troop of dragoons, of which he was Lieutenant. These 
2 parties meeting one another, a brisk engagement took ])lace ; but young 
Belluw, having shot the Major through the head with his pistol, the 2 
troops of tlie latter weie defeated ; snme being slain, others made prisoners, 
and the rest saving themselves by flight." The same troop of dragoons. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 81 

not long after, or in May 1689, are likewise mentioned as takiiig a dis- 
tinguished jiait against tlie Williamites of the (Joimty of Down, at the over- 
tlirow, near Cuiitlter, beside Lough Stranglbrd, of Captain Heni-y Hunter, 
and liis adheients, by King James's commander, Major-General Thomas 
Buchan. On tlris occasion, Hunter, and liis insurgent force of somo 
thousands, being bi'uken and rotited by the royal troops, the Cajitaiii 
himself witli difficulty effected his escape, in a little boat, to the Isle of 
JMan ; while his defeated followers were chased as far as Donaghadee, and 
driven into the sea by young Bellew's troop of dragoons, until this ])ur- 
suit AViis ai-rested by the fire from a vessel, armed with 4 cannon, under 
a Captain Agnew, then lying at anchor otf the coast; by which inter- 
position, G8. of the fngiti^■es were saved fron) the Jacolnte dragoons, and 
thence conveyed to Scotland. Of the further personal conduct of the 
Honourable Captain Richard Bellew, we are, from the want of suffi- 
ciently minute information, without any knowledge from this period, or 
May, 1G89, toJuly, 1691; but may justly suppose his behaviour was veiy 
creditable, both troni what has been related, and from his being, though 
only about 20 years of age, the successor of Colonel Walter Nugent, iu 
the command of the regiment, after the fall of that officer at Anglirim. 
On tlie termination of the war in Ireland, by the Treaty of Limerick, iu 
the autumn of 1691, the Honourable Colonel Richard Bellew broiiglib 
the regiment to France, under the designation of the King of England's 
Dismounted Dragoons. There, however, notwithstanding liis merit and 
that of his father and brother, it being found imperative to provide 
for an older officer, and one of a higher grade in the sei-vice, by giving 
that officer the Colonelship of the regiment, young Bellew i-cgardin.g him- 
self as the)-eby unjustly treated, returned to Ireland. On the decease of 
his elder brother, the Lord Walter, iu 1694, he became 3rd Lord Bellew ; 
in May, 1695, married Frances, youngest daughter of Francis, Lord 
Brudenell, and widow of Charles Livingston, 2nd E:irl of Newburgh in 
Scotland, with a fortune of £17,000; conformed to the Established 
Church of England and Ireland, early iu 170o; took his seat in the 
House of Peers there, in Jnly, 1707; had a pension of £300 a year from 
Queen Anne; and, dying iu March, 1714, leit, as his successor, Joliu, 
the 4th Lord Bellew, born in 1702; on whose decease at Lisle, in 
Flanders, in Sejttember, 1770, the title became extinct.'"' 

The officer, through whose snpei'iur age, and political influence, as well 
as militaiy rank, under King James's Government in Ireland, and tlio 
consequent possession of a similarly superior intei-est at the Court of St. 
Gernuiin for his subsequent promotion in France, the Honourable 
Colonel Richard Bellew was necessarily supplanted in his command, was 
Thomas Maxwell. He was a Catholic gentleman of an ancient family in 
Scotland, and married in England to the handsome Jane, Duchess of 
2Sr<Mfolk, widow of Henry Howard, 6th Duke of Norfolk. He was 
appointed by King James li., in Novembei-, 1688, Colonel of the regi- 

* During the War of the Revolution in Ireland, the name of Bellew was repre- 
sented by officers in the Duke of Tyrconnell s and Lord Abercoru's Iiegimenta of 
Horse; ia Lord Dongau's and Colonel Simon Lnttreli's K,eirimeiits of Dragoons; 
and in the Lurd Grand Prior'.s, Lord Loutli's, and Colonels Oliver O'C.ara's and Sir 
Michael Creagh's Regiments of Iniautry, besides that of the chief of his name, Lord 
Dnleek. 'J here were, also, some Bellews officers of the Irish Brigade in iiVjince; 
the most di-itiugnished of whom, as a Chevalier of St. Louis, was a CapLaiu Beiiew 
ci the Reymeut of V/alsh, in 1787. 

a 



82 nisTonv of the ii;i=:n bkio '.dks 

iiu'tit knovvn nt present as tlie 4tli Dt-agoons, niul, on the snocess of t1ie 
Prince of Orange's inv;(si()n of England, left tliat conntry, as the King 
did, for P^-ance, and came over to serve in Ireland. He was made there, 
as he had been in England, Colonel of a Regiment of Dragoons, and, iu 
the cnnrse of the Irish war, i-os(^ to he a Brigadier, and Major-Generah 
After the 2nd year's cam]iaign, or that of 1090, it being resolved by the 
discontented portion of the Irish, that a depntation, consisting of Dr. 
John Molony, Catholic Bishop of Cork, and Colonels Simon Lnttrell, 
Heiny Lnttrell, and Nicholas Purcell, shonld be sent to King James, 
at St. (rermain, to request the removal of the Duke of Tyrconnell, 
Brigadier Maxwell, who was in the confidence of Tyrconnell's represen- 
tative in Ireland, the Duke of Berwick, was deputed, by the latter, to 
accompany those agents to the King, in order to give him private 
information of the circumstances by which permission for such an 
embassy to proceed to France was extorted, and to suggest the adoption 
of hostile measui'es there towards some of those envoys. This, being 
suH[)ected by the embassy, was near costing the Scotch Brigadier his 
life; Colonels Henry Lnttrell and Nicholas Purcell proposing, to cut 
short his errand, by thi'owing liiin into the sea; which would have been 
done, but for the influence of Colonel Simon Lnttrell, and the Bishop of 
Cork. After his return to Ireland, or in 1G91, Majoi-Gi'nenil Maxwell 
"Was taken prisoner, at the capture of Athlone by Lieutenant-General 
Baron de Ginkell, and, for the rest of that decisive campaign, remained 
so, either in Ireland, or at Chester, and London ; during which time ho 
was treated by the Willianiit(^s with the respect due to a man of high 
connexions, and honouiable character. Till November, that year, he was 
in the Tower, as, with reference to him, and his wife, (probably ere 
taking their last farewell!) we find an "order" there, "by command of 
the King," or William III., "for the Duchess Dowager of Norfolk to 
have access to Mr. Maxwell, and to stay with him 3 days." On the 
Hubsequcut remodelling of th(\ Irish army in Finance, in 1092, it has been 
.•<ho\\n, how his intei'cst was nnt forgotten at St. Germain. In July, 
16!)3, he was, for his eminent services, created by Louis XIV. a P-vigadier 
of Di'agoons in the French army, in addition to his previous ])Osts 
of Major -Genei-al and Cdlonel of Dragoons in that of King James; and 
was killed, fighting with great bravery, at the head of the 2 Irish 
Kegiments of Dragoons a pie//, in the battle of Mar.saglia, or Orbas.san, 
betwen the Marshal de Catinat and the Duke of Savoy, October 4th 
following. 

Majoi--General Maxwell's successoi', as Colonel of the King's Kegiment 
of Dragoons d pie I, was Doininick Sai-sfield, 4th Lord Viscount Kil- 
mallock. His Lordship, of the .same Anglo-Norman ancestry as the 
Earl of Lucan, and married to his sister,'"' was descended from Dominick 
Sarsfield, Chief Justice of the Irish Court of Lommon Plea.s, in the reign 
of King James I. The Ii-ish Chief Justice was made by his Majesty, in 
October, 101!), the 1st of the newly instituted order of Baronets iu 

*Cr.ptaiii Peter Drake, fif Drakeratli, C^)unty of jNIeath, who left Ireland, in the 
cause of James IT., for France, and wlio seived among the Irisli forces on the 
Continent, after mentioning his arrival, in 1(394, at Paris, says — "Froni Paris I 
went to 8t. (;lermain's, where I met with Mis. Sarsfield, mother to Lord Lucan, 
and her 2 daughters, tlie Ladies Kihnalloek and Mount-Leinster ; the eldest of 
Whoni, Lady Kihnalloek, was my god-motlier. Those L.idies, though suppt>rted by 
BMDill ]iensinns," adds the.Cai)taia, '•leceued. me vsith ^teat generosity, and treated 
nic with much good uftture." 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 83 

Irolanfl, as Sir Pnminick Savsfifld; and, by King Charles T., was created, 
ill May, lii2d. Lord Viscount Kilmallock. His Lordship's descetidatitii 
evinced tlie usual attaclinietit of the Irish nobility to tlie CDwn in tho 
I'arlianientarian and Croravvellian wars, and that of the Revolutimi (if 
1688. The representative of the title of Kilinallock at the Restoratinn 
was, with other Irish Peers, (or the Lords Westmeath, Mayo, Galinoy, 
Athenry, and Brittas.) oi'dered to be i-einstated in the lands, usurpi-d 
fri>in them by tlie Cromwellians. That order, however, though actrd 
Tipoii in tlie otliFr cases, would not seem to have been carried into effect 
}is regards the Kilmalluck property, by what the Comte d'Avaux, Louis 
XIV.'s- Ambnssad(n- to James TL in Ireland, writes from Ardee, OctoUe^r 
3Uth, 1689, to the French Minister, Louvois, regarding the Lord Kil- 
niallock here treated of; who is mentioned by the Count, as having ht-en 
obliged, by the deprivation of his estate, to conceal his rank, and serve, 
for several years, as a soldier in France, till enabled to return, with the 
King, to Ii-eland, resume his title, and regain his patrimony. " Estaut 
Irlandois Catholique, eb depouille de tons ses biens, il changea de nom, 

et alia porter le mousquet dans le Regiment de . Son Cajiit.iiue, 

luy tronvant de la valeur, et de I'application, le tit Seijeant. Mylonl 
Kilmaloc ne voulut pas dire qn'il estoit, et exerca cet employ pendant 
q .elques annees, ji'sques a ce qn'il soit revenu en Irlande avec le Roy 
d'Angletorre ; et il a este reniis par le Pavlement en posses.sion de sou 
bien, qui va, a ce qn'on dit, a plus de 50,000 francs par an." After 
King James's arr val from France in Dublin, in Ajiril, 1689, Doniiiiick 
Sarstield, Lord Kilmallock, was made a Member of the Royal Privy 
Coinicil for Ireland ; sat in the House of Peera of the Parliameut .soon 
alter held by the King; and was Colonel of a Regiment of Tiifanuy in 
the national army,"'' din-ing the canipai<";ns of 1689 and 1690; in tlie 
latter of which, he distinguished liimseif, at the successful defence of 
Limerick against the Prince of Urangt^ Next year, when his Lordship 
was outlawed by the Revoluticaists for his loyalty to King J;imes, he 
commanded a Regiment of Horse in that Monarch's service, with which 
lie is mentioned to have been at the battle of Aughrim; though not 
killed there, as hostile or Williamite accounts pretend, since he accom- 
j)ani(!d the Jacobite troops who went to France, alter the Treaty of 
Limerick, His Lordshiji's "broad acres" in the County of Coi'k with 
tho.se of other Stuart loyalists there, became the prey of Willi;un Ilf.'d 
Principal Secretary of State for Ireland, Sir Robert Southwell, a duly 
luiscrupulous confiscation-clutcher from the Irish, and non-resident pen- 
sioner uf)on Ireland. + At the reorganization of King James's forces in 
Bretagne, in 1692, Lord Kilmallock was apyo'nted 1st Lieutenant in 
the 2nd Troop of Horse Guards commanded by his brother-in-law, the 

* As might Le expected, from what D'Avavx tells ns of his Lordship's ante- 
cedents, he proved an exa-lh-nt Colonel. D'Avaux adds of him, " il a este ties 
assidii et tres applique, et il ne s'est occupe qu'a. maintenir son regiment eu Lou 
estat." 

t Even the moderation of Mr. Dalton has not been " so good, or so cold," as to 
pass uucensiued 8ir RoLert SoutliwelFs estate-graLLings from unfuitunato Irisfi 
families. See Kinj.- James's Irish Army List, vol. I., pp. 444-5, and vol. II , 
p. A'M. In 1C90, William apj'ointed Sir EoLert " his Principal Secretary of Statf., 
and Keeper of the Signet and Privy Seal for the Kingdom of Ire and,'' says Hanis, 
" with the sallary of f 2U() a year, and an augmentation of £1(H) a year, to Im^KI 
dining nleasnre ; which office his family have enjoyed ever since.' Namely, liil 
1749, when Harns's work was puLlished!— and how muck Loiiytr i knovi^ uot. 



84 HISTOrtY OF THE lUISIl BRIGADES 

Eail of Lucrm ; and, in ICOH, snccossnr to Major-Genpuil Maxwell, as 
CoJonel to the King's Rtgiment of Di-agoons h pied. His Lonlsliip 
continued to be Colonel of tliis corps until after the Peace of Rysvvick. 
Then, or early in l()i)8, Lt>rd Kihnallock's Dragoons weie broken up, 
Hnd incor))orated with the Athlone, or Colonel Walter Boui'ke's, llegi- 
rjient of Foot, and the 3 Independent Companies of Foot ]>reviously 
mentioned; and the new regiment, thus organized, was conferred upon 
James Fitz-Janies, Duke of Berwick. Lord Kilmallock is stated to have 
died abroad, about 12 years subsequent to the Peace of Ryswick. 

According to the 1st formation of the Irish troops after their landing 
\n France, in 16!):^, the King's Ixegiment of Dragoons h pied contained 
6 companies of 100 privates. The officers to each company would be 5; 
namely, 1 Ca])tain, 2 Lieutenants, and 2 Cornets or Ensigns; these 5 to 
exich of the 6 companies would make 30 for the entire corps; so that, 
between soldiers and otlicers, the former 600, an<l the latter 30, the 
battalion would muster 6M0 men. In iGO-'i, the officers to the "Regiment 
Du Roi, Dragons," were more, or — "The Viscount de Kilmallock, 
(Sarsfield) Cohmel— Tnrenne ()'Ca»-!-ol, (tlie Marshal de Turenne's god- 
son) Lieutenant-Colonel — De S lies, (a Frenchman) Major — 5 Cajjtains 
— 14 Lieutenants — 14 Coi-nets." The i-egiment being still further in- 
creased in officei's, tlnugh lessened in soldiers, consisted, at its full 
eouiplemeut, of 558 men; of whom 108 were officers, and 450 soldiers. 



THE QUEEN'S REGIMENT OF DISMOUNTED DRAGOONS. 

Of the 2nd of the 2 Regiments of Dragoons a -p ed, or the Queen's, the 
1st Colonel was Francis Carroll, or rather O'CarroU, an officer of note 
during the war in Ireland. The great sept of O'Carroll of Eile, or Ely, 
dedviced its origin from Olil Olum, King of Munster in the 3rd century, 
through his youngest son Kian; the hereditary surname of the sept being 
derived from Caerbhall, or (Jarroll; 21st in descent from Kian. The 
4eriitory of Eile, so designated from Eile, the 7th in descent from Olil 
Olum, anciently comprehended the Baronies of Ikerrin and Eliogarty in 
tl'.e Comity of Tij)])eraiy, with those of Clonli.sk and Ballybrit in the 
King's County. It was divided into 8 tuatha, or districts, under as 
many subordinate tribes and their chiefs, among whom the dominant or 
r(>gal race was that of O'Carroll; whose head was poetically known, as 
*• King of Eile of the gold," of " the land of cattle," of " the most hospi- 
table mansion in Erin," and of " the host of yellow, curling hair, brave at 
gathering a l)rey." Donald O'Carroll, from whom the principal houses 
of the name have descended, was Kii;g of Ely O'Carroll in the 12th 
cfTitury, when tlie Anglo-Nornum intrusion into Erin took ])lace; after 
which period, the princijiality, chiefdoin, loidship, or captainship, of Ely 
O'Carroll became limited to the Baronies of Cionlisk, and Ballybrit, in 
the King's County; but, with no dimiinition, during the middle ages, of 
the rejaitation of the O'Carroll.s, as some of the stoutest and most 
formidable borderers to " the stranger," among the old races of Eiin. 
Of tiie heads of "that celelirated tribe," the veiy learned native or 
Oaf'lic scholar and lexicographer, Edward O'Reilly, testifies, — "It i.s 
indisputable, that they uere, in very eaily ages, the su))renie Princes of 
the entile district ; and, in more moilern times, when sirnames became 
Lfixditury, gave their patronymic name to that jiart of the district which 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 85 

tliry tlien pr)ssess('<l ; and which, from that circumstance, was called Ely 
O'Carroll. When they were Kings of the entire district, and even since 
tliey became Lords of Ely U'CarrolI oidy, they had under them several 
very famous trilies;" and, adds O'Reilly, "of the ])atriotIsm, piety, and 
prowess of the Chiefs of the ()"Carrolls of Ely, the annals of Ireland 
teem with abundant pr.)nfs." Hence, the popular Gatdic song in Munsfer, 
among the most renowned names in the national records and recoUoo- 
tiuns, refers to 

" The O'Carrolls, also, fam'd where Fame was only for the boldest," 
exclaiming — 

" Wlio so great as tliey of yore in battle, or carouse?" 

Various of the leading branches of the O'Carrolls were connected with 
the ])iincipal nobility of Ireland, as the Lords Athenry, Clauricarde, 
Antrim, Dillon, JNLtyo; and the race has been represented, to our dav, 
by families of note in Galway, Clare, Mayo, Tip])erary, King's County, 
Wicklovv, Carlow, as well as in the Uiuted Stites of America.* In tlia 
" great i-ebellion " of the Puritans against King Charles L, several genth^- 
inen of the O'Carrolls were i-emarkable for their devotion to the royal 
cause, as well as during the banishment of King Charles 11. on the 
Continent ;+ and a similar adhei-ence to the Crown, as that against the 
Parliamentarian insurgent and Cromwellian regicide, was subsequently 
dis|played in sup])Oi t of King James II., against the Orange revolutionisii 
and foreign invader. 

In that Monarch's national Parliament of 1G89, Owen O'Carroll, Esqr., 
■was 1 of the Members for the King's County, of which he was likewise a 
Deputy-Lieuteuant; Lieutenant-CJolonel Owen O'Carndl was Chief 
Commissioner of Oyer and Terminer there, and King's Commissioner for 
seizing on Forfeited Estates and the Proj)erty of Absentees; and, during 
tlie 3 years' unequal contest against the British and colonial Williaautef% 
and their luinierous and veteran Continental auxiliaries, tlie O'Carroll 
motto, " In fide et in bello fortis," or " Strong in lidelity and in war,'' 
was verified by a number of O'Carrolls, or Cari'olls, in the horse, dragoon, 
and infantry legiments of the Jacobite ami}', from the i-anks of Brigadier, 
Cidonel, and Lieutenant-Colonel, to those of Captain, Lieutenant, ami 
Cornet, or Ensign. Towards the fall of the ancient or clan system of 

* Of the name, in the great Tpansatlantie repuhHc, the chief representative was the 
venerable Charles Carroll, of CarroUtou ; at his decease, in November, 183:3, tho 
lust sm-vivor of the signers of the American Declaration of Independence, ami, 
through his descendants, connecterl with nobiHty in these islands. 

+ Of this devotion of O'Carrolls to Kings Charles I. and lb, there is a mo?u 
striking instance on the part of Donough O'Carroll, Esqr., (brother to the cluef of 
the name,) possessed of the es'ates of Modereeny and Buolybrack, County of Tip- • 
perary, and married to Dcjmthy O'Kennedy ; by whom, (besides a daughter. More, 
wife to Roger O'Carroll o!" Fliu'v,) he had oi) suns, whom he presented, duly ar.iicl 
and mounted as a trooj) of livjrse, with all his interest, to the Manpiis of Oraioii<le, 
I'o!- Charles L; njost of wliicli gentlemen died in foreign service, having follouetl 
( harles LI. in his exUe. A coulemjiorary Italian writer from Ireland, ob-ei'vuj^ 
liow "almost ali tlie women who marry have large families," ailds, "tliere ai« 
Home who liave as many as .i(> children ahve; and the number of ihose who liavo 
from 15 to 20 is mniiensc!! ' In our own day, a most eminent autlioiity, Dr. 
(Villiirs, Master of the Rotunda byin.;-in lIos[)ital, meiitiims, tliat, in Irolanl, '•t!xa 
pi-(ip irtionai iiund)er of women, giving birtli to twins, is nt^ariy a ^rd greator, thaa ' 
la ..aiy other country, of which he liad been able to obtain authontio recoids !*"' 



86 HISTORY OF THE IRISH EUIGADKS 

•Bociety in Ireliind, a respectable branch of this tribe was fonnrlerl in 
Dulilin by Thomas O" Carroll ; who, in consequence of a disagreement 
with the head of his se|)t, removed thither, and was the father of J.iines, 
that, Tinder King James I., was kniglited, granted 1000 acres of land ia 
"Wexford, apjiointed King's Remembrancer, and, between 1(513 and 1G34, 
was thrice Mayor. Francis, the officer here under consideration, who 
lias been identified with the " Francis Carroll, Esquire," attainted by the 
Williamites, in May, 1691, at the Tholsel, in Dublin, :is possessing pvo- 
pert}' in the metrojxdis, was, most probably, of this family. In 168(5, 
as Captain in the Colonel's conq)any of Colonel Justin Mac Carthy's 
Regiment of Foot, we find Francis dispensed, along with other (Jatholio 
officers, by King James II., from taking such sectarian or English-con- 
cocted oaths contrary to their i-eligiun, as would have precluded thetn 
from serving their king and country. During the contest that ensued 
in Ireland, Francis became a Colonel of Dragoons and a Brigadier; was 
most engaged in the winter and spring warfare of outposts between 1690 
and 1691, directed, by the Government of King James at Limerick, 
against the Williamites in the County of Cork; and to a later ])eriod, or 
August, 1691, acted, for King James, as " Governor and Comniandaut- 
in-(Jhief of his Majesty's Army in the Counties of Kerry and Cork." 
Oa the rearrangement of tiie Irish army in France in 1692, he wa.s 
nominated Colonel (as has been said) to the Queen's Regiment of Dis- 
mounted Dragoons, and fell gloriously in Italy, in 1693, at the great 
victory of Marsiiglia. Besides this gallant representative of his name, 
Tnrenne O'Carroll, after serving in Ireland, as IMajor, and Lieutenant- 
Colonel of Dragoons, was, in France, Lieutenant-Colonel to the King'.s 
Regiment of Dismounted Dragoons; 2 O'Carrolls have been Lieutenant- 
Oolonels to the Regiment of Berwick; some have been Chevaliers of St. 
Louis; and, to our own day, O'Carrolls have been officers in the armies 
of France. Francis O'Carroll's successor iu the Colonelshi]) was Charles 
O'Brien, oth Lord Clare; of whom a fuller notice has been already given, 
under tlie head of the Infantiy Regiment of O'Brien, or Clare. His 
Lordship having been advanced to the Colonelship of his family n ginient, 
in 1696 we find the Queen's Dragoons under the command of the chief of 
Lis name. Colonel Oliver O'Gara. 

The O'Gadhras, or O'Garas, were another branch of the Clan-Kian, or 
race of Kian, youngest son of Olil Oluni, King of Munster in tin; 3rd 
century. The original territory of the O'Gai-as consisted of the district, 
in the County of Mayo, yet known as " Sliabh Lugha," or Loue<' s 
Mountain; of which, it is noted, in the old account of the privileges "of 
the supreme King of Connacht of the red swords," that " one of his jn-e- 
rogatives " was " the hunting of Sliabh Lugha." This territory embraced 
the portion of tlie modern Diocese of Achonry, including the northern 
half of the Barony of Costello, or the Parishes of Kilkelly, Kilmovee, 
Kilbea, Kilcolman, and Castlemore-Costello. After the invasion of Erin 
by Henry II., the "Tighearnas" or Lords of Sliabh Lugha, as the heads 
of the O'Garas were styled, were driven, by the Anglo-Norman families 
of the Nangles and Jordans, (subsequently nationalized into Mac Costelh'S 
ami ]\Iac Jordans,) to seek another territory. This was acquired in tlio 
district, anciently known as "the Grecigraidhe of the fine trees," and 
alterwards as the Barony of Coolavin, in the County of Sligo. Tli« 
I'epreseiitatives of the former Lords of Sliabh Lugha, thus became Lords 
ol Cuolavm; and, iu the Liulily cuUeil iroui ihtm " Moy OGaia, ' or 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 87 

O'Garas plain, on the north-east extremity of Longli Techet, which like- 
wise changed its name to Longh 0'(jiara, they built their principal 
castle. To the head of this race in the early pai-t of the IJtli century., 
or Fergal O'Gara, then Lord of Conlavin, as well as 1 of the Members? 
for the County of Sligo in the Irish Pailiament, those venerable memorials 
f)f our old native or Celtic history, the Annals uf the Four Masters, were 
dedicated; in gratitnde for his ])atronage and support of the brothers 
O'Clery, and their assistants in the work, after the O'Clerys had been 
dispossessed of the castle and lands, with which they, as the local 
chroniclers of Tir-Counell, had been so liberally endowed, nndei- its 
ancient Princes, or Chiefs, the O'Donnells. Another gentleman, and 
namesake of this distinguished patron of his country's literature, or the 
Ilev. Fergal O'Gara, displayed a similarly creditable zeal for its y)»-eser- 
vation, by making abroad, or (as an exile from Cromwellism) in the 
Netherlands, in 1G5G, a most valuable collection of Irish historical 
].ioems, and transcribing them into a volume, yet extant. And it was to 
a lady of this race, fameil among the native poets, or Celia O'Gara, that 
the air was composed, which Moore has incorporated with our national 
Melodies, to the beautiful words, beginning, 

" Oh ! had we some hrinht little isle of our own, 
lu a bhie suiniiier ocean, far oil' and alune." 

In the Parliamentarian and Crom\v<dlian wars, the O'Garas were in- 
^olv■e(I in the rnin of their country; having been stripped of their 
property by re/jvblica)i rapacity, as the O'Clerys had been by royal, 
injustice. Under King James II., however, Oliver O'Gara, the head of 
liis race, was highly connected; being married to the Lady Mary Flem- 
ing, daughter of Randal Fleming, Lord Baron of Slane, and 21st Irish 
Peer of the f.imily of Fleming, originally Le Fleming; derived from a 
chief of the Norman army, at the conquest of England, in the 11th 
century, whose grandson, in the 12th, settled in Ireland.* Oliver 
O'Gara, (as well as the representative of the noble family into which ho 
liad married,) adhered, at the Revolution, to the cause of King James; 
was 1 of the Mendiera, in the Irish Parliament of 1689, for the County 
of Sligo; served with distinction against the Revolutionists, in the 
national army, as Colonel of a Regiment of Infantry, with which he was 
present, at the battle of Aughrim, or Kilconnell, in July, 1691; was 
accordingly attainted by the Willianiites, with his wife, and others of his 
mime; and was app'ointed, by his supeiior officers. Lord Lucan, and 
Major-General John Wauchop, the following October, to be 1 of the 

* At the Eevohition, Cbristopher Fleming, (whose father and uncle were parti- 
cularly distinguished for their titlelity to the Crown in the Parliamentarian and 
Cromwellian wai'S, ) was the 22nd Lord Baron of Slane. He sat in the House of 
Peers of the Irish Parliament under King James II. in 1(389; was Colonel of ^ 
Eetjiment of Infiintry in the Irish army; and was taken prisoner in the battle of 
Aughrim, or Kilconnell, July 22nd, 1691. After following his exded Sovej-eign to 
> ranee, his Lordship was restored, by an English Act of Parliament, under Queen 
Anne, to his Peerage, though not to his estates; and died in July, 1726, withoub 
male issue, in his 45th year-. He had a pension of £500 ]ier annum allowed him, 
and his ne]ihe\v William Fleining, commonly called Lord Slane, also had a pension 
of f .'iOO a year, till his decease, in 1747 — from .^o»ii' shame, it would seem, at the 
^\'illiamite, or " <:l(iriousrevolution " plunder of the famdy of its tine property, for 
the benetit of the Dutchman, Ginkell— already rewarded, fur his services in Iieland, 
tt ith the lai-ge estate ot the Earl of Limerick. 



88 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

liostacros, on the part of tlie Iiisli, for the safe return, from Frrrnce, of 
the Wiliianiite sliips, l)y whicli the Irisli troops, etc., were to be con- 
veyed there, pursuant to the Treat}' of Limerick. After the satisfactory 
termination of every thing connected with tliis conveyance, and tlie 
consequent dismissal, in March, 1(592, of Cohn el O'Gara for France, lie 
appeal's to have been involved, on the resumption of liis militai-y (hitics 
there, in the same reduction of rank as so many otiier Irisli olhcers 
were; beinj^ made, instead of ('('huivl, a Licutenant-Colond, to which 
post he was appointed in the King's Ifegiment of Irish FMut Guards, 
luider Colonel William Dorriugton. As Colonel, however, of the Queeii'.s 
Dragoons, with which he served in Spain under the Duke of Vendome, 
O'Gara e\eutually regained the rank he had po.ssessed in the Iiish wars. 
By his marriage with the Lady Mary Fleming, the Colonel had 4 sons* 
The 3 elder of these entered the Spanish service, in which, the 1st died 
with the rank of Brigadier; the 2nd was Colonel of the Rei;iMient of 
Hibernia; the 3rd Lieutenant-Colonel of the Regiment of Irlaiidia, and 
signalized himself so much at the affair of Veletri in Italy, in 1743, that 
the King of Spain rewarded him with a Commandei-ship in the Ordei- of 
Calatrava. The 4th, boi-n at. St. Germain-en-Laye in IGIJD, was baptised, 
in tlic " Chapelle du Chateau Viel " there, as C.'harles, " pai- M. I'Abbe 
Ronehy, Anmonier du lioi et de la Reine, d' Angieterre ' and having 
for " parrain," the " tresdiaut et tros-puissant I'rince Jacques II., Roi 
d'Angleterre," signing accordingly '• Jacque-*, Roi." Although reduced 
to live in Fi'ance on but small means as a follower of James II., Cdlonel 
Oliver O'Gara managed to situate this, as \v( 11 as his other sons, in such 
a manner, as was suitable to the respectability of their origin; olitaining, 
through his distinguished counti-yman and frien<l, Francis Taade, Count 
of the Empire, and Earl of Carlingford, an inti-oduction, for young 
Charles, to Leopold, Duke of Lorraiu. Ch irles was, by that Prince, 
appointed 1st Equerry to his 2 sons, and, when the elder became 
Emperor of Germany, was cieated by him an Imperial Councillor of 
State and Chamberlain, Grand Master of the Hou.sehold to the Princess 
his sister, and Knight of the Golden Fleece. He was al.>o niade a 
Count, and died in opulent ciicumstances without issue, at Brussels, the 
latter end of the year 177o, or early in 1776. After tlie Peace of 
Eyswick, or in February, 1GU8, Colonel Oliver O'Gara's or the Queen's 
Regiment of Dragoons a ;:>/e/, which had signalized itself ujioti several 
occasions, being subjected to the general change amongst the Irish troops 
in France, was broken up; and, along with the Charlemont Regiment of 
Intantry, or that of Colonel Gordon O'Neill, was formed into a Regiment 
of Foot, wiiich was given to Brigadier Pierce Butler, 3rd Lord (ralmoy, 
late Colonel of the Queen's Regiment of Horse, meiged into Brigadier 
Dominick Sheldon's. 

Like the King's Regiment of Dragoons (i pied, the Queen's, by the, 
earliest organization ot the Irish hu-ce in France, when they came over 
after the Treaty of Limerick, contained 6 companies of 100 privates each, 
with a regimental complement of 30 officers; j)resentiiig a total, for the 
battalion, of 630 men. The list of the otlicers of the " Regiment de la 
Heine, Dragons," in 169-5, shows the same increase in its oliicers, as 
in the King's. Tliose of the Queen's, by that li.st, were — " Charles, 
Viscount Clare, (O'Brien,) C(4onel — Alexander Barnevvyl, Lieutenant- 
Colonel — CharU's Maxwell, Majoiv — 5 Captains — 14 Lieutenaiits — 14 
C'Ornets." At its coiu^ lete amoimt, towurus t. e eu 1 of the war, when 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 83 

tlie soldiers were so many less, while tlie officers were so many more, tlie 
Queen's Dragoons, like the King's, mustering 450 soldiers, and 103 
oihcers, would be SoS strong. 



THE KING'S ROYAL IRISH REGIMENT OF FOOT GUARDS. 

This regiment was ordered hy King Charles IT., in the spring of 1662, 
to be raised in England, to tlie nunjber of 12U0 men, for his service iti 
Ireland; James Butler, 1st Didce of Ormonde, and Viceroy of Ireland, 
being, by the royal patent, constituted its Colonel; and empowered, ujiou 
tlie conveyance of the men to that country, to name whoever he might 
think fit, as his subordinate officers. Partly, it appears, from the men 
thus levied, and ])artly from others, belonging to the old detached or 
Independent Companies at that time existing in Ireland, the new regi- 
ment was eventually formed. It consisted of 2 battalions; Avas first 
called the Royal Irish Regiment; and afterwards the King's Foot 
Guards. In the succeeding reign, or that of King James II., the loyalty 
of the corps was insured, by its being generally ])uritied, or nationalized, 
like the rest of the army in Ireland, under the superintendence of Richard 
Talbot, Eai-1 of Tyrconnell.* The ColoneLshijj, however, remained in the 
Ormonde family; James, the 2ud Duke of Oianonde, filling that post at 
the time of the Revolution. The Duke going over to the Prince of 
Orange in 1688, the command of the regiment in Ireland was reserved, 
with other honoiu's, for its Lieutenant-Colonel, William Dorrington. The 
day after King James's arrival, in April, 1689, from France, at the Castle 
of Dublin, that officer — with the Dukes of Powis and Berwick, the Earls 
of Clanricarde, Abercorn, Carlingford, and Melfort, the Lords Kilmallock, 
Clare, Meryon, and Kenmare, the English Lord Chief Justice, Sir Edward 
Herbert, (who followed the King's fortunes, and subsequently became hi.s 
Lord Ciiancelloi- for England, at St. Germain,) Colonel Patrick Sarstield, 
afterwards Fail of Lucan, and Sir Ignatius White of Limerick, Baronet 
of England, and Baron de Vicke, and Marquis d'AUjeville, on the Conti- 
nent, — was sworn befoi-e his Majesty, as a Member of the Royal Privy 
Council for Ii'eland. The Lieutenant-Colonel was then a]j])ointed Colonel 
of the Royal Irish Regiment of Foot Guards, instead of the Duke of 
Ormande, who adhei-ed to the cause of the Revolution, in opposition to 
that of the King. Dorrington, who was an Englishman, (but unaffiicted 
by Whiggery,) had belonged to the Regiment of Guards from its forma- 
tion. During the War of the Revolution in Ireland, he signalized him- 
self at the blockade of Derry in 1689, at the action of tin; Boyue in IGOf), 
was Governor of the City and County of Limerick, ami was taken prisoner 
at the Imttle of Anghrim, or Kilconnell, in 1691. He was succe-Ksively 
transferred to Dublin, Chest(!r, ami the Tower of London, t but was so 
tii'ou exchanged, or released, by the Revolutionists, as to be able to 

" From the officiil correspondeoce with Ireland, in the State Paper Office, Lon- 
don, it appears, that the Earl of Tyrcoiiuel] wisli.d tu have as few as possiWe of any 
lint nativL'ti of Iielaiul in the Irish ariuy, and tliat he torvvanled an intimation of 
that kuul to the Kint;. 

t There was an order, in Septemljer, for Major-General Dorrington "to liave tlie 
lilierty of the Tower, and for his friends and relations to visit hnn." Yet, among 
I'ther niatteis ibr'which, in 1()V(4, Lord Lucas, as " (joveruor of the Tower," was 
"several times called before the Couucil," is uaeutioued, '"the ill usage of Major- 
Gciierai Dorringtou." 



90 >IIST0UY OF THK IRISH BRIGADES 

resume, ill ?^ ranee, his active adliei-cnce to the JacnLito cause, with the 
fdi-ccs w Itieli cauie over from Ii-elaiul after the Treaty of Limerick. Re- 
tainim:; in France his C'ohmel.sliii) of the Royal Irish Foot Guarfls, lie 
gcrvc'il witii that r(\ginient on tlie coasts of Norraaiuly, as ])art f>f the 
arniv designed foi- the invasion of Enghuiil, and restoration of King James, 
in IG'Jli; and at the taking of Huy, tlie defeat of WiHiam III. at the 
battk^ of Landen, and the ca]>ture ot C'hail^roy, by the Marshal de 
Luxembourg, in 1003. Brigadier by brevet in the service of France, (as 
previously in that of Great Britain and L-eland) April 28th, 1094, he 
was employed tliat year with the Army of Flanders. He was prestnit at 
the bombardnn nt of Bruxelles (or Brussels) by the Marshal de Villeroy 
in 1605; and was with the Army of Flanders, under the same Marshal, 
in 16U6 and 1G1)7. The Royal Irish Regiment of Foot Guards beina^ 
broken n]i, after tlie Peace of Ryswick, by order of Februaiy 27tl), 1698, 
and another regiment formed out of it, the Brigadier was named its 
Colonel, by commission of the same day. He served with tlie Army of 
Germany, under the Duke of Burgundy, by letters of June 21st, 1701; 
with the same Ainiy, under the Marshal de Catinat, by lettei's of May 
8th, 1702; and, the 23rd of December following, was made a Marechal 
de Cam]), or Major-General of France, by brevet. Employed with the 
Army of Bavaria, under tl^e Marshal de Villars, in 1703, he was present 
at the siege of Kehl, at the ca|iture of the lines of Stolholfeii, and of the 
retrenchments of the Valley of Hornberg, at the c(nnbat of Munder- 
kingen, at the 1st battle, or victory, of Hochstedt, and at the taking of 
Kemiiten. Remaining with tiiis army under the Marshal de Marcin in 
1704, he fought at the 2nd battle, or defeat, of Hochstedt, iamous, in 
Englisli history, jis the battle of Blenheim. He was made Lieutenant- 
General of the Armies of the King, by power of the 2Gth of October 
following. He was attached, with this rank, in 1705, to the Army of 
the Rhine, under the Marshal de Marcin; in 1706, under the Marshal 
de Villars; and to the Army of Germany, under the Marshal d'Harcourt, 
in 1709 and 1710. With the last of these campaigns, his active services 
terminated ; though he keyit the Colonelship of his regiment, hence known 
as that of Dorrington, till his death at Paris, December 11th, 1718. In 
a Dublin newsjiaper, the Morning Reyister, of March 27tli, 1841, the 
following additional information respecting this English Jacobite officer 
and his family is cited from a contemporary French )irint, the Paris 
Qiioiidienne ; in which, however, the mistake of an " English," instead of 
an '• Irish," regiment must be noted and corrected, from what has been 
stated here. "At Abbeville, there have just died, within a few days of 
each othei", the Comte and the Chevalier Maeclestield Dorrington, aged 
the one 85, the other 74, and descended from Lord William Dorrington, 
Colonel of an EiKjUalb regiment, which- bore his name. He emigrated 
with James II., and was created, during his exile, a Peer of England, 
by the Monarch, whose melancholy fortunes he had served and followed, 
with the most courageous tidelity. In these 2 brothers, the branch of 
the Dorringtons, established in France since the expulsion of the Stuarts, 
lias become extinct." When I was at Paris, in the summer of 1841, to 
collect materials for this work, and a History of the War of the Revolution 
in Ireland, I met an elderly French gentleman, who told me, he hatl been 
acquainted with those 2 brothers. He regretted, that I had not c me 
to France previous to their decease, or in time to be intrMiluccd to them, 
lioni tJie interest tliey would naturally have kit in the 2 subjects of 



IN THE SERVICE OP FRANCE. 91 

ny respa relies, as both connected with the establishment of their distin- 
g\iislied ancestor in France. 

Tlie regiment was next transferred to the Comte Michael de Rc)th. 
The family of Roth (or, according to its earlier s[>elling, Rothe,) was 
among the oldest and most wealthy of the mercantile famiUes of 
Kilkenny; where it was one of particular note in the reigns of Qiieeti 
Elizabeth, King James 1., and King Charles I.; and, in addition to its 
emoluments from commerce, was possessed of considerable ])ropei-ty in 
houses and binds. The town i-esidence of the head of the Rothes, which 
Avas l)uilt in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, has remained, to our own 
times, in Kilkenny; with tlie family arms carved in stone, over the arch- 
way conducting to the entrance. The edifice was raised by John Rothe 
Fiiz-VwA-^ — the use of Fitz, (then, and long after, so observable among 
the names of the higher burghers of others of onr leading towns, as well as 
Kilkenny,) evidently pointing back to the times, wjien a Norman name or 
ccmnexion w;is most honourable iu England, and in the different settlements 
fstablished from that country in Ireland. A learned anti(]uarian, the 
Rev'\ James Graves, who, Avith a well written article in 1841), has given 
a lithograiihic re]iresentation of the " Enti-ance Arch to Rothe's Honse," 
says — '• This building exhibits a most interestiiig and nearly perfect- 
example of the urban avchitectui-e of the period; affcn'diiig ample accom- 
mocl'ition to the opulent merchant's family, his appi'entices, and servants, 
together with storage for his goods." Of this family was Dr. David 
Rothe, Catholic Bishop of Ossory, during the reigns of James I. and 
Chai'les I. ; author of varions ])ublications in l^atin, connected with the 
history of Ireland; and of whom the great Archbishop U.ssher speaks in 
high terms, for his extensive erudition upon that subject, or as '■'■ patri- 
aruiik antiquifafum iiidagator diligeniisshiivs." Another gentleman of 
the name of Rothe, a contemporary of the Bishop, or Robert Rothe, 
Esq.. who was family-lawyer, and agent, to the Earls of Ormonde, com- 
]»iled a pedigree of that renowned leading branch of the house of Le 
Botiler, or Butl.er, to the year 1616; wdiich has been made nse of by 
Carte, in his Life of the 1st Duke of Ormonde, and yet remains in mann- 
RCript. in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin. Under King James 
IL, John Roth, Esq., Avas Mayor of Kilkenny iu 1687, and also in 
1G8D; as well as Member of Parliament, the same yeai-, for that city. 
Of the 24 Aldermen of the remodelled, or reforn)ed, Corporation of 
Kilkenny, headed by Richard Butler, 5th Visconnt Mountgruret, there 
were 3 Aldermen of the name of Roth, or Edward, David, and Michael; 
the 1st, a merchant, and the 2 others, gentlemen. Among the 3G 
Burgesses of the same Corporation, we find Matthew Roth, merchant, 
and Robert Roth, gentleman. In other Corporations of the County 
Kilkenny, or those of Gowran and Knocktopher, there were also gentle- 
men of the name; and, for the neighbouring County of Wexford, Francis 
Roth, merchant, was 1 of the Members of Parliament in 1689. Michael 
Roth (our present subject) was born September 29t,h, 1665. Under 
Colonel Dorrington's ])redecessor in command, the Duke of Ormonde, 
lie entered the Irish Foot Guards, as a Lieutenant, in 1686. Alter the 
breaking out of the Revolution in 1688, he was a Captain of the 1st or 
King's Couijiaiiy of the corps.. He I'einained in it through the succeed- 
ing war in Ireland; on the termination of which, by the Treaty of 
Limeiick, in the autumn of 1691, he jiassed into France. He served on 
thoi cuiists of Nunuandy, with the French and Irish force designed for 



92 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

the invasion of Ens^laud in 1G92; at the capture of Hiiy, tlie victoiy of 
Landen, (or Neerwinden) and the reduction of Charlproy in 1603; with 
tviie Army of Germany in 1G94; with the Army of the Moselle in 1G9.>. 
He became Lieutenant-Colonel of his regiment in March, 169G; con- 
tinned that campaign witli the Army of the Moselle; and was attaclied, 
in 1G97, to the Army of Flandei-s. King James's Regiment of Foofc 
Guards being formed, by order of February 27tii, 1G98, into the Regi- 
ment of Dorrington, M. de Roth was made its Lieutenant-Colonel, by 
commission of April 27th following. Gi'anted by commission of May 
yth, 1701, the rank of Colonel, he sei'ved that year witli tlie Army (if 
Germany, under the Duke of Burgundy; and with the sam(i ai-niy, tli(! 
following y(>;ir, under the Marshal de Catinat. Acting under the 
Marshal de Villars in 1703, he was at the capture of Kehl, at tlie storm- ■ 
ing (»f the retrenchments (»f Stolhoffen and Hornberg, at the comliat of 
Munderkingen, at the 1st, or successful, battle of Hochste<lt, and the 
reduction of Kempten and of Augsbin-g. Serving under the successor of 
Villars in Bavaria, the Marshal de Marcin, he ionght, in 17(14, at the 
2nd, or' unsuccessful, battle of Hochstedt, or Blenheim; and rcMuained 
with the Army of the Rhine, under the same Marshal, in 17 05. 
Created Biigadicr by lirevet, April 18th, 1706, and attached to the 
Armv of the Rhine under tlie Marshal de Villais, he contributed to the 
reduction of Drusenheiin, of Lauterburgh, and of the Isle de Marcjuisat. 
In 1707, also under that General, he was at the cari-ying of the lines of 
Stolhoifen, tlie reduction of Etlingen, of Pfortzheim, of Winhing, of 
Schorndoif, at the defeat and cajiture of General Janus, the surrender 
of Sualisgemund, the affair of Seckingen ; and, by order of (_)ctober 31st, 
be was employed, during tie winter, in Alsace. He continued with the 
Army of the Rhine, under the Marshal Duke of Berwick, in 1708. 
Transferred to th<> Army of Flanders, by letters of June 8tli, 1709, he 
highly signalized himself by his bravery at the great battle of Malplaiiuet. 
App(mited Marechal de Camp, or Major-Genei-al, by brevet of March 
2yth, 1710, and being next in command to M. du Buy de Vaubati in 
the remarkable defence of Bethune against the Duke of Marlborough 
and Prince Eugene of Savoy, he was so distinguished for professional 
ability as well as courage, that Louis XIV., by brevet of December 
loth, named him for the 2nd Commandership of the Older of St. Loui.s, 
that should become vacant. He served with the Army of Flanders, in 
1711; oV)tained, by provision of April 9th, 1712, the post of a Com- 
mander of the Order of St. Louis; was |)re.scnt, that campaign, at the 
taking of Douay, Quesnoy, and Bouchain, by the Marshal de Villars, in 
Flanders; and, in 1713, was at the reduction, by the same General, of 
Landau and Friburgh, in Germany. He was granted, by commission of 
Deceirdier 12th, 1718, the Irish regiment of infmtry of which he was 
so long Lieutenant-Colonel; and the Colonelship of which became 
vacant the [ireceding day, by the decease of Lieutenant-General Dorring- 
ton. Attached, in 1719, to the Army of Spain under the Marshal Duk(; 
o:' Berwick, he served at the capture of Fontarabia, of the town and 
castle of St. Sebastian, and at the siege of Roses. Created a Lieutenant- 
General of the Armies of the King by power of March 30th, 1720, he 
transferred his regiment, in May, 1733, to his son, next-mentiuned; 
served no more; and died in his 7(ith 3'ear, May 2nd, 1741. 

Chai'les Edward Comte de Roth, to whom his father resigned the 
regiment known, from the period of his becoming its Colunui, as the 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. V-i 

Iiogiineiit of Eotli, was born December 23ril, 1710. Having been 
flesigtied iVotn liis childhood for the military profession, he was com- 
niiy.-ioned, May 28th, 1719, as a Caj)itaine-cn-Second in the family 
regiiiifut. He hail a company, June titli, 1729, and on the secession ('f 
Ills father, or May 2t!tli, 1733, became Colonel. He acted in that rank, 
the same year, at the reduction of Kehl; at the forcing of the lines of 
Etlingen, and the capture of Fhilipsbuigh, in 1734; and continued lo 
serve with the Army of the Rhine, in 1735. He was attached to tlie 
Army of Flanders, which kept on the defensive, in 1742. Ap))ointed 
Brigadier by brevet, February 20bh, 1743, he was with his i-eginient at 
the battle of Dettingen ; finished the campaign on the Lower Rhine, 
under the Marshal de Noailles; and commanded, during the winter, at 
St. Oraer, by order of November 1st. Employed with the Army of the 
King (Louis XV.) in Flanders, by letters of April 1st, 1744, he was at 
the sieges of Mcnin, Ypres, and Furnes; then passed into the army 
commanded by the Marshal de Saxe ; and finished the camiiaign at 
Courtray. Again employed, by letters of April 1st, 1745, with the 
Ai-iny of the King, and made Brigadier by brevet, May 1st, he fought, 
with the Irish Brigade, on the 11th, at the victory of Fontenoy; con- 
tributed to the retluction of Tournay, of Oudenarde, of Dendermonde, 
and Ath; and, during the winter, was stationed at Dunkirk, by letters 
of November 1st. Having embarked in 174G, to join Prince Charh s 
Edward Stuart in Scotland, he was made prisoner by the English 
at sea; but, being exchanged in April, 1747, repaired to Bruxelles, 
or Brussels, the 15th. Included in the Army of Flanders, by letters 
of May 1st, and engaged at the battle of LjifTeldt, July 2nd, he was 
distinguished along with the Irish Brigade, to whom the gaining of 
that victory, as well as Fontenoy, was so much owing. He also 
cove)'ed the siege of Bei'gen-op-Zoom ; and was stationed, during 
the winter, at Ostend, by letters of November 1st. He served in 
1748 at the siege of Maestricht; obtained the grade of Lieutenant- 
General of the Armies of the King, by p )wer of May 10th ; returned to 
cfunmand at Ostend, after the taking of Maestricht; and, having been 
declared Lieutenant-Geiieral in December, lie quitted Ostend, and le- 
turned to France. He was created Lieutenant General of the Irish ;ind 
Scotch troops in the service of France, by commission of JNIarch 3i.>c, 
1759; was employed with the Army of Germany, by letters of May 1st, 
1761; was present with it at various acti(n).s, in which he signalized 
himself; and died, in his 56th year, August 19th, 17GG. He mairied 
an English lady of the noble house of Gary. Of the several branches of 
this race, connected with the Peerage, were, besides the representatives 
of the title of Falkland, the Barons, Viscounts, or Earls of Hunsdon, 
Eochfort, Dover, and Monmouth; and, ot liranches not ennobled, yet of 
eminent respectability, were the Carys of Torr Abbey and of Follaton, 
in Devonshire. The founder of the house of Falkland, Sii' HeTiry Caiy, 
Knight of the Bath, was the son of Sir Edward Cary of Berkhampsteail, 
Master of the Jewel Office to Queen Elizabeth and King James 1., by 
Lis marriage with Catherine, widow of Henry, Lord Paget. Sir Henry, 
who was elevated, in November, 1620, to the Peerage of Scotland, as 
Viscount Falkland of Fife, was, from 1622, for several years, Lord 
Dej)uty of Ireland ; and his son Lucius, 2nd Viscount Falkland, was the 
accomplished nobleman, whose high character and lamented fall ;,t 
L'ewbury, in September, 1C43, during the war between King Chailes I. 



C4 HISTORY OF THE lU'RII aJUIGADES 

iin(] t1io rjirliinnont, are SO celebrated in tlie Lord Chancellor Claren-lon's 
l,istoi-y of tliiit cilainitons or revolutionary period. Of Liicii.s Henry 
(!arv, 5t!i Viseoiint Falkland, by liis 2ud niairiage to Lnura, dangliter 
of tli(! 1st Lieiitenant-vieiieral Count Arthur Dillon, the issue was a 
daughter, who became the wife of Licutenant-General Count Cliarle.s 
Edward de l\oth. Their family, too, consisted of a daughtt^r Lueic, or 
Lucy, married, as before related, to the 2nd Lieutenant General Count 
Arthnr DiUon. in the fcv^rvice of France. The Countess de Roth, or as 
islie was called in England, the Honourable Mrs. Roth, had a pciisiou 
fi-om the French Government |)ro])ortii)ned to the military rank of her 
husband, and survived him till February 9th, ISOf; when, after an 
illness of nearly 3 years, borne with great fortituue, she died, at her 
house in Somei-set-street, London, aged 7*5. 

On the decease of Lieutenant-Genei-al Coiint de Roth, his regiment 
became that of Roscomnion. It was so called from being transfer-red to 
the commaud of the representative of that Peerage; first conferred, in 
l')22, on tSir James Dillon of Moymet, and most honoured in the j)erson 
of Wer.twoi'th Dillon, the 4th Eail, deceased in 1084; of whom, as a 
poet, Dryden say.s, 

" The Muse's eTiii)ireis re^^tovM aijcain 

111 Cluu-les's rci^u, ami liy Uo.scum.uou's p3n; " — 

and rojte, with more point, adds, 

" T(i him the wit of (-irecce ami ftoine were known, 
Ami cv'ry author's lueiifc, Init liis own." 

The successor, in the Colonelship, to the Count de Roth, Robert Dilloa, 
t!(ui of Patrick Ddlon, Esq., of Tuaghraore or Twomere, County of Ros- 
common, took the title, in France, of Eaid of Roscommon, as he was, by 
right, Llie Hth Earl, and could have established his claim in form, had he 
attempted it. He was born at his father.s residen e above-mentioned, 
in Novendier, 1712. Peing, at first, only a younger son, he was attached, 
when a l)oy, as a Cadet, to the Regiment of Roth. He was a fidl 
Lieutenant in March, 1734; a reforaned Captain in February, 1739; 
obtained his company, or was full Captain, in SeptemVjer, 1741; was a 
Chevalier of the Royal and Military oi'der of St. Louis in 174-"); was a 
Ca])tain of Grenadiers, and entitled to i-atdc as Colonel, in March, 17->7; 
Biigadier by brevet, in Februaiy, 1759; Major, in JMay, 1701; and 
]jieutenant-Co]onel, in February, 1764. Li August, 1700, he became 
Colonel, and his regiment that of Roscommon, from his title; since the 
decease of his elder brother, and that of James Dillon, the 8th Earl, in 
August, 1746, at Harold's Cross, near Dublin. He was present at the 
attack of the lines of Etlingen, and the siege of Philipsburgh, in 1734; 
iit th,' affair of Cl.iusen, in 1735 ; at the b:ittle of Dettingen, in 1743; ab 
the virtorv of Foutenny, and the reduction of Tournay, Ondenarde, 
Dendermonde, and Ath. in 1740 ; at the victory of LalFeldt, in 1747 ; at 
tlie taking of Maestricht, in 1748; and served with the Army of Ger- 
.nany, in 1700. He was made a Marechal de Cauip, or Major-Gfiieral, 
i\\ April, 1707; and died, in his 58th year, at Paris, in March, 1770. 

The regiment was then given to the Comte Antoine Jose[)h Pliilippa 
de Walsh-Serrant. After having been attached to the Irish llor.se 
Regiment of Fitz-James. the Cmuit joined the Regiment of Roscoinmiui ; 
ol wJiich, from August, 1760, he was Colonel-Coiuuiaudant under Lord 



IN THE SERVICK OF FRANCE. 95 

Roscommon, as Colonel-in-Cliief; and, by becoming that nobleman's 
successor, altei'ed the appellation of the corps to that of Walsh. The 
origin of the family of VValsh-StUTant has been generally deduced from 
tlie Walshes, or Welshes, of Ireland, styled l)y tlie natives, Brannaghsy 
i. e. old Britons, as having come over from Wales. The earliest repre- 
sentatives of the name of Walsh, in Ireland, were 2 noblemen, in the 
time of Henry II. — viz. : Philip Walsh, distinguished for his gallantry, 
in 1174, at a naval engagemi'ut against the Ostnien. or Danes, of Cork, 
by boarding the hostile Admiral, Turgesius, and killing his son, Gilbert 
— and David Walsh, who signalized liiraself, in 1175, at the ciossing of 
the Shannon, when Raymond /e Gros attacked Limerick. From this 
Philip and David .sprang the Walshes of Castlehoel, in the County of 
Kilkenny, (where a range of mountains is called by their name); of 
Ballykilcavan, in the Queen's Ci)unty; of Bally carrick more, in the 
County of Waterford; of Greaghlabeg. in the County of Tipperary ; of 
Old Court and Old Connaught, about Bray, in the County of Wicklow; 
and of Carrickmaine, or Carrickmines, in the County of Dublin. Of 
these Walshes, upon the confines of the Counties of Wicklow and Dublin, 
Camden remarks, on their numbers having been equal to the nobility of 
their origin — " quorum ut nubilitas antiqna, ita faruilia }i,0G tractu 
nutiierosa." And they required to be not less warlike than numerous on 
this southern, or most dangerous, frontier of the Pale, towards the high 
lands or mountains of Wicklow, the territory of tliose formidable border 
clans, the O'Tooles and the 0'B3'rnes; by 1 of whose leaders, so late 
as L53'), or in the reign of King Hemy VI [ I., the Castle of Dublin itself 
was taken, and sacked ; and who, down even to the latter end of the reigu 
of Queen Elizabeth, weve the diead of Dublin and its vicinit}'. In the 
War of the Revolution, the Walshes contributed tlieii- ])roi)ortion of 
infantry, horse, and dragoon officers to the Irish army; and, in the priva- 
teering hostilities, which, after the conclusion of the contest in Ireland, 
by the Treaty of Limerick, the expati'iated adherents of King James II. 
carried on with the French, from the ports of St. Malo, Brest, ifcc, against 
the English and Dutch, and along tlie coast of Ireland, as suVyect to the 
antinational ?-%i/>ie established there by the detested Revolution, v/e hud, 
among the Irish cruiser.s, the name of Walsh, or Welsh, several times 
connected with the annoyance of the enemy's commerce. Of representa- 
tives, in France, of the name of Walsh from Ireland, Abbe Mae Geogliegari 
adds, about the year 17G2 — "We behold, at the present day, 2 l)rothers, 
otf-.shoots of the noble family of the Walshes of Ii-eland, estaljlished in 
France, one of whom had conveyed, in 1745, Prince" Charles "Edward 
into Scotland; a service so sigual, as to merit for him the title of Lord : 
the other, having purchased the line estate of Sei-an," or Sorrant, "in 
Anjou, was honoured with the title of Count by the King of France." 
Sucli is the origin of the family of Walsh-Serrant which I would witik to 
believe, if I did not meet with another and very different account of the 
matter. It is set forth in a pamphlet of 157 pages, thus entitled — ■ 
" Meiiinir of M. Macdonagh, a Native of Ireland, Lieut-.nant-Colonel ufthe 
GOt/h Regiment of Infantry, (Royal Marine) Clievalier of tlie Roijal and 
Military Ord'ir of St Louis, shut up, during 12 years and 7 uto/iths, in a 
Dungeon in the Islei of St. Margaret, (the same in which was imprisoned 
the famous Man with the Iron Mask) by virtue of a Li-ttre de Cachet 
granted by M. de Montbarrey, formerly Minister of Wa.r. I'rinfel at 
Lyons, by Louis Cutty ; and to be had in f'aris at Deseues, Buokiellar, 



96 HISTORY OF THE tRISII BRIGADES 

Palais Royal; in Rnchdie at Roy s <i' Company, 1792." This Lieutenant- 
Colonel Aiuli/'. or Andrew, MacdouMgli — who su[)]jorts his assertions Wy 
an iuipendix of "jnstiticatory pieces," whicli, exclusive of those in notes 
to tlie text of his narrative, occupies from JiMge 111 to page 157 of the 
yianiphlet — belonged to the ancient sept of tlie Macdonaghs or Mao 
Donouglis of JSligo; and first served in the Regiment of Dillon, in which 
1)0 shows, bv a chie certificate, that from 1690 to 1770, so many as 42 of 
the famil}' f)f Macdonagh had been Captains or Lieutenants. Tlie sub- 
stance of the writer's case is, that he, having been the nearest or jire- 
sum])tive lieir to the great wealth of old Count Charles O'Garn, (sou 
of Colonel Oliver O'Gara already described) was intrigued out of this 
inhei'itance by a Randal Plunkett, styled Lord Dunsany, General 
Plunkett, Governor of Antwerp,* and Rose Phmkett, to whom he, the 
Avriter, was married; which intriguing w^as rendered successful by i\\% 
influence of the old Count's valet Deuzan, with whom Rose did not 
soruy)le to commit adultery; and that then, to be ridded of tlie writer, 
a biVre de cachet was obtained from the Frcnich Minister of War, by a 
bribe to the Count de Walsh-Serr;int ; in consequence of which, the 
wi'iter was imprisoned as rehited, until )ele;ised by the lu'\ olutiou; 
declared innocent of any ci-ime; compensated l)y milit;iry advancement, 
proport.'oned to his standing in the army; and enabled to expose to the 
world the infamy of his peivsecutors ; including Rose, wdio hnd meantime 
been enjoying her share of the spoil with another husband! The Irish 
Lieutenant-Colonel, in "unveiling," ;is he states, the "jii'etended Count 
de Walsh-Serrtint, Colonel of a Regiment of the same name," says — " The 
rapid progress of this favourite of fortune is as extraordinary, as the 
sudden increase of his dignities. The Sieur Wasli (for tJiMt is the true 
name of the pretended Count, and not Walsh, as lie has been pleased to 
name himself,) is son of a iSieur Wash, trader at Cadiz. This trailer was 
Son of a ship-owner, and grandson of a ])rivate individual of Stiasbom-g, 
named Isaac Abraham Wash. Such is, according to the exact truth, 
the gfuiealogy of the jiretended Count de Serrant. Wash the ship-owner, 
no doubt wishing to ninke his origin be lost sight of, corrupted the name 
of his iiither; he added an I, transposed the letters, and, of an obscure 
Israelii isli family, he formed all at once an illustrious Irish family. It 
is by the i'avour of tliis transposition, that the Sieur VA-^ash has ]ait him- 
8e]f forwar<] under the proud title of Count; has driven in tlu^ cai'iiages 
of the King, has mairied a lady of the house of Clioiseul, without any 
other portion than her charms; and is at present Colonel of an Irish 
Regiment, and Marcchal de Camp. I have already made known to the 
p\d)lic, through the medium of the newspapers, that the father and uncle 
of the ci-devant Count de Serrant were descended from a Sieur Wash, a 
Jew of Stra.sbourg; and I confidently reiterate, to the ci-decan', Cotnit, 
the most formal deliance, to produce any authentic and faithful certificate 
of baptism, or of marriage, contradictory of what I have just stated. I 
defy him also to produce a legal genealogy, establishing the slightest 
connexion between the existence of any of his ancestors, demonstrated 
as such, and the possession of any property in Ireland, in Scotland, or in 
England. So far, then, from belonging to any noble family of those 
3 kingdoms, he is not even a gentleman; and it is merely Ly the riches 

* Of the fmnily of Castlc-Phuil:ett., extinct by tlic deaths of the Gcnerars 3 cMer 
Bons in the Austrian service, in the Turki&h, Oerman, aiid Italian campaigns, and 
bj' that of the 4th sou as a Dominican friar. 



IN TIl!v SEIiVJCE OF KKANCr:. 97 

which his Hithpr, foniu'i-ly in cojumcrce, has left liini, that hi^ ha«5 aoqiiirefl 
the supei'lr n.state of S'^rraM, silujiLod on th'j comiiie.-; <)f Aiijou and of 
Eretagne." itc. "It is this ci.-(!^r{t.,d (-o-in? tie \> .il.Vii-SeiTaiit, who took 
iipoii ijiiii.selt' to hunt out tiic I'Ure <!.e c/uuv:', w isich lias kept me dui-iii" 
12 yi'ars nud 7 months in a <h<;i^r,(Mi, {"'hiwd G g.oe^, tri[)l_v -grated, next 
to a privy, and deprived of the [low-r of coai:iiiiiiii;ating with any body, 
eitlier by conversation, or by writh.tg. The interest of the ci-devnni 
Count Serrant was not at the service of his friends for nothing, since he 
has accepted from my wife a su)i) of 1000 h)uis ; foi- the inirpose of 
delivering liei- from a man, by v/lioiu she dreaded to be prosecuted, and 
that her new husband niiglit be p.e.-iMilLed to enjoy, in peace, the fruit 
of lier baseness." So far, Lieutenant-Colonel Macdonagh, whose public, 
contemporary statement, on this pc-int, I could not conceal, without t\ 
A'iolation of the laws of histoi y, in 177.5, the same year that tlie 2 otiier 
Irish Regiments of Bulkeley ar.'7 rii'u U'c*- ».li««'>ive.«..i, the Regiment of 
Walsh was likewise brokiti up, arx; nios^; p'>;'a;e<l with the Legion of 
Dauphine. Bi't It, fi.^'- 'lot I'-i'g ro!iliiiiiv" so; brina le'^l ired *'» its tc/nui :• 
composition ami ;i:!]'t-liatiovi by the Ciniite ue '61. Oi r.iiaui, Miuijter of 
War, in 177G; tit .i it remained under rlie cotumand of a re[)reseiitative »>f 
this family of Walsh, until the advance of the Revolution, and the con- 
sequent change of the titles of all, except tlm Swiss, regiments in France, 
from a family, feudal, or local, to a simuly numerical, designatidu. Ac- 
C'rding to this new arrangement, the cni'p.s previously knovv-n as the 
Regiment of Walsh, became the 92nd Regiment. The exile of tlie Bourbon 
family was anticipated, and so far as may be surmised from Lieutenant- 
Ct)l(inel Macdonagh's terrible exposes, and the guillotine-doom that 
menaced any ci-devant aristociats at all conce)-ned in tlie misdeeds of the 
aitvien reyime, was, with Jewish cunning, most seasonably anticipated, by 
Anthony Count Walsh de Serrant, and Charles Viscount Walsh de 
Serrant; who, with the same craft, turning tliis altered state of things to 
their own account, contrived to be provided f u-, in tlie light of " suffering 
loyalists," as Cidonels of 2 of the Reginients of the Irish Brigade, formed 
in tile British service, after the fall of the French Monarchy. 

From 1692 to 1698, or from the year of the 1st Continental organiza- 
tion in Bretagne, as the King's Foot Guards, to that of the 1st great 
reform among the Irish troops in France, that regiment, which, like all 
the Irish infantry regiments of King James's army there, but 1, (to be 
hereafter noted) consisted of 2 battalions, diifered considerably, at 
different times, in the ])roportions of its officers and privates. My 
earliest account of the number of privates and officers, after the Treaty 
of Limerick, specifies that there were in the regiment 2 battalions, these 
containing 16 companies between them, or 8 in both battalions ; that, in 
each of the 16 companies, there were 100 soldiers, or 1600 in the entire 
regiment; that the officers to each company wei-e 4, namely, 1 Captain, 
2 Lieutenants, and 1 Ensign, who would form 64 officers; and thus, the 
total foice of the regiment wonkl be 1G64. Mac Geoghegan's later list of 
officers to the Irislrreginients in 1695 mentions those of this " Regiment 
des Gardes du Roi, Jnfanterie," as "William Dorrington, Cohmel — 
Oliver O'Gai-a, Lieutenaiit-C(jlonel — John Rothe, Major — 12 Captains — 
28 Lieutenants — 28 Sub-Lieutenants — and 14 Ensigns." By other and 
contemporary documents, giving, to a more recent period of the war, tlie 
strength, both in men and officers, of every cor))S belonging to King 
James's Irish army in Fiance, the jircportion of oilicers is much greater; 

H 



98 niSTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

and of privates nrach less, in the regiment, than those al>ove-state(l ; the 
2 liattalions of the Foot Guards being set down as 1342 men; or llUO 
privates, and 212 officers, 

THE QUEEN'S REGIMENT OF INFANTRY. 

This regiment was one of those organized in France, from the Irish 
who came over after the Treaty of Limerick; there being no mention 
made of any foot i-egiment, called the Queen's Regiment of Infantry, 
among those ot King James's army, during the 3 campaigns of the War 
of the Revolution in Ireland. Its Colonel was the Honourable Simon 
L\ittrell, of Luttrell's-tovvn, in the County of Dublin. This officer was 
si)rung frt)m the ancient Norman or French race of the Luttrells — 
otherwise written Loterel, Lottrell, Luterel, and Lutterell — several of 
whom are stated to have been, Oct(kber 14th, 1066, amongst the chiefs of 
the army of the Duke of Normandy at the battle of Hastings, wjiere 
England fell beneath its French invaders. Of the confiscated lands of 
the vanrpiished English, or Saxons, the Luttrells, like others of the 
dominant race, obtained their share. Under the Norman Conqueror's 
son, Henry I., or Beauderc, as well as his royal successor, Estevene or 
Etienne de Blois, otherwise Stejihen, we find the Chevalier Johan de 
Luterel, or according to the modern English mode of expression. Sir 
John Luttrell, Knight, holding in capite the manor of Hoton-Pagnel, in 
Yorkshire, by certain feudal services, as his descendants continued to do, 
until the 6th year of King Henry V. In the time of King Henry II. 
the Chevalier Andre de Luterel or Sir Andrew Luttrell, Knight, founded 
the Abbey of Croxton-Kyriel in Leicestershire, with a dependent cell at 
Hornby in Lancashire. The 1st of the name of Luttrell who acquired 
an establishment in Ireland was the Chevalier Geofl'roi de Luterel, or Sir 
Jeotfry L>itt!ell, Knight. Jeoffry, having attached himself to the 
interest of King Richard I.'s brother, Johan, sans-terre, afterwards King 
John, the Luttrell estates in the Counties of Derby, Leicester, Notting- 
ham, and York, were confiscated by Richard. On that Monarch's death, 
however, .and the «*consequent accession of John to the throne, the 
confiscated estates of JeoU'ry were not only restored to him, but some 
good additions were made to them. The Chevalier de Luterel attended 
his royal benefactor to Ireland; was much intrusted with public business 
there; and, upon the conditions of paying 20 ounces of gold, and of 
liolding by military service, obtained, fi-om the Crown, a gi-ant of the 
castle, lands, and manor of Luttrell' s-town, in the County of Dublin.* 
In the 16th year of the same reign, this Chevalier Geoffroi de Luterel was 
the King's representative at the Court of Rome; the next year was 
appointed his Eml)assador Extraordinary there along with the Arch- 
bishops of Bourdeaux and Dublin, and Johan, (or John) le Mareschal, to 
request assistance, from the Pope, against a hostile confederation of the 

*The fine castle and noble demesne of Liittvell's town, situated npon the right 
hank of the river Lifiey, along the delightful Lower Road leading from Dublin" to 
Lucan, and at a distance of about 6 miles from the Irish metrofxilis, were disposed 
of, by the last proprietor of the name of Luttrell, Henry Lawes Luttrell, 2nd Earl 
ox Carliainpton, to that excellent and liberal-minded citizen, Luke White, Esq., of 
DuMin, early in the j)resent century. Since Mr. White's purchase of the castle 
and demesne of the Luttrells, the former n.une n{ LaUreU'd-tuivii has been changed, 
or attempted to be changed, for that of Wood -la ads; an appellation, true, indeed, 
to Nature, but uuinteresting U> History. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE, 99 ' 

Anglo-Norman Barons; and finally surviving his royal friend, died in 
the 3rd year ot the ensuing reign, or that of King Henry III.; leaving 
issue by his wife, the daughter of Henry de Newmarche, whose ancestors 
were Barons as early as the Conquest. The next chief representative of 
the Luttrells, another Chevalier Andre de Luterel, or Sir Andrew 
Luttrell, Knight, j)roved his claim, before Henry III. at Westminster, 
in 1229, to certain estates, as heir to Maurice de Gant; the 1st settler of 
Avhich name in England was the nephew of the great Duke-King, 
Guillaume le Conquerant, or William the Conqueroi; and the sou of 
Baudouin, or Baldwin V., Conite or Earl of Flanders, by a daughter of 
Robert, King of France, son of Hue Chafjet, or H^ugh Capet, the founder, 
in 988, of the Capetian line of the French Monarchs. This Chevalier 
Andre de Lul^erel, shortly after ])roving his claim to those estates of the 
De (rants, Comtes or Earls of Lincoln, Barons of Folkenhaui, ttc, like- 
wise made out his right, through the same Maurice De Gant, to the 
Barony of Yrneham, or Irnhaui, in the County of Lincoln, together with 
Quantock-head in Somersetslnre, and more lands in the west. From 
other circumstances in this reign, or that of King Henry III., it appears, 
that the Chevalier Andre de Lutei-el, while thus nobly descended in tiie 
male line, was likewise so on the female side, through the great family 
of the Paganels or Paynels in Normandy, who became, by the conquest 
of England, Barons of Dudley, Lords of Newport- Paguel, itc, in that 
country. From this ])eriod of the 13th, till the latter half of the 
17th century, or during upwards of 400 years, the house of Luttrell 
continued to display, through various branches, an illustrious line of 
descent in England and Ireland — in the former, as Barons of Iridiam, 
Lords of Hoton-Pagnel, Quantock, the Isle of Lundy in the Bristol 
Channel, Dunster Castle, Carham{)ton, &c., distinguished, likewise, in 
the wars of France, Scotland, and the 2 Roses — and, in the latter, as 
the ancient pro])rietors of Luttrell's-town, connected, in various ca]>acities, 
with the English government of the country, and intermarried with the 
leading nobility and gentry of colonial origin. The great-grand-father of 
the Honourable Simon Luttrell, or Thomas Luttrell, Esq., of Luttrell's- 
town, was, early in the 17th century, 1 of the Members for the County 
of Dublin in tlie Irish Parliament, a Privy Councillor for Ireland, and a 
man of ability and high spirit; as evinced by his speeches in Parliament, 
and by his having hiul, in the reign of King James I., " the confidence," 
adds iny Anglo-Irish authority, " to make comparisons, with the Earl of 
Thcmiond (chief of the O'Briens) even in the Lord Deputy's presence!" 
Simon Luttrell, Esq. of Luttrell's-town, the eldest son of the preceding 
Thomas, (by the Lady Eleanor Preston, 5th daughter of Christopher, 4th 
Lord Viscount Gormanstown,) having succeeded to the property of his 
father, adhered to the royal cause, in the Parliamentarian and Crom- 
wellian wars. He shared the general fate of the Irish loyalists; hi.s 
castle of Luttrell's-town being seized by the regicide Colonel Hewson, 
Cromwellian Governor of Dublin, and detained fi-om its legitimate owner, 
while the military interregnvuri called a Commonwealth, and Pi-otectorate, 
lasted. This Simon died in 165U; leaving, as heir to Luttrell's-town, 
his eldest son, Thomas; who, alter the accession of King Ciiarles II., was 
restored to his estates by the Act of Settlement; was made a Gentleman 
of the Bedchamber to the King; and dying, in l(i74, left, by his lady, 
the daughter of William Segrave, Est]., of the County of Dublin, 4boi,x; 
the 2 elder of whom were named Siinou and Heniy. 



100 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

Simon, tlie eltlest, and immediate subject of the present notice, snc- 
ceeded to tlie estate of Luttivll's-town, and was, in the ivigii of King 
James II., placed in the puVjlic position to which it was conJ^idel•ed that 
lie was entitled, as well as the members of those otlier loyal Ii'ish families 
of Milesian, Norman, and Old English blood, who, on account of their 
religion as Catholics, amongst a nation the vast majority of whom were 
of that belief, had, nevertheless, been, as far as possible, excluded from 
o!11ce in their native land, by the intolerant "ascendancy" of a recentlv- 
])lanted minority of Bi-itish republican intruders. The owner of Luttrell's- 
town was consequently ap})ointed by that Monarch to be Lord Lieutenant 
of the metropolitan county of Ireland, in which his ancient cistle and 
e.state were situated; his brother Henry, who had served for some 
camjjaigns in the French army, being likewise made Governor of Slig(^. 
Of the 2 brothers, the Duke of Berwick, who knew them both, says, 
Simon was "of a mild disposition, and always appeared to him to be an 
lionest man;" while Henry possessed "a great deal of talent, a great deal 
of intrigue, a great deal of courage, and was a good officer, cajialile of 
every thing in order to bring about his own ends." When Ireland, after 
the success of the Revolution in England and Scotland, declared in favour 
of maintaining King James as lier Sovereign, the 2 brothers who were 
a\)road in France came home, and zealously embraced that Monarch'.s 
cause; raising, arming, and equipping, between them, no less than 5 
squadrons of cavalry, for the Ii-ish army. Simon was made Colonel of a 
Pi:(>giment of Dragoons, and Henry Colonel of a Regiment of Horse, in 
tlie royal service; and the 2 brothers sat in the Irish Parliament of 
1689; the former, for the County of Dublin, and the latter, for the 
County of Carlow. Simon was also appointed a Member of the Rojal 
Privy Council for Ireland, and Governor of the City and Garrison of 
Dublin. Tliis last post he continued, during the royal residence ia 
Ireland, to till, under the designation of the Honourable Simon LuttreU. 
When, after landing in August, 1689, near Carrickfergus, and capturing 
that place, the Prince of Orange's commander, the Marshal Duke de 
Schonl)erg, proceeded as far as Dundalk towards Dublin, and, by way 
of distracting the attention of King James, who was advancing from the 
Irish metropolis to oppose him, sent off, in September, 10 or 12 Englisli 
ves els, with some troops, into the Bay of Dublin, to attempt a diversion 
there, such effectual measures were taken for the security of the capital 
under the directions of its Governor, that the national army was not 
interrupted in its march after the King to Dundalk, and the English 
vessels were obliged to .sail out of the Bay, without effecting any thing. 
The following November, the Governor's brother. Colonel Henry Luttrell, 
at the expedition umler Brigadier Patrick Sarsfield, which terminated in 
the expulsion of the Williamites from Sligo, greatly distinguished himself, 
in a successful affair, near tliat place. Simon continued to be the 
Governor of Dublin till alter the action of the pDyue, July 11th, 1690; 
during which he was stationed in the metropolis, with a body of militia, 
to keep down disaffection, and pri'serve order; and, hite in the evening 
of the following (lay, when the Irish ai my li;id niaiehed out, and the 
militia had follovvcd, he was among the last who left the city, and 
ictreated to Limerick with the rest of the "loyal party," or Jacohites. 
Alter i defeat of the Prince of Orange at Limenck, where lleniy 
Luttrell was also disi inguishe'il, tli'^ 2 lirothcrs, as opjKUHT.ts of the 
auiiuuiaciatiuu 'jf the Duke oi rjicuum;!! lu IrcLaid, were nouiiuaied, 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRAXCE. 101 

■with Colonel Nicliolas Ptircell, Baron of Longhnioe, and Dr. .Jolin 
Molony, Catholic Bishop of Cork, to go, with charges against the Duke, 
to St. Germain. Simon, as ha.s been seen, then justified the good char- 
acter given of him, by being, during the voyage to France, the means, 
along with the Bislioj) of Cork, of saving the life of the Scotch Major- 
Geneial, Thoma.s Maxwell; who was judged hostile to the embassy, 
from the circumstance of his being sent with it by the Duke of Berwick, 
to give Ids views on the matter to the King, and who, on that account., 
would have been thrown over board, but for the opposition of llij 
Bishop, and the late Governor of Dublin. In the 3rd or succee.liti;_; 
campaign of 1691, which was decisive of the fate of Ireland, and towards 
the end of which, Henry Luttrell, being accused of a treasonable cor- 
respondence with the enemy's commander, Lientenant-General Baron de 
Ginkell. was arrested, tried for it by Court Martial, and committed to 
the Castle of Limerick, we hear nothing important of Simrm, nntil the 
conclusion of the Ti'eaty of Limerick, when it was stipulated, in tlie 4th 
of the Civil Ai-ticles, that, in case he, and other Irish officers then in 
France with him, should choose to retui'n within 8 months, and take the 
Oath of Allegiance to King William III. and Queen Mary, he and his 
companions should have the benefit of the 2nd of those articles, or, ia 
other words, be restored to the possession of tlieir estates, (Src. 

Henceforth, as well as for some time previous, or from the commence- 
ment of Henry Luttrell's corres|H)ndence with the invadeis of his country, 
and the enemies of his king and religion, the fate of the 2 In'others was 
very different. Simon, unwilling to abandon what lie considered to be 
equidly the cause of his country, his king, and his religion, would not 
retui-n from France, to avail himself of the advantageous stipulation 
made for him in the Treaty. Henry, with the popular odium on his 
character of being a traitor, had, in case his In-other did not return, the 
promise, from Lientenant-General Baron de Ginkell, of being ])ut into 
))osse.ssion of the family property of Lutti-ell's-town, &c. ; and in con- 
sideration of bringing over, alter the Treaty, his fine horse regiment of 
12 troops, the horses and arms of which were worth X10,000, was to be 
Tinder King William, as ])revionsly under King James, a Brigadier- 
General, and Cohniel of a liegiment of Horse. Fi-oni this period. Henry 
Luttrell was admitted to the confidence of King William's government 
at home;* attended his Majesty abroad in Flanders; had, in lieu ui hi.s 
Kegiment of Horse, which was disbanded, a royal pension of £500 a year; 
and, when the next war'' after the Peace of Eyswick, or that of the 
Spanish Succession, was at hand, he was appointed by tlie King to be a 
Major-General in the Dutch Army; and was likewise to have been 
created a Colonel of Hor.se in the service of the States, but for tliat 

* From official clocumeii*"s of 1692 and 160.3 in the State Pajter Office, London, 
and other ufficiul sources of iiifoniiatioii, we liad Colonel Henry Luttrell employed, 
inider Isinic Wiiliam's admiuistratio i in L-elaud, as the agent to enlist for the service 
ot the Itepublic of Veiuee, then eu^a^ed in a war against the Turks, (and into 
which service L'i.«h refnuees had previously gone as early as after the Cromwellian 
war,) a l>ody of loUJ or 20J(J Irish Catholics. In a French otiicial journal of May 
"lid, 169.S, under a para;r,iph from Venice in April, after an enumeration of the 
aids received against the Turks, from the Pope, the Kniglits of Malta, the Arcli- 
bisho]) of Saltzhurgh in Clerniany, &c., it is added — "The re])ublic has decided on 
a negotiation for procariug 2vJJ) Irish, who are to be ciiiducted hy the uoble 
]^eren:;aiii as far as Zaiite, in order to pa-is from that into the Aiorea, wnere each of 
t'acm shall receive a prescm; of o\i (iucai/S." 



103 HTSTOUY OF THE IRrSH BRIGADES 

Prince's death.* After William's decease, Henry Lnttrell retirerl to 
Lnttrell's-town, and mostly resided tliere, till JSToveraber 2ud, 1717; 
when, being waylaid between ID and 11 o'clock at night, in Dublin, as 
lie was proceeding from Lucas's Cotfee-Honse, situated where the Royal 
Exchange now stands, to his tovvn-lumse in Stafford-street, he was fired 
at, and mortally wounded, in his sedan-chair. He lingered until the 
next day, and then died, in the 63rd year of his age. A Proclamation on 
the sul)ject was issued by the Duke of Bolton, Lord Lieutenant, and the 
Privy Council in Ireland, 2 days after, premising how, on Tuesday, &c., 
"between the hours of 10 and 11 at night, a tall man, with long, lank 
hair, in a short, liglit-coloured coat, did, in Stafford-street, in the City of 
Dublin, in a most barbarous and inhuman manner, murther and assassinate 
Colonel Henry Lutterell. as he was going in a hackney-chair, trom a 
coffee-house on Cork-hill, to his own house in.Staifoi-d-street afoi-esaid, 
by firing a pistol, or gun, loaden with ball, into the said chair, and thereby 
so dangerously wounding the said Henry Lutterell, that he was since 
dead, of his said wounds; and that thp said assassin found means to make 
Lis escape, and the authors and contrivers of such an horrid murther 
were still undiscovei-ed." In consecpience of which, continued the docu- 
ment, " We, the L(U-d Lieutenant and Council, having a just abhorrence 
of all such barbarous and horrid practices, and thinking it absolutely 
necessiuy, that all due encouragement should be given for the discovery 
and apprehension of the said assassin, and the authors and contrivers of 
the murther of the said Colonel Henry Lutterell, do, V)y this, our Pro- 
clamation, |)iibli.sli and dei.-lare, th it we will give the nece.-isary orders for 
payment of the sum of £300 to such person, or persons, as shall discover, 
take, and ayjprehend the person who fired the said pistol, or gun, or any 
of the authors, or contrivers, of the said horrid murther, so as he, they, 
or any of them, may be convicted thereof; and, in case any of the persons 
concerned ther-ein, (other than and except the person \yho fired the said 
]nstol, or gun,) shall make a full discovery of his accomplices, so as one 
or more of them may be apprehended, and thereof convicted, such dis- 
coverer shall, besides the said reward, have and receive his Majesty'.s 
most gracious pardon for the same." The same month, it was moved in 
the colonial and sectarian Ho ise of Commons, Dul)lin, that there being 
reason to suspect, the late barbarous murder of Colonel Henry Luttrell 
was don", by Papists, on account of Ids services to the Protestant interest o/ 
tioc Kingdom, the Hou.se should address the Lord-Lieutenant, to offer by 
Proclamation a suitable reward, or £1000, for such as should cause the 
guilty to be convicted. This motion, unanimously passed, was as expe- 

Colonel Henrj' Luttrell, being a Catholic, was to be provided for in the Dutch 
service by William IIL, as Stadtliolder of Holland; the Dutch Republic, althout;!! 
a Prote.staiit state, admitting, unlike England, Catholics, as well as Protestants, 
into the national land and sea forces. As to any exclusion of the former from such 
employment in Holland, the famous Pensionary Fagel, in his letter of November, 
!■ 87, to Mr. Stewart, says—" That had indeed been hard, since, in the first for- 
niation of our State, they joined with us in defending our public liherty, and did 
divers eminent services during the wars " — or those against S[)ain &c. Tlje zealous 
English Williamite, Oldmixon, also remarks of the goverinnent of the Seven Uuited 
I'lovinces— "They /(«(/ (xenerals of their Armies, and Admirals of their Fleets, who 
were Papists. Witness,'' he adds, " a saying of one of their Adinir;ds, Mij conscience 
*-'-■ niji God's, but mil siiionl is thair Hi.<jk- MightlnL'ssp.s '' — or, in other words, was at 
tlie disposal of the government of his country, whatever might be the difference 
l.d..\^eun his reliLtion, and tliat of the goverumeut. See, likewise, 2^ote 22 of my 
eJiLiou of j-Macariie Excidiuui. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 103 

ditionsly acted on, and the Proclamation issued accordingly. Sorao 
arrests 'on svispicion soon after took place. But nothing of more conse- 
quence was the result, than what tended to cast additi(nial rei)roach upon 
the blood of Lnttrell; when, in 1719, for wilful perjury against Caddel 
and Wilson, charged with the murder, a nephew of the Colonel was tried, 
and convicted in the Court of King's Bench, Dublin, and sentenced " to 
stand 3 hoiu'S in the pillory, with Ids ears na'd'd to it, then to have them 
cut off, and to remain 8 months in prison !" Mr. O' Conor of Monnt-Diuid, 
in his unfinished work on the militaiy history of Ii-eland, intimates, of 
the Colonel's untimely death by the hand of an assassin, that the latter 
was "an enthusiast, probably, who sought to avenge the wrongs of his 
country, in the blood of the traitor" — a surmise, not unlikely, fnnn the 
state of political feeling at the time. Yet, according to a tradition which 
J. heard about 1839,. from an intelligent peasant, between 45 and 50, whose 
information was derived from his grandmother, who lived to be extremely 
old, and who, having been born, and a constant resident, in the vicinity of 
Luttrell's-town, remembered Colonel Henry Luttrell well, it is probable the 
Colonel's death was not less connected with his addiction to illicit amours, 
than with political animosity towards him. The statement of the ohl 
woman, as to the Colonel's conduct with respect to her sex, being, that, even 
when at mass, at the old straw-roofed parish chapel, nearest to Luttrell's- 
town, where he was accustomed to kneel only upon 1 knee — which, though 
he was lame, the poor people considered a serious irreverence — he used to 
employ himself in gazing at, or ogling, every well-looking female of the 
lower ordei's, whether other men's wives, or not; and would even some- 
times take a dexterous opportunity to cast little pebbles, of which he 
kept some for the purpose, at their caps, or bonnets, in order to attract 
their attention. The old woman's account of '■''Harry Luttrell" is, in 
this respect, sufficiently countenanced by the satirical Jacobite elegy on 
his death. It exclaims — 

*' Pang Liitti'ell's knell with wofull harmony! 

* -x- * * * •;;• 

Comewhoren, come pimps, come harlots, all In one, 
JrJiit dismal end, with one accent, bemoan.' 
He was the spark (ova bc'^t your Venus games, 
Thd" now laments, I fear, in fiery flames. 

****** 

Pie serv'd 3 mighty Lords most faithfully, 
Ami with their humours firmly did comply. 
The 1st, and chief, was Satan, black of liue; 
The World, the next, that 's like liimself, untrue; 
The 3rd, the Flesh, lie serv'd ivith might and main. 
And did, with zeal, its lustful sjjorts sustain." 

By his wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Charles Jones, Esq., of Halkin, in 
Flintshire, the Colonel had 2 sons, Robert and Simon; through the 
2nd of whom, successively ennobled as Baron Irnham, Viscount and 
Earl of Carhampton, and most unenviably notorious, in ])rose and vei-se, 
for lewdness, &c., he was the grandfather of a man, infamous for com- 
bining the unscrupulous military bravo, and hard-hearted despot in 
.^lower, with ihe outrageous wencher and adulterer, and consequi'ntly 
marked out, in 1797, for assassination — Henry Lawes Lutti-(dl, '2t\{ 
Ea;l wf Carhampton. The memory of Colonel Henry LutLrell was iiilJ 



104 UISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

up, after his death, to national hatred, in tlie following epigram, cited by 
Hardiman, and unsurpassed for comprehensive bitterness ; — 

" If heav'n be pleas' (1, whpn mortals cease to sin — 
And HELL be pleas'd, when villains enter in — 
If EARTH be pieas'd, when it entomlis a knave — 
All must be pleas'd — now Luttrell 's in bis gravel " 

The peasant, who snpjjlied the local traditionary information above noticed 
as so well founded, likewise told me, that, towaids the end of the last cen- 
tury, Heniy Luttrell's tomb, iiearLiittrell's-town, was broken open at niglit 
by some of the peasantry of the neighbourhood, and his skull taken out, 
and smashed with a ])ick-axe, and suitable execrations, bv the labourer, 
named Carty, who was afterwards lianged, for being concerned in tiie ' 
plan to cut off Lord Carhampton, in 1797, on his way to Luttrell's-town, 
as a character not less detested living, than his graridfatlier dead! 

Henry's elder brother Simon, on the other hand, — in every sense, the 
HoNoi?RABLE Sinion Luttrell, as having given up everything, ratlier than 
in any way submit to the Sovereign and tlie cause he did not consider to be 
legitimate, — was appointed Colonel of the Queen's Eegiment of Infantry 
in King James's army, after its new formation in France. He served 
■with distinction on the Continent; first, or until 1696, in Italy, imder 
the Marshal de Catinat, where we find him acting at tlie siege of Val- 
enza, with the rank of Brigadier, among the forces, with which Catinat, 
and the ducal Sovereign of Savoy, Victor Amadeus IL, terminated the 
contest in Italy, by the Treaty of Vigevano; and next, or the following 
campaign, which concluded the war of the League of Augsburg with great 
glory to the French arms in Spain, he was attached, with his regiment, 
to the army of the Duke of Yendome in Catalonia. The date of 
Brigadier Simon Luttrell's decease is mentioned as foHows in an inscrip- 
tion in gilt letters, on a slab of black marble ; which, on account of the 
I'emarkable contrast presented by that officer to his brotlier and others of 
the name, I copied, in 1841, with great interest, and no less venerat-iou, 
from the wall, near the holy-water font of tlie Chapel of the Irish College 
in Palis. 

J). 0. M. 
Pi^ Memorise 

ClARISSMI iSToBILISSIMIQUE ViRI SiMONIS LuTTREL SUB 
LUDOUICO MaGNO RegE XtIANISSIMO MilITCJM TltlBUxM, 
CiVITATIS DUBLINIENSIS HlBERNlyE METROPOLIS SUB 

Jacobo 2'' Magn^ Britannia Rege Prefecti. Qui cim 

E.EGE CaTHOLICO pro FIDE CaTHOLICA EXULARE MALUIT 
ET MILITANDO VICTITARE QUAM DOMI PACATAM VlTAil AGERE, 
ET AMPLISSIMIS POSSESSIONIBUS GAUDERE. 

ObIIT 6. CAL. 7-BRIS A.R.S.H. M.DC.XCVIII. EIUSQUE PTAM 
MEMORIAM NON INGRATA DOMUS HUIC INSCRIPTAM MARMOKI 
SERVARI VOLUIT, CL JUS IPSE MORIENDO NON IMilEJIOR FUIT. 

Requiescat in j^u-ce. 

By his wife, Catherine, daughter of Sir Thomas Newcoinen, Baronet, 
of Sutton, in the County of Dublin, whom he married in August, 1672, 
tlie Honourable Simon Luttrell had no issr.e. 

The Queen's Regiment of Infantry, of which he was Colonel, sliarcd in 
the reduction to which so many other regiments of King James's LlsIi 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRAXCE. 105 

army in Fi ance were subjected in 1 608, after the Peace of Ryswick. 
According to my mannscrij)t aiid other authorities, this regiment con- 
sisted at first, in France, nf 2 battalions ; each battalioti containing 8 
companies, each company lOU privates, making a total of 160U soldiers ; 
and these, with their officers, who, like Dorriigton's, were 64, con- 
sequently formed a coi-ps of 1GG4 strong. Siil'seqnent to this organiza- 
tion of 1G-J2, or in 1G95, the officers of the "Regiment de la Heine, 
Iiifanterie," as Mac Geoghegan calls it, are thus given by him — "Simon 
Luttrell, Colonel — Francis Wachop, Lieutenant-Colonel — Jamf^s O'Brien, 
Major — 12 Captains — 28 Lieutenants — 28 Sub-Lieutenants — 14 Ensigns." 
By documents, coming down to a later ]>eriod of the Cf)ntest between 
Louis XIV. and the League <^'f Augsburg, the Queen's Regiment of 
Infantry, or that of Lutti-ell, in 2 battalions, ap})ears with a less number 
of j)rivates, and an increased amount of officers, or 1100 of the former, 
and 242 of the latter; making 1342 men, of every description. 



THE IXFAXTllY REGIMENT OF THE MARINE. 

This regiment was originally levied in Ireland for the War of the 
Revolution, and finally established as that of the Lord Henry Fitz- 
James, otherwi.se the Lord Grand Prior of England. Its Colonel, then 
very young, owed this post to his being of royal blood, or the offspring 
of 1 of the various intrigues, which his father. King James, both aa 
Duke of York and King of England, though twice married to young and 
handsome women, carried on with married and unmarried females of the 
Court, or the Ladies Southesk, Che.stertield, Robarts, Denham, and Dar- 
lington, as well as the more immediate subject of this narrative, Miss 
Arabella Churchill. This lady, born ia March, 1648, was the sister of 
the famous John Churchill, afterwards Duke of Marlborough, and the 
daughter of Sir Win.stan Churchill — de.scended from the Courcils of 
Anjou, Poictou, and Normandy, through Roger de Courci!,* who, 
coming over from France to England in 1056, with Duke William of 
Normandy, received his portion of the forfeited estates ot the conquered 
Saxons, or English, in Dorsetshire, Somersetshire, and Devonshire. Sir 
Winstan Churchill, having adhered to the cause of Kings Charles I. and 
Charles II. against the Parliamentarians and Cromwellians, and having 
been proportionably punished under the usurpation, and fined above 
^4400 for his loyalty, was i-ewarded with suitable appointments by the 
Crown after the Restoration; and had his daughter, Arabella, created 
Maid of Honour to the 1st wife of James, Duke of York, Anne Hyde, 
daughter of the Lord Chancellor Clarendon. Miss Churchill, though 
described by our countryman, Colonel Cotint Anthony Hamilton, in no 
better terms than "a tall creature, jiale-faced, and nothing but skin and 
bone," was, however, sufficiently attractive not to escape the attentions 
of the Duke of York ; who, as one of the gi-eatest "oglers" of his time, 
looked upcm his wife's Maids of Honour, as "A«.9 jiropei'ty." The dis- 
covery of those hidden charms, which led to the mistress of them likewise 
becoming the mistress of his Royal Highness, occun-ed during a summiT 

•"Courcil" became gradually altered into Curichil, Chirchil, Cherchile, Church- 
ile, Churchill, as the surnames of otliers of the x^onnan cou((uerors, takeu, for 
instance, frc.m " Rocbefort, La Rochelle, C'aliors,'' in France, liave, in Enj;land, 
says Thierry, "become, by corruiitirtn, Rnrhford. li<)h''i)i, C'lUiiivn'.h.'''' And tliiis, 
it may be observed, Marlborough was uoC of Amjlu-i'saxDH, buc French, origin- 



106 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

excursion to Yoi'kshire, in 1665, for the amnsemeut of the Duchess, at a 
coursing-match, where tlie Maids of Honour had to be present on horse- 
back. "The Duke," says Count Hamilton, "attended Miss Churchill, 
not for the sake of besieging her with soft, flattering tales of love, but, 
on the contrary, to chide her for sitting so ill on horse-back. She was 
one of the most indolent creatures in the world ; and, although the 
Maids of Honour are generally the worst mounted of the whole Court, 
yet, in order to distinguish he.r, on account of the favour she enjoyed, 
they had given her a very pretty, though rather a high-spirited, horse; 
a distinction she would veiy willingly have excused them. The embar- 
rassment and fear she was imder had added to her natural paleness. In 
this situation, her countenance had almost completed the Duke's disgust, 
■when her horse, desirous of keeping pace with the otiiers, set oif in u' 
gallop, notwithstanding her greatest eiforts to prevent it; and her 
endeavours to hold him in, firing his mettle, he at length set off at fuli 
speed, as if he was running a race against the Duke's horse. Miss 
Churchill lost her seat, screamed out, and fell from her horse. A fall, 
in so quick a pace, must have been violent ; and yet it proved favourable 
to her in every respect; for, without receiving any hui't, she gave the lie 
to all the unfavourable sui)positioiis that had been formed of her person, 
in judging from her face. The Duke alighted, in oi'der to help her. 
She was so greatly stunned, that her thoughts were otherwise em])loyed, 
than about decency on the pr. sent occasion ; and those, who first 
crowded around her, found her rather in a negligent posture. They 
could hardly believe, that limbs of such exquisite beauty could belong to 
Miss Churchill's face. After this accident, it was remarked, that the 
Duke's tenderness and affection for her increased every day ; and, to- 
wards the end of the winter, it appeared, tiiat she had nob tyrannizedov^er 
his ])assion, nor made him languish with impatience." Of this illicit 
connexion of the Diike and Miss Churchill, the following were the off- 
Sf)ring, who came to maturity. 1st, James Fitz-James, born in August, 
1670, created, during his father's reign in England, Duke of Berwick, 
Earl of Tinmouth, and Baron of Bosworth, Kniglit of the Garter, Lord 
Lieutenant of Hampshire, Hanger of the New Forest, C-overnor of Ports- 
mouth, successively Colonel of the Infantry Regiment, now the 8th Foot, 
of the Cavalry Regiment, now the Blues, and Ca))tain of the 3rd Troop 
of Life-Guards; besides, by commission fr<jm Leopold I. of Austria, a 
Seijeant General of Battle, or Major-Geuei-al, Colonel Commandant ad 
interim of the Imperial Regiment of Cuirassiers, likewise known from its 
Irish Colonel, as that of Taaffe ; and, after the Revolution, or in Ireland 
and on the Continent, Captain of a Troop of the Irish Horse-Guards, and 
Colonel of the Irish Infantry Regiment of Berwick, Marshal. Duke of 
Fitz-James, Member of the Council of Regency, Governor of the Lim- 
ousin and StrasV)ourg, Chevalier of the Order of the Holy Ghost, and 
of the Orders of the King, in France ; and Captain-General, Duke of 
Liria and Xerica, Crandee of the 1st C'lass, and Knight of the Golden 
Fleece in Spain. 2nd, Henrietta Fitz-Jame», born in 1671, first. Lady 
Waldegrave, next, (though too late to preserve her character,) Lady Wil- 
niot, and deceased in April, 173>). 3rd, * * * Fitz-James, bf)rn in 1672, 
and a nrin in France, where she died in February, 17()2, aged about 90, 
4Lh, Henry Fitz-James, born in 1673, and Lord Grand Prior of England. 
•^'Vip T>nkp of York having granted to Miss Churchill, in January, 1668, 
■tiUUO a }<..u-, fioni a leiit-charge on the manor of Newcastle, in the 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 107 

Comity of Limerick, she was married, when her concubinage with him 
ceased, by Charles Godfrey, Clerk Comptroller of the Green Cloth, 
Waster of the Jewel Office, and Colonel, for some years, of the 1st Regi- 
ment of Horse — since 1788, the 4th or Royal Irish Regiment of Dr'agooa 
Guards. By this union, she had 2 daughters, Charlotte and Elizabeth, 
highly married in England; and died in May, 1730, aged about 82; 
having long survived her husband, deceased in 1715. 

When King James, on account of the general defection of the English 
to the Prince of Orange in 1688, had to retire to France, the Lord 
Grand Prior shared his father's exile there, and thence accompanied him 
to Ireland, in the spring of 1689. His Lordship was present at the royal 
entry into Dublin, on Palm-Sunday that year; on which occasion, he, 
says the contemporary Williamite account, "rid alone, in 1 of the Earl 
of Tyrconnel's coaches, with 6 hoi'ses." He was subsequently a]ipoiuted 
Colonel of an Infantry Regiment in the Irish army, thenceforward 
known as the Lord Henry Fitz-James's, or the Lord Grand Prior. 
According, however, to the letter of the Comted'AvauX to Louis XIV.. 
from Dublin, February 11th, 1690, this "graceless scion of royalty" was 
so sunk in dissipation as to be a mere nominal ColoneL " C'est un jeune 
homme fort debauche, qui se ci-eve tons les jours d'eau de vie, et qui a 
este, tout cet este, par ses debauches, hors d'estat de monter a cheval." 
But his regiment served at the blockade of Demy, and being afterwards 
stationed at Drogheda, and I'ecndted to oppose the Willianiite invasion 
under the Marshal Duke of Schonberg, it formed part of the national 
force, with which the Marshal's progress, farther south than Dundalk, 
was'aiTested by the King. Next campaign, or that of 1690, it was 
present at the action of the Boyne, and the defence of Limerick, where, 
along with the Munster Regiment of Major-General Boisselot, the French 
Governor, it is mentioned, as having highly signalized itself at the defeat 
of the great assault of September 6th, which led to the raising of the 
siege by the Prince of Orange. The Lord Grand Prior, as well as the 
King, returning to France after the affair of the Boyne, his Loi'dship's 
I'egiment in Ireland was left under the orders of Nicholas Fitz-Gerald. 
That officer, who was of an old and respectable branch of his name, had 
entered the service, as a Cadet, in 1675; and successively rose to be 
Lieutenant, Captain, Major, and Lieutenant-Colonel, acting as Colonel 
in command, of this corps. After the 2nd defence of Limerick in 1691, . 
where he took a leading part, as 1 of the " Lieutenants of the King," he 
passed, with his regiment, into France. 

From the Lord Grand Prior's being originally destined for the British 
navy, and his having, on account of his father's dethronement in Great 
Britain and Ireland, entered the French sea-service, this regiment of the 
Irish army on the Continent, of which he was the Colonel, was st\le 1 in 
France, the "Regiment de la Marine;" and, owing to his necessary 
absence in the French navy, and the command in the field consequently 
devolving on the 1st, or most experienced, of its 2 Lieutenant-Colonels, 
Nicholas Fitz-Gei'ald, the corps is sometimes mentioned, as if that officer 
had been its Colonel. While the Lord Grand Prior distinguished him- 
self on sea — particularly at the severe blows, inflicted, off the coasts of 
the Peninsula, in 1G93, upon the English, Dutch, and S])anish shipping, 
by the celebrated Chevalier Comte de Tourville — the Irish Regiment of 
tiie Marine had its due share in the cam])aigns on the Continent, under 
LieuteuauL-Colouel Fitz-Gerald. With him, it served on the coast of 



108 IIISTOltY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

Noiinandv, in 1092, as a jiortion of the Ir'iKh and French force, intended 
to elTect tiie "restoration " ot Kin^' Jatiies — witli tlie French array of Ger- 
many in 16i)3, 10!)+, and ICDo— witli that of the Mense in 169G-and with 
that, of the Moselle in 1007 — when the War of tlie Leaijne of Aiigsbuig was 
terminated in autumn, hy the Pea( e of Ryswi(d<. In the extensive reform, 
anioiiir Kin;,; James's troops in France, in Fehruary, 1698, the Regiment 
of the Marine was, by an order of the SOtli of tliat month, included; yet, 
not that it might be broken up, or disl)anded, like several otliers of the 
Irish corps, but remodelled under tlie designation of the "Regiment 
d'Albeniarh'," Irom the adilitional title of Duke of Albemarle conferred 
bv King James in France upon Iiis son, the L(ud Giaml Prior ; an<l 
J. ieholas Fitz-tjlcrahl was still the a'-tiii'X oHicer in command, as (Joloncl- 
I.ifutenaiit. Alter tlie lnvaking out. of the War of the Sp.inish Succes- * 
.-ion, he commanded the regiment in Geiuiany. in 1701 ; in 17"2, in 
Ihdv. at the battle of Luzzara; and, for his distinguished conduct there, 
was made. Octol.er l>t, that year. Brigadier of Infantry. After having 
been long in ii.id health, llie Colonel I'ropi-ietor of the Regiment, lienry 
Fitz-Jauies, L<ud (Jraud i r or of Englantl, and Diike of Albemarle, died, 
December 17tli. aged only lietween 2J and 30, at Bagnols, in Languedoc. 
A (Mief d'E^eadi-e' towards the end of lG9o, he was 1 of the 4 officers, 
<.t' that i-ank, phu-ed, in January, Id./u. over the Toidon fleet, to c(Uisist 
of -30 sail of the biie, tkc. ; and, about that period, appears to have been 
cnated, by his father King James, Duke of Albemarle, In December, 
1 r02. shortly before his de tli. he had been nominated a Li.eutenant- 
(ieneial of the Marine by Louis XI V. ; who put the Court of France into 
mourning for hini. He had married the only daughter of Jean d'Audi- 
bert Comte de Lus.-aii, Baron de Valiose, Chevalier des (.)rdres du Roi, 
itc, or Marie Gabrielle d'Audibert de Lus.san, a lady whose fortune was 
among the largest in France, but lift no chil Iren by her. 

The proprietorshi]) of the " Ib'^giment d'AToemarle" was not fi]le(l up 
till Feliriiaiv lOth, 17113; wlieii by a comniissi(Ui of that date, appointing 
the late Colont 1- Lieiiteiiant to the cominand of the cor|)s. it became the 
" Reuiiiient de Fitz-Gerald." Fi(}m 17U3 to 1706, the Brigadier was 
einploved in the campaigns of Italv, wlieie, besides other important opera- 
lions in whi(di he was engaged, he served at the sieges of Vercelli, of 
Ivrea, of Yerrua, and at the battle of Turin. In 1707, he was trans- 
ferred to the Army of Flanders. Created, iiy bre\et of March on\. 1708, 
j\Iareclial de C'aiiip. or Major-Genei-al, he was atraehed, that month, to 
the service of King James II. 's son, for the expedition, designed, under 
the ('he\alier de Forbin, to effect a landing in Scotland. After the 
frustration of the attempt, by the greater naval strength of the English, 
the ]Major-General rejoined the Army of Flanders. He was wounded, 
and taken pri.voner there, July 11th, at the battle (f Oudenarde ; and 
(bed at Claud, or Ghent, August 1st, with the character, from all the 
(hneials under whom he had serveil, of being as good an ollicer as any 
of his );\\]k in [''ranee. 

ilis Mieeessor in the Colonelship was Lieutenant-Colonel Daniel 
O'DoniKil : from whom the cor|is was accordingly named the " Regiment 
d' O'Donnell." He was a member of the illu.strious family of flie 
O'Dotnhnalls, or O'Donnells. (or, as they generally write, "O'Donell,") 
I'rinces or Chiefs of Tii-Connell. sprung from Conall, or Council, son of 
Niall the Great, f.f the Nine Hostages. Ard-Ri-h of Erin, or Monaix-li of 
lielaud, at llic cud ol tlic itli, and biginning of the 5th, ceutury. From 



IN THE aEP'ViCf; of fiance. 109 

this Connell, deceased a.d. 404, the territory of bis descendantp, who 
formed various tril)es, cotnpreluiided under the general term of '' Kinel- 
Conuell," or the iticp, of Conitdl, was designated " Tir-Coniiell," or the 
land of Coanell, wliich nearly corres])onded with the [)resent County of 
Donegal. Of the Tir-Conueli branch of the posterity of the royal "Hero 
of the Nine Hostages," there were 10 Ard-Righs of Erin, or Monarchs 
of Ireland, previous to the Anglo-Norman invasion of the island, in the 
]2th century. The O'Donnells, however, nnt 1 a conipai-atively recent 
period, did not acquire that supremacy in Tir-Connell, by which every 
Prince or Chief of that territory was an O'Donnell. With the 2 excep- 
tions of Dalach, deceased in 868, (from whom the O'Donnells were some- 
times called the Clan Dalach, as from his grandson, Domhnall, O'Don- 
nells,) and of Eignechan,^wbo died in 901, botJi Princes of Tir-Connell, none 
of the line of O'Donnell reigned over that country, till about 3>) years 
after the coming of the Anglo-Normans into Erin. The O'Muldorys and 
O'Canannans were the septs of the race of Connell, whose head.s, accord- 
ing as either clan happened to be the more powerful, had previously been 
the supreme rulers of Tir-Connell.* The original countiy of the O'Don- 
nells was contined to a mountainous district of Donegal, between the 
waters of the Suileach, or Swilly, and the Dobhar, or Simmy ; the latter 
of which falls into the sea, near the pre.sent village of Glenties. About 
the centre, however, of this district, — and as if preligurative of the final 
pre-eminence to be acquired by the clan who possessed it, — stood the 
Hill of Doon and the Church of Kilmacrenan, the locality appointed, 
from the earliest times, for the inauguration of the chiefs, designed for 
the supreme rulers of Tir-Connell. "The ceremony of inaugurating the 
Kings of Tyrconnell," according to the native account in Keating, " waa 
this. The King, being seated on an eminence, surrounded by the nobility 
and gentry of his own country, 1 of the chief of his nobles stood betoi-e 
him, with a straight, white wand in his hand; and, on presenting it to 
the King of Tyrconnell, used to desire him — ' To receive the sovereignty 
of his country, and to preserve equal and impartial justice in every part 
of his dominions.' The reason that the wand was straight and white was, 
to put him in mind, that he should be unbiassed in his judgement, and 
])ure and upright in all his actions." Eignechan O'Donnell, Prince of 
Tir-Connell from 1200 to 1207, was the 1st of the O'Donnells, fi-oni 
whose acces.sion to power Tir-Connell may be considered the country of 
" /Ae O'Donnell ;" or of the heads of that name, during the 403 years 
which elapsed, until the land of Connell ceased to be a Princi])aliry. i>r 
Chiefdom, at the commencement of the reign of King James I. During 
those 4 stormy centuries, the O'Donnells proved how well they were 
entitled to be the rulers of Tir-Connell, by the bravery with which, in 
ages when bravery was every thing, they not only defended their terri- 
tory again.st foreign and native foes, but extended their sway far beyond 
the limits of that territory. The O'Donnells were celebrated for their 
attachment to the litei-ature of their country as well as for their bravery. 
Tlie O'Clerys, as Ollaves, or Professors of History, Antiquities, and 

* The Chief Poet of O'Kelly of Hy-Many, Shane O'Dugan, who died in 1.^7'2. 
all'ules, in his topooraphical poem, to the original pre-eminence of the ()'MuMor\^, 
ami O'Canannans, among the Kinel-Connell, and yet to their entire <lis:ippe u;u!oe, 
btlore lii-i time, from Tir-Connell. He adds, how, to the O'Dohnells, " by a "wav, 
wliich has not decayed, now belongs the hereditary Chieftainship!" Tins reads 
sLidiigely at pret^eat. 



110 HISTORY OP THE IRISH BI^IGADES 

Poetry, in Tir-Connell, were endowed with the castle of Kilbarron, near 
Bullyshannon, in the County of Donegal, and lands, worth, in our times, 
nearly £2000 a year ; and, independent of this endowment, several of 
the O'Donnells are jiarticnlarized, in the chronicles, as eminent, in their 
day, for their powers of mind, or information, for their acquisition of 
valuable books, (some still ])reserved) and for their generosity to the 
"sons of song." The heads of this great name, as the leading represen- 
tatives of their race, and the first native potentates of the north-west of 
Erin, were regarded with suitable consideration in other countries, as 
well as their own; being entitled, and treated according to the designa- 
tion of, Princes, Chiefs, and Lords of Tir-Connell, by the Kings of 
England, Scotland, France, and Spain, to the 17th century. 

In England, Henry III., inquiring assistance from Tir-Connell against 
Scotland, writes from Statmtord, in July, 1244, '■' Rex^ Donnaldo, Rpjji 
de Terchenull." Edward If., upon a like requisition, writes from West- 
minster, in March, 1314, "Ilex, dilecto sibi Etli. O'Donnuld, Duci Hiber- 
nicorum de Tyrcouil" — this designation of Duci (or /%«) answering to 
that of Chief In 1512, Aodh or' Hugh O'Donnell, Chief of Tir-Connell, 
during 16 Weeks which he remained in London after a ])ilgrimage to 
Home, (as well as I'i weeks which he likewise remained jjrevious to his 
going there,) "received," say the native annalists, "great honour and 
respect fiorn the Saxon Monarch, King Harry" —or Henry YIII. In 
the same reign, or the latter ])erio(l of the sway of the O'Donnells in 
Tir-Connell, its Chief, Manus O'Donnell (without reference to any of his 
race having ever been ennobled in the English manner) is entitled, iu 
the indenture, ratified, August, 1-Hl, with Henry's reirresentative, 
Sir Anthony Semleger, '^ Dowinux Udonell" — on which occasion, the 
ajipearance of the Irish potentate is thus described by Sir Anthony. '' He 
was in a cote of crymoisin velvet, with agglettes of gold, 20 or 30 payer; 
over that, a greate doLlc cloke of right crymoisin saten, garded with 
blacke velvet ; a bonette, with a fether. sette full of agglettes of gold." 
In the reign of Queen Elizabeth, or in 1564. the same title of " Dominns 
O'Donnell" (likewise irrespective of any rank but that which had been 
derived from a 'native source) is given by her Lord Deputy, Sir Henry 
Sydney, to Calvagh O'Donnell, Ciiief of Tir-Connell, and to Aodh or 
Hugh O'Donnell, in 1574, that of "Cupitaneus nationis sufe de Tyr- 
connell." In Scotland, Hugh O'Donnell, Chief of Tir-Connell, is re- 
corded to have met with such distinction from the gallant James IV. on 
a vi.sit to his Court, in 1494-5, as was suited to the general designation 
of the Chief as "great Odonell ;" with whom a league, for mutur^l aid, 
was concluded by James.* In 1513, the namesake and successor of this 

" Under James I. of Scotland, who reigned from 1406 to 1437, the Scotch statute- 
book alludes to the "glide auld friendship " with " Irislirie in Irelaud." On which, 
a commeutator in the Scot's Magazine, May, 17GS, observes — " 'Irishrie in Ireland' 
means that part of Ireland under the don)inion of the Irish Princes, in opposition 
to 'Irishne subject to the King of England,' which is mentioned in tliesame statute." 
J^nd, after repeating of sxich "glide auhl fiiendship'' in Scotland, that it was "with 
the native Irish, wlio wci'e not sii})ject to the government of England," the commen- 
tator notes, how, in speaking of those times, ^^Eneas Sylvius also (afterwards Po|ie 
Pius II.) has thus adverted to these circumstances. " Hibernia, partim libera, 
Saito uin (imicitia it .loci'tate gnuJet, partim Anglicano pHret imperio." Tytler, 
the Scotch historian, who cites, from the accounts of the Treasurer of James IV., 
the items "for the receving of great Odoiuiel," which, he adds, was done " l\y the 
King with great state and distinction," assigns 1494 for the date of the occurrence^ 
while the Ulster Aimuls aud Four Masters assign 14U5. 



IK THE SERVICE OF FHANCK. Ill 

Hngli Mrent over to Scotland with a select band, at tlie solicitation of 
James, and "on his arrival there," it is added, "received great honours 
and gifts from the King," and " remained with him a quarter of a year." 
In France, it is related, how Francis I., in 1544, " despatched to Ireland, 
Theobald de Bois, a French nobleman, in the rank of Ambassador to 
O'Donnell, with an ofier, to that Princp, of arms and of money, should he 
■wish to declare war against the English." In 1550, Heiuy II. of France 
is also stated to have sent, through Scotland, into Ireland, as his Envoys, 
Raimond de Beccarie de Pavie, Marquis de Fourquevaux, and Jean de 
MoTitesquiou de Lasseran-Massencomme, then Protonotaire de Montluc, 
and Chancellor in Scotland, and afterwards Bishop of Valence and Die 
in Dauphine, accompanied by the Capitaine d'Auvroy, Sieur du Bosc, to 
" negociate with the Princes of Ulster," for the purpose of " engaging 
them to enter into a confedo'ation with France against the English." 
These French noblemen, after reaching that part of Ulster, in which they 
were to land, " as the most remote from the district possessed by the 
English," were "to address themselves first to the Seigneur Audonnel," 
i. e., O'Donnell, " chief Seigneur and Prince of the said country, whose 
ancestors were regarded of old as Kings of the whole island," &.c. On 
this occasion, Manns O'Donnell, by a letter in Latin from his castle of 
Donegal, February 23i'd, 1550, to Henry II., and intrusted for delivery 
to the Capitaine d'Auvroy, Sieur du Bosc, promised, on the part of him- 
self and other Irish Princes, to unite with a French force, if landed in 
Ireland, and to transfer the sovereignty of the island to Henry ; pro- 
vided, says the writer, with reference to himself and his brother Princes, 
*' that your Majesty shall treat us all in a benign, humane and Christian 
manner — sliall not pe^'mit that there should be any curtailment of our holy 
religion — shall not diminish, in any respect, the rigJits of the nobility — 
sJiaU maintain the clergy, and ecclesiastical persons, and the holy cliurches 
in their frivileges and franchises.'" Which negociation, however, had no 
further results with respect to Ireland, on account of the peace that 
occurred shortly after, between England and France. In Sjiain, at the 
commencement of the next century, or after the unfortunate battle of 
Kinsale in January, 1602, when the famous Hugh O'Donnell the red 
went to solicit succour against Queen Elizabeth from King Philip III., 
and arrived at Corunna, the light in which the exiled Chief was viewed 
a]tpears from the conduct of the Marquis de Carazena, (governor of Gal- 
iicia, and the Spaniards, in general, at the time, as well as from that of 
their Sovereign — the head of the greatest empire then in the world. By 
a contem|)orary letter from Corunna — in which that ])lace is called, after 
tiie English manner, "the Groyne," and the Marquis de Carazena is 
termed in like manner, the " Earle of Caragena" — it is noted, how the 
Chief, after his arrival there, " was nobly received by the Earle o'f Car- 
azena, who invited Odonnell to lodge in his house ; but hee, being sea- 
sicke, in good manner refused his curtesie ; wherefore the Earle lodged 
him in a very faire house, not farre from his ; b>it, when his sea-sicknesse 
was past, he lodged in the Earle's house; and upon the 27th of lanuaiy, 
Odunnell departed from the Groyne, accompanied by the Earle (and many 
Captaines and Gentlemen of quality) wVto evermore gaue Odonnell tlie 
rigid hand, WHICH, within his govehnment, hee would not haue done 
TO THE greatest DUKE IN SPAiNE ; and, at his departure, hee presented 
Qilonnell with 1000 duckets, and that night hee lay at Santa Lucia: the 
Earle of Caragena being returned, the next day hee went to Saint lames 



112 HISTORY OF TIIT^ lETSH BRIGADFS 

of ConiposfeJ^a, where lie was received with inugnificence by the Prelats, 
citizens, and religious persons, and his Uxlging was made ready lor hiin at 
Saint Marthas, but before bee saw it, hee visited the Archbishop, who 
instantly piayed him to lodge in his honse ; but OdonneU excused it. The 
29t.h, the Archbishop, saying masse with pontiticall solemnity, did minis- 
ter the sacrament to OdonneU, which done, hee feasted him ;it tlinner in 
his house; and, at his departure, hee gaue him 1000 duckets." Of tl.e 
Chieftain's further progress, and interview with Philip III., the Donegal 
chroniclers inform us, "he proceeded to the pluce where the King was, 
in Castile, for it was there he happened to be at this time, (after making a 
visitation of his kingdom) in the city which is called Samoia," or Zamoi-a. 
" And, as soon as O'Donnell arrived in the presence of the Kijig, he 
knelt down before him; and he made submission and obeisance to him as 
was due to his dignity, and did not consent to rise, until the King )iro- 
niised to grant him his 3 requests. The 1st of these was, to send (in annif 
wit/i. him to Erin, with suitable engine,'^ and necessary arms, iv/iatever ti/j.e 
they should be prepared. The 2nd, tliat, should the King's Majesty obtain, 
])0Lcer and sway over Erin, he would never place aiiy of the nobles of his 
blond in power or authority over hiin, or his successo)S. The 3id request 
M as, not to lessen, or diminish, on himself, or Ids successors for ever, the 
right of his ancestors, in' any place tclterelds ancestors had power and' stcay 
lej'ore that time in Erin* All these were promised him to be complin <l 
with by the King; and he received respect from him ; and it is not pro- 
bable, that any Gael ever received, in latter times, so great an honour 
from any other King." Of the honours jiaid to the Chieftain's remains, 
on his premature decease, in the royal Palace of Simancas, not long after 
— an event resjjecting which contemporary bai'ds sang, that it was "a 
cause of grief to Erin from sea to sea," and that " Erin died in Spain " — 
the following account is given by the chroniclers previously cited. "His 
body was conveyed to the King's Palace at Valladolid, in a four-wheeled 
hearse, surrounded by countless numbers of the King's State Otlicers, 
Council, and Guards, with luminous torches, and bright Hanibeaux, of 
beautiful wax-light, burning on each side of him. He was afterwards 
interred in the Monastery of St. Francis, in the chapter precisely, with 
veneration and honour, and in the most solemn manner that any of the 
Gaels had ever been interred before. Masses, and many hymns, chamits, 
and melodious canticles, were celebrated for the welfare of his soul ; and 
his requiem was sung with becoming solemnity." 

But a stronger and moie recent instance of the honour paid to a branch 
of this old race abroad, however reduced in circumstances at home, was 
shown in 1754, to 1 of the O'Donnells, when onl}' about 26 — or Henry, 
afterwaids Lieutenant-General and Count, — by the marriage of this 
Henry, with the consent of the Empress-Queen of Austria and Hungnry, 
Maria Theresa, to her own cousin, of another royal house, or one that 

• Compare the requests made to Philip III. of S]>ain by the exiled Chief of Tir- 
Coimell, with the stipulations previously quoted from the letter of his predecessor 
to Henry II. of Fi-ance, in February, 1550. The claims of " dauntless red llugli," 
with respect to his own principality and that of his ancest^.rs, as elsewhere explained 
by another candidate for the Chiefdom of Tir-Connell, implied, that " wheiesucvcr 
aiiij of the O'Donnells had, at that time, extended their power, hee made accompte 
oil was his." This extension of the jiovver of 'J'irConnell was more ])articulr.i .y 
towards the south, or iu the direction of Connaught ; where the OT>(,nnells held a 
high hand, alter the great diniinuticn and division of the power of the house of 
O Conor, winch followed the Au^lo-Norman invasion of Erin. 



IN THE SERVICE OP FRANCE, 113 

formerly held the sceptre of Constantinople in the person of John C'anUi- 
cnzeno, the famous Emj)eror and Historian, who reigned from 1;j47 to 
1355. This matrimonial alliance has not been the only one f(>i'nied hy 
the O'Donnells with the Cantaciizenos in Germany, and, through t})eni, 
with the House of Austria ; and it is a sufficient evidpneeof tlie high con- 
sideration with which the membcis of old or Milesian Irish families of 
]aiik were regai'ded in the haiiglifiest Court on the Continent, that has 
claimed for itself a succession to the ancient majesty of the Cu?sars, ami 
has been so sniiercilious towards all who could not produce a pedigree, 
indicative of what was demied "nuble blood." 

Alter the junction of the Crowns of England, Ireland, and Scotland, in 
the 1st English and Irish Monarch of the House of Stuart, Ivory or 
lloileiic O'Donnell, the last Prince or Chief of his name, was created, in 
Se])tember, IGOS, Earl of Tyrconnell, with the title, during his own lile- 
time. for his eldest son, of Btirou of Donegal ; till the flight of both to the 
Continent, in 1607, led to that fall and dispersion of the O'Donnells 
in their own country, which has been s cceeded, to our times, by the 
existence of the name of O'Donnell in the higliest posts, that military merit 
could attain, abroad. Of the several gallant ofHcers so distinguished, all, 
however, acquired their honours in the services of Spain and Austria,* 
except the immediate object of this narrative, Daniel O'Donnell. On 
the commencement of the revolutionary disturbances in Ireland, excited 
by the successful l»inding and progress of the Prince of Orange in England 
against King James, Daniel O'Donnell was appointed Captain of a com- 
pany for the royal service, December 7th, 1G88, and, in 1689, was autho- 
rized to act as a Colonel; in which cajiacity, there were seveial officers 
of merit attached during this war to various i-egimeiits, raised by. and, as 
such, beai'ing the names of, other Colonels. Passing, after tiie Treaty of 
Limerick, into France, Daniel O'Donnell appears to have suffered much 
by the new arrangements of the Irish troops there ; under which he did 
not obtain a higher post, than that of a Ca])tain in the Regiment of the 
Maiine, by commission of Februaiy 4th, 16!J2. He sei'ved, in this grade, 
on the coasts of Normandy, with the Irish and French forces designed 
for the invasion of England, and "restoiation" of King James, thai }ear; 
with the Army of Germany fiom 1603 to 1695 ; and with the Army of 
the Meuse till 1697, or the Peace of Pyswick. On the remodelling of his 
iTgiment into that of Albemarle in 1698, he was I'etained as Captain, by 
oommission of A})ril 'llth, that year. Next war, he served with tlu 
Army of Germany in 1701, and, from 1702 to 17< 6. in the Army of Italy; 
during which 5 campaigns, he was at the battle of Luzzara, the reduction 
of Borgofoite, of Nago, of Arco, of Vercelli, of Ivrt a, of Verrua, of Chi- 
vasso, at the battle of Cassano, and the siege and battle of Turin. He 
was Lieutenant-Colonel of his regiment, at the last-mentioned siege and 
battle; having attained that rank the preceding year, or October 20fch, 
1705. Transferred to the Army of Flanders in 1707, he fought at the 
battle of Oudenarde, in July, 1708; and was appointed successor to 
Nicholas Fitz-Geiald as Colonel, by commission of August 7th following. 
He commanded the legiment, as that of O'Donnell, in Flanders, from 
1708 to 1712; being with it, at the battle of Malplaquet, the attack of 
Aileux, the aflair of Denain, and the sieges of Douay, Quesnoy, and 
Bouchain. Removed to the Army of Geiiiiany, under the Marshal de 

* See, with reisjieot to them, Dr O'Donovan's Topograjiliiccal Poems of O'JDugaa 
and O'Keeriii, mtn ductioii, pp. 31-35 : Dubliu, 1802. 

L 



114 HISTORY OF THE lEISIi BRIGADES 

Villars, in 1713, he was at the reduction of Landau and Frihnr2;h, and 
the forcing of the retrencluncnts of General Vaubonue, which led to the 
Peace between France and Austria, at Rastadt, in March, 1714. The regi- 
ment of O'Donnell was reformed 11 months after, or by order of February 
6th, 1715; half of it being incorporated with the Regiment of Colonel 
Francis Lee, and half with the Regiment of Major-General Murrongh 
O'Brien. To the latter corjis, O'Donnell was then attached, as a 
reformed or su})ernumeiary Colonel. He was made a Brigadier by 
brevet. February 1st, 1719; and finally retired to St. Germain-en-Laye, 
where he died, without issue, in his 70th year, July 7th, 1730.* 

Brigadier Daniel O'Donnell was descended from Aodh Dubh. or Hugh 
the dark, known as "the Achilles of the Gaels of Erin," and younger 
brother to Manus O'Donnell, Chief of Tir-Cunnell, deceased in 15o3« 
The Brigadier's father was Terence O'Donnell, and his mother Johanna 
O'Donnell, both of the County of Donegal ; and, as their son, being thus, 
on eadi, side, an O'Donnell, he retained through life the feelings of the 
old name and territory with which his origin was associated. From the 
early ages of Christianity in Erin, there were handed down, among her 
leading races, certain memorials of the Saints whom they most venerated ; 
respecting which memorials, there were predictions, that connected the 
future destinies of those tribes, for good, or for evil, with the preservation, 
or loss, by them, of such local )ialladiums. That of the KinelConnell, 
or descendants of Connell, consisted of a portable square box, of several 
metals, variously ornamented, and gemmed, and containing, in a wmall 
wooden case, a Latin Psalter, believed to have been written by the hand of 
him, who was the most eminent ecclesiastic, and great religious patron, of 
their race — the famous St. Columba, or Columb-kille, who flourished from 
A.D. 521 to 597, was the A})ostle of the northern Picts, anrl tiie founder 
of the celebrated monastery in Hy or lona through which it became 
"that illustrious island," in the language of Doctor Johnson, " cnce the 
luminary of the Caledonian regions, whence sav:ige clans, and roving 
barbarians, derived the benefits of knowleilge, and the bh'ssings of 
j-eligiou." + The consecrated reliquary above-mentioned was styled the 
catliach — pronounced caagli, or caa/i — of St. Columb-kille, from tlie per- 
suasion entei-tained and handed down by tradition, tliat it was a sort of 
spiritual talisman, wiiich would procure victoi'y for the forces of Tir-C(Ui- 
nel, if conveyed with, and accom])anied by, a cei'taiu ceremonial among 
them, previous to their giving battle.j. Accoidingly, the custody of it 

* Other O'Donnells, besides the Brigadier, were officers in the rtegiinents of 
O'Donnell, Berwick, Clare, and Dillon. Of these, Michael O'Donnell was Captuiu 
in the Beoiment of Berwick, in June, 177t), and a L'hevaher of St. Limis, hi May, 
1777. Yet some of those officers were not of the great O'Donnellsof Uisler, but of 
the less noted sept of the O'Doiniells of Munster; or originally of the district <»f 
Oorcobaskin, Oonnly of Clare, until disjiossessed by the Mac Mahons (a brancli of 
the O'Briens) early ui the 14th centiuy. 

+ Doctor Johnson might likewise have described Tona, through St. Columba's 
great monastic. and missionary foundation there, as not merely the "luminary of 
the Cnledomin regions,' but of the "' Amj o-Saxuii regions," too; the far greater jior- 
tion. of the Saxtm llc])tarchy having tieen indebted to the Columban or Irish 
}>reachers from that island, but more especially to St. Aidan, and St Fiiian, for being 
reclaimed from .Paganism and ignorance to Christianity .nnd letter.s. 

X Manus O'Donuell, Kruice of Tir-Ccnnell, in his life of St. Cohunb kille, written 
ahoutthe year \o'Al, sajs of the mystical box alluded to— "El; (Jnthnch, id est pneliit- 
t:r, vulgo" ai)pellatur, fertque triidit o, (["oil si circa illiiis e.xercituni, antequain 
Lostein adoriautur, tei;ti'j .cum debita revcieuLiacircuuiduoatur, eveuiat ufc victoriam 



IN THE SEKATCE OF FKANCE. 1 15 

was conimitted to a incniber of a ]iarticular family, named Magroarty of 
Bally magroart}', near the town of Donegal ; and it was usually borne: ta 
the field, with the banner of the Kinel-Connell. It was once, or in 14!J7, 
lost by the O'Donnells, when they were defeated by a sujierior foicf) 
nnder Tiege Mac Dermot, Chief of Moyhirg, (or the old Barony of Boyle^ 
(Jounty of Roscommon.) but was regained in 1499, when Cormac iMac 
Dern\ot was obliged to submit to the Chief of Tir-Connell, to pay tribitte, 
and to restore the prisoners previously taken, as well as the aiiujli. Ifc 
■was ai'tei'wai'ds carefully preserved by the O'Donnells, with refeicnce, as 
it would seem, to that warning, attributed to St. Caillen, in the Book of 
Fenagh. "He doth admonish the sept of Conall Gulban, which is the 
O'Donells, to look well to the Caacjh, that it should not come to the 
handes of Enylisliinen, which yf yt did, it should be to the overthrowe 
and confusion of the sept of Conall Gui.baa, and to the great honnor ol" 
the EnglisJo." Of the Jacobite possessor, and conveyer to the Continent, 
of that remarkable relic, as a sort of "household god" of his race, Sir 
AN'illiam Betham adds — "Colonel O'Donell, in 1723, to preserve the box, 
had a silver case made, and placed round it, 0|)en at the top and bottom, 
so as to show them, but which totally hid the sides. On this case, he 
caused to be engraved the following inscription. — 'Jacobo 3° M. B. Regr 

EXUL.\N'I'E, D.ANIEL O'DuNEL, IN Xl'IANlSS "^ IMP " FU^FKCTUS HEt BiLLICVE, 
HUJUSCE H^REDrfARlI SaNCTI CoLUMBANI PIGNOHIS, VULGO CAAil DICTI, 
TEGMEN ARGENTEUM, VETISTATE C\).\>UMPTLM, RE.-TAURAVIT ANNO SALUTIS, 
1723.'" This hereditary pledge of St. Columha, always considered hy 
the O'Donnells as containing reliques of the great Saint of their race and 
princijiality, after its being repaired by Brigadier Daniel O'Donnell, was 
deposited in a monastei'y of Belgium — a country most friendly to Irish' 
exiles, as well from community of religion in modern times, as from its 
inhabitants having been anciently so much indebted to Ireland for their 
conversion to Chiistinnity ■"' — and the Brigadier directed, by his will, that 
this old family memorial shoiild lie given to whoever could prove himself to 
be the \wm\ of the O'Donnells. Tlie catiyk was discovered at that monastery 
in our own times, and the purport of the Brigadier's will likewise ascer- 
tained by an Abbot of Cong, Comity of Mayo; who, on his return to Ire- 
land, aequaintiiig Sir Neal O'Donnell, Baronet, of Newport in that 
County, with the ciicnmstance. Sir Neal, as believing himself to be "the 
O'Donnell," ai>i)lie<l for, and obtained, the relic. Sir William Betham 
was thus enabled to get the access to it, to which we owe the earliexti 
])ublis!ied details respecting its form, workmanshii), and contents. It was' 
subsequently intrusted, by Sir Richard O'Donnell, to the care of the 
Royal Irish Academy, to be placed in their valuable Museum of National 
Antiquities, for the inspection of the public; and, among that " unrivalled 
collection," it apjjeai-ed, at the great Du'olin Exhibition, in 1853, along 
with other interesting leniains of ancient art, mentioned as having been 
objects of religious veneration to the North Hy-JSiall. 

The Regiment of the Marine, like the Irish infantry regiments ia 

Tfiportet." In Scotland, too, we find, in the 10th centurj, the crozicr of the Irish 
Saiat, as her Apostle, borac-? fur a staiiilard, lUidcr the designatiou of the "cath- 
bhuaidli," or LatUe-rk- orij, a^auist the Heatbei) Nur.'ieim'ii. 

* On the great extent winch L'elgium a,ltiiitfi it.s conversion from Paganism to have 
been owing to Irish mi sionaries, see the j)iil(lication, in KWJ, ol ti^e leained Pio- 
fessor of Loiivain, ]\'icolaus Veriuilwus - "/>'- Fro/Hii/iithtuc Fi'lei ChrlHtiawe in 
Jjf.)/io, per iS(i)/rt(i.'< c-.r IJiLtnikl ]"iri/>t,' - (iv Isoies 4 ami y of my edition of Mucunix 
Ejcckiium for the Irish Arclia;ologicai Sociecy. 



11 G HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

France already mentionerl, or Dorrington's and Lnttrell's, consistpd, at 
first, or in 1G92, of 2 battalions, of 8 companies eacii ; 100 soldiers iu 
evfry company; and consequently IGOO between the 2 battalions; that, 
with 64 officers, would make the whole 1G64 men. According to Mae- 
Geoghegan, the officers of the " Regiment de la Marine, Infanterie," in 
lG9o, were— "The Lord Grand Prior, Colonel— Nicholas Fitz-Gerald, 
1st Lieutenant-Colonel — Richard Nugent, 2nd Lieutenant-Colonel— Ed- 
niond O'Maddin, Major— 11 Captains — 28 Lieutenauts— 28 Sub- Lieu- 
tenants — 14 Ensigns." By later accounts of the numerical sti-ength of tlie 
corps, it, as well as the 2 preceding Irish infantry regiments, had, in its 2 
liattalions, a smaller complement t>f soldiers, and a larger complement of 
officers^ or 1100oftheone,and 242 of theother; forming 1342 men altogether. 



THE INFANTRY RE'.^IMENT OF LIMERICK. 

Gf the 1st Colonel of this corps, Brigadier Talbot, an account has been 
given, under the Infantry Regiment of O'Bri-ni, (u* Chire. The next 
officer that I find Colonel of the " Regiment de Limerick, Infanterie," wa.s 
Sir John Fitz-Gerald, Baronet, or, according to liis Fiem-h designation, 
the "Chevalier Jean Fitz-Gerahl." Sir Jolm, wlio \iore tlie character of 
'•■a person of known worth and lionoui'," had suffered under the nnscru- 
jmhjus sectarian machinations of the Whigs, in the reign of King Charles 
II.; having been 1 of the Irish Catholic gentlemen arrested and con- 
veyed to England, "on account of the jiretended Popish ))lot, in the year 
1G80." After the accession of King James II. he was appointed Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel to the Infantiy Regiment of the Hiuiouiable Justin 
Mac Carthy, (subsequently Lord Mountcashel) and, in 1G89, was Colonel 
of 1 of the regiments f>f the national army, raised for the defence of the 
King, against the coh)nial partizans of the Revoluti<ni in Ulster, and 
their British and Continental su[iporters. In that year's campaign, Sir 
J(tliu's regiment of foot ujjpears as one of those which served at the 
Ml ckade of Derry, where he lost his brother, Cai)tain Maurice Fitz- 
Gerald; and it is likewise to be found in the later lists of the Irish army, 
fcjii- John, in addition to his military post during the War of the Revolu- 
tion in Ireland, was Member for the County of Limerick, in the national 
I'ai liament of 1689, along with Gerald Fitz-Gerald, " Knight of the Glin, 
or Valley." Next to the old or Milesian Irish families of rank, these 
gentlemen were of the most esteemed origin in their native counti-y; 
lieing descended from that brave nobleman of mixed Continental and 
ancient British or Welsh lineage, Morice lefiz Gerout — Moris lefiz Geroud 
— or Mauuice Fitz-(xEhald, who was 1 of the first chevaliers, or knights, 
that, at the solicitation of the exiled King of Laigliin, or Leinster, Diar- 
luaid Mac Murchadha, or Dermod Mac Murrough, in the 12th century 
came over from Wales, to restore him to his dominions; and, through the 
considerable aid received by the King from his native adherents, and the 
consequent success, and still further im])ortant results, of the enterprise, 
was enabled to lay the foundation for imuiense acquisitions by those of 
the lace of Fitz-(tKi;ai.d in Iieland. 

The great-grand-talher of Maurice Fitz-Gei'ald was a nobleman named 
(Xlio, who, even Ui'ioif. the Norman Conquest, or, in the IGth year of the 
reign of King Edward l}ie 6'c»;/^.'.-.so?-, ajipears as a powerful Baron in 
tngland, po sessing no less than '6b lordships there. Oi these lordships, 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 1 1' 

1 was in, Somerset, 2 were in Berksliire, 3 in Surrey, 3 in Bucks, 3 la 
Dorsetshire, 4 in Middlesex, 9 in Wiltsliire, and 10 in the Couutv of 
Soutluimjiton. Tiie origin of Otho liinisclt' has been referred to an Italiau 
stock, and his race connected with England !iy a removal first from Italy 
to Normandy, and afterwards from Normandy across the Ohanr>el. Fioiu 
Otho's having been such a fionrishing y)otentate in England in Km^ 
E<lward tlie Confessor s time, lie was, most likely, one of those Continental 
cavaliers, among whom Edward, dni-ing his exile, was reared; and "t 
•whom, on his restoration to the crown of his ancestors, after the cessation 
of the Danish line of Kings, he is mentioned to have brought or invited 
over several from Normandy; and to have so much favoured them, as to 
excite a great jealonsy, and even an insnrrection, on the part of the 
native Saxons, or English, ntider the famous Earl Godwin, father of 
Harold, the last Saxon King of England. The probability of this itj 
countenanced, by the fact of the Lord Otho's son, Gaultier, or WalteK, . 
(hence named Gaultier or Walter Fitz-Oiho,) being treated as a fellow- 
countryman by the Normans after their subjugation of England; when, 
or at the general survey of that kingdom made under those Fiencli 
conquei-ors, we find him Castellan of Windsor, Warden of the Forest:* 
of Berkshire, and in possession of all his fath r Otlio's above-mentioned 
extensive estates ; instead of being used like the ■mere Saxons, or deprived, 
as such, both of lands and office. This Gaultier or Walter Fitz-Otho, by 
his wife of Welsh blood, or Gladys, the daugliter of Rywall a}) Conan, 
hail 3 sons. Of these Gerout, Gerotid, Gerard, Girauld, or Gkrald, (a3 
the name is variously written,) and who was call d fnuu his father Ftl>- 
Gaidtier, or Fiiz-Waltkr, had a grant, from King Henry I., of Moles- 
ford in Berkshire; and serving against the Welsh, was made the Norman 
Constable of Pendiroke Castle, in their country. This fortress ha 
strengthened and defended with success; slew the Welsh Loi'd or 
Chieftain of Cardiganshire; was ayj])ointed President of the County of 
Pembroke; and rewarded with the grant of many lands in Walea. 
There he settled, and, like his father Walter Fitz-Otho, married a nati\'8 
of that country, Nesta. daughter of the Prince of South Wales, «ho had 
been the misti-ess of King Henry. Amimg liis family by this marriage, 
Gerald Fi*-z-Walte!- had that Moiiz, Moiice, or Maurice, accordingly 
designated son ofGerall — which Ma\irice, through the King of Leinster 3 
invitation, became, as lias been said, the founder of the race of FlTZ- 
Gerald in Ireliind, where he died in September, 1177. 

Of the ]jotsterity of Maurice, the 2 ])rincipal houses were that ot 
OfJaley, or Kildare, in Leinster, and that of Der-mond, in Munster. Tho 
former, or that established in Leinster, sprang from Maurice by \iiA 
descendants the Barons of Offaley, the 3rd of whom, John Filz- 
Thomas, was created, in 131G, by Edwaicl II., for great .services \ii. 
Ireland and Scotland, 1st Earl o Ksldaue — whcjse line, through 20 
Earls so entitled, and, since 1766, through several Dukes of Leinster, 
have transmitted their honouis, for above 5 centuries, with a landed 
revenue, consisting, in our days, of many th(ui,sand jiounds a year. Tha 
latter branch of tlu^ Fitz-Geralds, or that established in Munster, S]irang' 
Irom Mauiice Fitz-Thdmas, 4th Lord of Decies and Desmond, whom 
]idwai(l 111. eni.ubhd in 1. ■52!), ci'eating him Earl of Desmond by patent; 
according to which, tJie Earl and his male heirs were to hold from the 
CroNsn the Cminty of Keny, as a County Palatine, or vua under a, 
separate jurisdiction; rLiidcring him, in whom it was vested, a kind of 



118 HISTORY OF > E HUSH BRIGADFS 

sovereign prince, witliin tlie ten-itory tlms granted. The Lord PiL-itine 
Lad the power of exei-cising capital piiiiishiiient><, of erecting his own 
tril)niml.s for civil and criminal causes, and of appointing his own Jii(!g:^s, 
^herifls, Seneschals, Coroners, &c. He had likewise Courts for the pay- 
ment of his feudal revenues, vv'hich would appear to have included si» many 
Sources of emolument as to constitute a vei-y large increase to tin; inconui 
deiived from his own innnediate lands, or estate. Finally, like other 
great Anglo-Norman potentates of a simdar rank in Ireland, the Loids 
j'alatine of Kerry had the power of making tenures 'm. (■iii>ifp., and were 
tJie heads of a subordinate local aristocracy, or nt)l)lesse, of their own; 
respecting which, we are told, that, of the kindred and suiiiame of tho 
liniise of Desmond alone, there were aliove 50U gentlemen. From 
Maurice, appointed 1st Earl of Desmond in 132!), by Edward III., to tl|H 
unfortunate Gei-ald, attainted in 1582, under Queen Elizaljetli, 16 Eai-ls 
of this race ruled over their numerous followers, or in the language of an 
eminent English writer, their '^ Cohu/kh/s, irho" he observes, '' w tills 
land Jume euer bin niore deunUul to their iuLiuciliafe Lords henr whom thp.if 
uno eiie.ry day, tJieii -ivnto their Situeravjue Lord and I^ing, whom iheij 
nener saw." Henee Francis I., King of France, in a treaty of allianco 
against Henry VIII. with Earl James III. of Desmond, June 20tli, 
l-')2'i, the oiigin;d of which was deposited in the Chambre des Comptes 
at Pa)-is, in addition to the designation of Comte or Earl of Munstei', 
entitles tliat nolileman, '•^Prince in Irelaml." But the vast extent of 
j)ower and wealth, to which the heads of this great southern branch of 
the race of Fitz-Gerald arose, may be more clearly estimated from the 
facts — that, about the middle of the 14th century, when we read of the 
salary of the Viceroy of the Pale, as having been but £500 a year, tho 
Eai 1 of Desmond is alleged, to have been able to expend, in every way, 
iJ 10,001) per annum — that the great Earl of Kildare, writing, in 1507, 
from Castle-deiniot, to the Gherardini faunly of Florence, (who claimed 
an affinity willi the Irish Fitz-Geralds) describes his kinsman, the Earl of 
Desmond, as having then "under his Lordship 100 miles in length of 
country" — that the Earl of Desmond, liefoie-inentioned, as attainted, in 
1582, under Queen Elizabeth, is asserted to have been able to raise, at a 
call, 2000 foot and 600 horse, but, with more prei)aratiou, to have been 
aide to bring 40(l0 foot and 750 horse into the field — that the number of 
acres directly acquired by the Crown, through the Earl's attainder, was 
674,028 indeiieudent of those in the teriitoiy over which he claimed 
jurisdiction, and which were above double as many more — that, at a 
jieriod, when the Queen's revenue in Ii-eland was not so much as £23,600 
per annum, the Eurl's rents alone, consisting, as a hostile authoiity 
observes, of " a |)rodigious revenue for those times, and perhaps greater 
than any other subject's in her Majesty's dominions," amounted to more 
than £7039 a year — and yet, that this very large annual sum, for those 
days, would apfiear, from information derived through the son of 1 of 
the mo.st trusty of the unfortunate nobleman's followers, to have been but 
a ))ortion of the yearly emoluments of the head of the house of Desmond 
fiom Lis spacious domains. "Alas! the noble tree of the Geraldines, 
Eai Is of Desmond," — exclaims Dr. Dominick O'Daly, Bishop of Coimbra 
in Poitugal, and son of Cornelius O'Daly, a failhl'ul adherent of the ruined 
Earl, and commander of a body of his troops, — " 450 years had its bi'anche.s 
(^tended over the 4 ]irovinces of Ireland; no less than 50 Lords and 
•Barons paid their tribute, and were ever ready to march under their 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCK 119 

banners. Besides the Palatinate of Kerry, the country, for 120 m\hs in 
lei^^th, and 50 in breadth, was tlieirs. The people paid submission to 
them throughout all their holdings; they had, moreover, 100 castles and 
strong-holds — numerous sea-ports — lands that were charming to the eye, 
and rich in fruits — the mountains were theirs, together with the woods — 
theirs were the rocky coasts, and the sweet, blue lakes, which te(!mefl 
with fish. Yea, the fairest of lands did they win with the sword, and 
govern by their laws; loved by their own, dreaded by their enemies, tliey 
were the delight of Princes, and patrons of gifted youth. . . Alas! 
alas ! the mighty tree was doomed to perish, when scathed by the lightning 
of England's hate. . . Desmond's possessions were foifeited to the 
Crown, and all those, of every age or sex, who honoured his memory, 
were maltreated and outraged. The entire property was parcelled out 
amongst adventurers, and they were put in possession of those great 
domains, which used to [lay the Geraldines more than 40,()0(J goldeu 
pieces per annum." 

Of the various families of the name of Fitz-Gerald, — a name eminently 
identitied with bi'avery, at home and abroad, in our military annals, — 
there wei-e a number of infantry, horse, and dragoon officers in the 
national army during the War of the Revolution, as well as the sub- 
sequent Colonel, in France, of the " Regiment de Limerick, Infauterie." 
Sir John Fitz-Gerald, Baronet, called among the Irish, from the seat of 
liis ])roperty, the Lord of Cloaglas — at ])resent Clordish, on the frontiers 
of the Counties of Cork, Kerry, and Limerick — belonged to the previously- 
describfd great soutliern branch of the race of Fitz-Gerald; being des- 
cended, though illegitimately, from the celebrated John Fitz-Thomas 
Fitz-Gerald, ancestor of the house of Desmond 5 who, from his death, at 
the severe defeat given by Fitu^en Mac Cai'thy to the Fitz-Geralds and 
tiieir confederates in 12G1, is known in history as John of Callan, the 
])lace of the engagement in Kerry. Sir John Fitz-Gerald, as disbelieving 
that good faith would be observed to his countiymen by their enemies, 
at.taciied no value to the Treaty of Limerick. In Ireland, indeed, writea 
an English Protestant clergyman, " the English had been, though a 
superior people, yet not sufficiently so to warrant the attempt at dominion 
by mere force; they had been obliged, therefore, to affect an unity of 
interests, and equality of rights, with their victims, which their illiberality 
lorbade them really to intend, and their insufficient refinement incapici- 
tatt'd them to effect. They had, in consequence, continually violated the 
most solemn compacts, to wliich their want of brute power compelled 
them to have recourse."* The belter, in short, the Treaty was for thfi 
Iriah, the less likely it was, that tlie English loould observe it. 

"And hissing Infamy proclaims the rest!" — Dr. Johnson. 

Sir John, accordingly, influenced as many of his retainers as he could, to 

* Vindiciaj Hihernicte, &c., Dedicated by Permission to His Royal Highness, the 
Duke of Sussex, by a Clergyman of the Church of England, as cited in ]Macari<0 
Excidium, Note 144. Of ;^ great instances, in European history, of breach of 
treaty betwemi ]iaities of opjiosite religions— or that of the treaty of Granada by 
Sjiain witli the Moors— that of the Edict of Nantes by France with the Hu^,aienot3 
- and that if the Treaty of Liineiick by England with the Irish Catliolics -were 
the results, in any case, so l/ei/rjicial as to ci'mpensate the viohitors of public faith, 
i'ov the disliciuour incurred by such conduct? History says they were not, but of 
quite a oiilrurj nature. 

'UiaCite juslilium mijuiti, el nou temnere divosl ' — Vikgil. 



120 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

emigrate with Lim, and "went," says liis native Irish pedigree, "to 
I'rance, with the Chitifs of the Gaels in TsToveniber, 1691 " — where he 
finally died.* His regiment, or that of Liineric-k, formed, with the 
majority of the Irish troops in France, a poi-tion of tlie hind force, 
designed, in 1692, but for the defeat of the French at sea, to hmd in 
England, for the pnrpose of restoring King James to his throne. From 
1693 until 169G, when, in consequence of the treaty between Louis 
XTV, and Victor Amadeus II., Duke of Savoy, peace was restored to 
Italy, the r.'ginient shared in the successes of the French army in that 
country, under the Marshal de Catinat. In 1697, the regiment served 
with the French army of the Ehine, under the Marshal de Choiseul; 
and was eventually broken up with other regiments, by the extensive 
reform, or i-eductitm, which, early in 1698, was ordered among the Irisli* 
troops, in con.sequence of the Peace of Hyswick, the preceding autumn. 

Like Dorrington's, Luttrell's, and the Lord Grand Prior's regiments of 
infanti-y, the 16 companies, or 2 battalions, of Brigadier Tall)ot'.s, after- 
wards 8ir John Fitz-Gerald's, regiment would muster originally, or in 
1692, 16U0 privates, and 64 officers. The officers, by the'li,st of 169j, 
were — "The Chevalier John Fitz-Gerald, Colonel— Jereunah O'Mahouy, 
Lieutenant-Colonel — William Therry, Major— 12 Captains — 28 Lieu- 
tenants - 28 Sub-Lieutenants — 14 Ensigns." The subsequent statements, 
showing, in the 2 battalions of the regiment, an augmentation in the 
officer.s, and a diminution in the soldiers, make the former 242, and the 
latter 1100; or 1342 on the whole. 



THE INFANTRY REGIMENT OF CHARLEMONT. 

The first estnblishment of this corp.s, as the Regiment of Colonel 
Gord(m O'Neill, was at the counnenceinent of (he War of the Pevolution 
in Ireland. During that contest, it was, like other Irish legimenfs, 
known by the name of its Colonel ; and it was probably designated in 
France the " Regiment de Cliarlemont," from its Colonel having been 
Governor of Cliarlemont Fcnt at the beginning of the revolutionary 
disturbances in Ulster, and fron; its subsequent connexion with the long 
and honourable defence, amidst the W^illiamite quarters, of that fort,t 
under Major Teague O'Regan, for which that brave old officer was so 
deservedly knighted by King Janie.s. Of the royal houses of Heber, 
Heremon, Ir, and Ith, to which, from the conquest of Erin by the sons 
of Milidh, or Milesius, her Ard-Righs, or Monarchs, are recorded to 

* The leading officers of the name of Fitz-Gerald, belonging to the Irish Brigade 
in France, have vaw been noticed. Of minor officers of the Brigade, there were 
Beveral Fitz-Geralds, Captains and Lieutenants in the Regiments of Dillon, Clare, 
Berwick, O'Donnell, Bulkeley, and Walsh ; the ])rincipal of whom was a Capcain 
Fitz-Gerald of the Regiment of Dillon in 1777, who was a Chevalier of St Louis. 
Under the other mnditication of tlie name, or that of Gn'aldine, there was likewise 
a noble house in France, derived from Raymond Geraldine, Esq., a native of Water- 
ford, deceased at St. Malo, in June, 1057. His descendants in France were 
Seigneurs de Lajienti, de St. Symphorien, de Coi^sine, &c. ; and an otlicer named 
Geraldine, born in 1714, was Lieutenant-Colonel of Fitz-Janies's Regiment of Horse, 
and Brigadier of the Armies of the King, in July, 17G2. 

+ After the defeat of Lord Mountcashel, King James, writing from Dublin 
Castle, August 3rd, O. S., IGS9, to Lieutenant-General Richard Hamilton in Ulster, 
directs that, among the troops to be left at Charlemont, should be Colonel Gordoa 
O'Neill's Regiment of Foot; for which many recruits were to be made, as it hail 
been amongst those engaged iu the hariissiug blockade of Derry. 



IN THR SKUVICF. OF FRANCE. 121 

liave beloncjpfl, the house of Heremon— fVnm the niiinhei- of its Princes, 
or gi-eafc fiiinilies — from the multitude of its (listiuij;uisiie(l cliaractevs, as 
laymen, or churchmen— and from the extensive ten itorifs acquired by 
those belonging to it, at home and abrond, or in Alba* as well as in Erin 
— was regarded as by far the most illustrious. So much so, says the best 
native authority, that it would be as reasonable to affirm, 1 ]iound is equiil 
in value to 100 jxumds, as it would be to compare any other line with that 
of Heremon. Towards the " decline and fall " of Druidism, and the rise 
of Christianity in Erin, or from a.b. 379 to a.t>. 40i3, the head of the 
line of Heremon was the Ard-Righ Niail, styled " More," or (he Great, 
and " Naighiallach," or of the A'itte //osfages — in refei-ence to the princijjal 
hostile powers overcome by him, and compelled to render so many pledges 
of their submission. Niall was chiefly renowned for his transmarine 
ex])editions against the Roman emjjire in Britain, as well as in Gaul; 
where he finally fell, on the river Liane, not far fn'm Boulogne, by the 
])oisoned arrow of an assassin. In one of those expeditions, Niall carried 
off. among his numerous captives, the yontii Succat, afterwaids so famous 
as St. Patrick. And when, many years subsequently, that liberated captive, 
entering, in a maturity of manhood and experience, upon his mission, was 
summoned before the supreme assend)ly at Tara, to show whi/ he pre- 
sumed to interfere with the old religi n of the country, by endeavouring 
to introduce a new creed? — it was Laogaire, the son of his former captor, 
!Niall, who presided as Sovereign thei-e. In the posterity of the "Hero 
of the Nine Hostages" — 4 of whose sons, that settled in Midhe, or 
Meath, and its vicinity, were styled South Hy-Niall, the otlier 4, estab- 
lished in Uhidh, or Ulster, being called North Hy-Niall — tlie dignity of 
Ard-Righ, as re{)resented sometimes by the head of one branch, and 
sometimes by that of another, was maintained, with an interval of but 
20 years, (or the reign of Olil Molt.) down to the year 1002. During 
this period, making, from th(! reign r)f Laogaire inclusive, to the deposition 
of Maelseachhiin or Malachy II. by tiie celebrated Brian " Boru," in the 
year last speciHed, about ■')5i years,+ the Monarchs of the race of Niall 
amounted to 46. Of the 4 sons of the hero Niall who established them- 

* Alba is the orig;incal Irish or Gaelic name for Scotland, whose Kincrs v/ere 
derived from the race of the Ard-Uighs of Erin, of the Heremonian line. The 1st 
J'rince of the Hoti.se of Stuart who reigned over the .3 Kingdoms of the British 
Isles, or Ja)nes VL of Scotland and I. of England and Ireland, observed, of the 
latter Kingdom, to the Irish Agents, in IfiM, — "1 have an old claim as King of 
Scotland -for the ancient Kings of Scotland are descended from the Kings of 
Ii eland." The Hanoverian dynasty, through its connexion with the Stuarts, has 
succeeded them uiion the throne. And hence, says a writer of the last century, 
Foraian, respecting the earliest origin of that dynasty's clami to the government of 
the 3 nations — " Even the greatest antiquity, the august House of Hanover itself 
can boast, is deduced from the royal stem of Ireland "- as the origin of the " royal 
stini " of Scotland. Accordingly, it is related, adds the learneil Hardiman, of 
King George IV., that his Majesty, "during his visit to Ireland, ])assnig in view 
of the hill of Tarah, declared himself proud of hi.i descent from the ancient 
Monarchs of the land." 

t Niall's son, Laogaire, having reigned 35 years, or from 428 to 463, after the 
next or excejitional reign of Olil Molt for 20 years, or from 4G3 to 483, Laogaire'a 
son, Lugad, in 483, restored the succession in Niall's line, which, as generally 
v.ninterru)ited from 483 to 10D2, would include 519 years, and, with the 35 ol 
Laogaire, 554 years. Niall's own reign, from 379 to 4tl6, or 27 years, with the 
abo\ e-mentioned 554, would constitute a sujirenie royalty, in the hero and his 
descendants, until 1002, of 581 yeai-s ; and, f(jr the Icrjitlninle rcsuni])tion of power, 
after Brian's death, by Maelseachlain, or Malachy, from 1014 to 102'»!, an addition of 
S more gives a connected total of 589 yeara. 



122 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

selves in Uladh, or Ulster, Eoghan, not lv»iig before tlie arrival of the 
great Apostle of Christianity in Erin, acquired the territory hence styled 
Tir-Eoghain, or the land of Eagluia, or Owen, (otherwise Tir-Owen, or 
Tirone,) and its inhtibitants A'2/<fl/-Eoghain, or Kinel-0\yci\, as being of 
liis race^ or kimfred* Eoghan, who is celebrated, in ])oetic eulogy, for 
" the strength of a hero from the size of a child, and an aspect that 
glowed with hospitality," settled in the nearly water-surrounded territory 
of Inis-Eoghain, or InishOwen, which — according to the double applica- 
tion of the word inis to mean either an island, or a peninsida as almost 
so — has received its appellation of island or j)eninsula of Koyhan from 
him. + In the southern and narrower jiart of that district, upon the 
summit of an eminence above 800 feet high, and commanding one of the 
best and most diversifieJ prospects, was a great Cyclopean strong-hold^ 
called Grianan Aileach, now Creenan Ely. The erection of this fortress, 
the most remarkable monument of the kind in the north-we.>t of the 
island, and revered, as the abode of Princes or Chiefs of the country, for 
ages previous to its acquisition by Eoghan, was referred, in tradition and 
song, to the wonderful times of the Tuatlia-de-Danans, whose niysterion.s 
memory is yet preserved in written story, as sidlte, i. e., fairies, or little 
local deities, haunting the forts ami hills where they formei-ly dwelt; 
and the mention of whom is still proverbially associated, in the mind of 
the native Irish peasant, with the idea of a race that possessed super- 
natnial knowledge and power. 

At Aileach, Eoghan, (in Latin Eiig-^niiis,) is related to have resided 
A.D. 442, when he was converted to Christianity by St. Patrick. "The 
man of God," says the old biographer of the Apostle, "accompanied 
Prince Eugenius to his court, which he th(m held in the most ancient 
and celeV)rated seat of kings, called Aileach, and which the holy Bishop 
consecrated by his blessing." Eoghan, the father of the gi-eat Tlr-Owen, 
as his twin-brother, Conall, or Connell, was the father of the great Tir- 
Contiell, line of the race of Niali of the Nine Hostages, died of grief, 
A.D. 4G5, for the Ljss of the latter the year before, as the Bard 
notes — 

"Eoghan, son of Niall, died 

Of tears — good his nature ! — 

In consequence of the death of Conall, of hard feats " — 

and he was b>n-ied, it is added, in Inis-Eoghain, at Uisce-chaoin, or the 
handsome wafer, a irame modernized into Eskaheen, as that of the town- 
land in which the oi-igin of both appellations, a heavi'iful loeJJ, is situated, 
near an old chapel, which occupies the site of a monastej-y, still older. 
The power of the race of Eoghan continued to increase in Uladh, until, 
assuming, among her Princes, the suj)remacy of the famous Kings of 
Eniania of the heroic times, the O'Neill took, {nv his heraldic emblem, 
the ancient "red hand of Ulster," designated, by an English writer, in 
Elizabeth's reign, "the bloody hand, a terrible cognizance!" — and, in 
allusi(jn to that "terrible cognizance," the battle-cry of " Laudi dearg abu !" 

• It is an interesting feature of the intimacy which existed, in the 4th and 5th 
centuries, between the Gael and the Sri-xon, as nnited in hostil.ty to tlie Romans in 
Britain, &c., that the mother of the renowned Niall was ("arinna, a Saxon ])riiicess, 
and that the wife of his son Eoghan, the founder of the great Tirone rm-e, was 
likewise a Saxon jirincess, named Indorlui. 

■^ + 'Phus, tno, in classic antiiiuity, another penlnmla was, from King i'ebpg, 
f'.»>-i_,nated Pi!.Loro>:>Eses, or the isiund oj Veuipii. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 123 

or, as it would be shouted at present, Tlie red hand for ever ! Of the 
Ard-Riglis of Erin of the Hy-Niall laee to tlie year 1002, tliere were 16 
Princes of Tir-Eoglmin; wliich territory, befoi'e the Anglo-Noi'man inva- 
sion, inchided tlie modern Counties of Tirone, Londonderry, the Baronies 
of Ka|)ho and Inishowen, in the County of Donegal, and ])arts of the 
County of Armagh. In 1088, Dondinall Mac Lougldin, (O'Neill,) Prince 
of Aileach, as the Princes of Tir-Eogliaiu were then styled — or, in the 
language of the Bard, 

" Donrihnall, of the lion fury, 
Cliief of the geuerous race of Eoghan " — • 

Iiaving marched against Murkertagh O'Brien, King of Mumha, or 
Munster, and destroyed his famous family-residence of Kincora, the latter, 
♦n 1101, revenged this injury upon "Aileach, among the oak forests 
immeasurable " — ordering, that, for every sack of ]n'ovisions in his army, 
a stone, from this great northern edifice, should be carried away to the 
south. Such, after an existence extending beyond the dawn of history, 
was the fate of Aileach ; from which its possessor, in old writings, is 
designated, "King of Aileach of the spacious house — of the vast tribute 
— of the high decisions — of the ready ships— of the armed battalions — of 
grand bridles — the Prince of Aileach who protects all— the nn'ghty- 
deeded, noble King of Aileach." After the destruction of Aileach, the 
Princes of the North Hy-Niall for some time retained, and for a longer 
time were given, the title of "King of Ailench," althougli they tixed 
tlunr residence in the south of the ]n-esent County of Tirone, at Enis- 
Enaigh, now Inchenny, in the Parish of Uiney ; and the green eminence, 
and the stone-chair upon which (inch of those Princes was ))roclaimed, 
were at Tullaghoge, or tlie hill of the. youths, noss' Tullyhawk, in the Parish 
of Desertcreaglit, and Barony of Dnngaunon; the tribe, in whose imme- 
diate territory this district lay, or tlie O'Hagans, otherwise known as 
" the Kiuel-Owen of Tullaghoge," not having to pay any tribute — 

" Because in it's proud land was assumed 
The Sovereignty over the men of Erin."t 

* The Mac Lnnghlins or O'Loiighlins of the north were, from the latter half of 
the 10th century, a leading otfshoot of the Hy-Niall or O'Neill race there. Of 
this otfshoot, the head, as well as an O'Neill, was sometimes Fruice in Tir-Owen, 
until 1-J4] ; when Donnell O'Longhiin, with 10 of his family, and all the chiefs of 
his party, were cut off hy his rival, Brieu O'Neill, in "tlie battle of Oaiin-Eirge 
of red s])ears," and the supreme ]>ower thenceforth remained with the O Neills. I. 
have designated the Domhuall in tlie text, Nedl, iu a parenthesis, as viyiuallj or 
by orijibi such, though not so named. 

t The " Leac-na-Riogh," or Fluti-sfonc of the Kwr/s on which the old Princes or 
Chiefs of Tir-Owen were "inaugurated,' say the native chroniclers, "and called 
O'Neill after the lawful manner," was deinolished hy Lord Moiuitjny in lGO-2. 
" Tlie Lord De]iutie," writes his Secretary, " spent some .5 dayes ahout TuUough t)ge, 
where the Oneales were of old custome created, and tliere he spoiled the corne of 
all the countrie, and Tyrone'?," i. e., O'NeUl's, "owiie corne, and hraUe downe the 
chaire M'herein the Oneales were wont to be created, being of stone, planted in the 
o])en field." Dr. O'Donovan informs lis, "that pieces of Leac naTIiogh were to be 
seen in the orchard, belongiug to the glebe-honse of Uesertcreaght, till the year 
1776, when the last fragmeiit of it was carried away." And he a(hls, "tlie s.te of 
the ancient re-ideiice of OHagan is to ho seen on a gentle eminence, a short dis- 
tance to the east of the village of Tnllaglioge. It is a large circular eucaiupment, 
siirninnded by deep trenches and earthen wcn-k. Within these stood the residence 
of O'Hatjan. the Eechtaire, or Lawgiver, of Tullaghoue; and here, too, was placed 
the stone, on which the ' O'Nuale was made,' till it was destroyed, as above men- 



124 HISTORY OP THE IRISH BRIGADES 

A sovereignty, to which, even when not possessing it, the Chiefs of the 
race of Eoghan considered themselves best entitled, and are often referred 
to, in the subsequent native annalists, as really best entitled, had not the 
existence of so many conflicting potentates in the country prevented the 
formation of such a royal centre of union, for the general welfare. 

When Henry IHantayenet, or Fiz-E iiiperiz — authorized by a bull from 
the Poj)e, and an eineiald ring of investiture, to take possession < f 
Hibernia, as his great-grandfather, William the />»*■<«?•(/ of Normandy, had 
been, a century before, empowered l)y a similar d(jcument, and a diamond 
I'ivjo- from Rome, to conquer Anglia — came to Athcliath, or Dublin, and 
was acknowledged by the Prelacy, and by the Princes of the South and 
East, as Sovei'eign or Lord of Hibernia, under the Pope — at the court 
of the Plantagenet intruder, there were no representatives from tlie North* 
Hy-Niall — among whose Princes it was not forgotten, that tlteir prede- 
cessors in the legitimate or native Monarchy of Erin, althotigh great 
benefactors to their national Church, yet were so, without having 
admitted of any superior to thetri'-"lves in temporals. In the "con- 
fusion worse confounded," that, ui, il the reign of King Janies I., or for 
above 4 centuries, was the result of luis half Anglo-Norman, half Anglo- 
Papal, settlement in Ireland, — during wiiich what has been so absurdly 
styled a conquest would be better rejiresented by the text of the HeV)re\v 
annals, " in those days, there was no King in Isi'ael, every man did that 
•which was right in his own eyes" — the O'Neills contiiiued to hold a 
leading position in the history of their country. " O'Neil, Prince of 
Ulster," says an old treatise on the Statute of Kilkenny, " would never 
acknowledge obedience to King Henry II." During the century that 
followed the Anglo-Norman settlement in Erin, the rulers of the North 
Hy-Niall in Tir-Owen are styled "Kings" in the historical documents 
of the invaders, as well as in the native writings. In 1174, when the 
Monarch Ruaidliri, or Poderic, (O'Conor) overran the enemy's principal 
plantation of Mid he, or Meath, prostrated the castles of the Anglo- 

tioned. According to the tradition in the country, O'Hngan iraxigiu-ated O'Neill, 
Viy putting on his golden slipjier, or sandal ; and hence the pandal always apjiears 
in the armorial bearings of the O'Hagans." With reference to this ol)S9rvance, in 
Erin, of a superior Prince, or Chief, when inaugurated, having his shoe, slipper, or 
sandal, put on him by an inferior ])otentate, but still one of consideration, we find 
that, at the inauguration of the O'Cunor in Ccumaught, the same dthce was per- 
formecl for him by the powerful Chief of Moylnrg, Mac Dermot, as that performed 
by O'Hagan fur the O'Neill in Uladh, or Ulster. There is a resendilance l)ecween 
this custom at the inauguration of the old Pnuces of Erin, and that connected with 
the ceremonial of the later [toman Emperors, or those of Constantinople, on their 
creation as such. Under the head of "honours and titles of the Imperud f^iinily,"' 
Gibbon notes, that "the Em[)eror alone could assume the purple or red bnskuis.'' 
And subsetpiently relating, how the celebrated John Cantacuzene assumed, in l.,41, 
the Imperial dignity, he mentions John being accordingly "mvested with the 
jiurple buskins ; " adding, " his right leg was clothe 1 by his noble kinsmen, the left, 
by the Latin chiefs, on whom he conferred the oic.er of knighthood" — this oHicc of 
putting on the buskins being thus one of honour in the east, like that of putting 
on the shoe, or vandal, in the went. The O'Hagans were distinguished among tlie 
septs of Uladh, or Ulster,' in the final struggle for Celtic independence under the 
great Aodh or Hugh <,)'Neill. O'Hagan's ciiHutry furnished, for that contest, to 
the army of O'Neill, 100 infantry and 80 cavalry; Henry O'Hagan was Constab.e 
tn O'Neid ; and 7 O'Hagans are named among his Captains of Foot, as commandinti, 
between them, 500 men. The family of O'Hagan was one of eminence, and seated 
at Tullaghoge, doivn to Crom wells time; and, in our da^', the name is moat 
worthily represeuted by the Pvight Honourable Thomas O'Hagan, Lord Chancellor 
of Ireland- 



IX TIIK SERVICE OF FRANCE. 12-7 

Norman colonists, and devastated tlie territory of the "stran;j;er" as far 
as Atli-cliatii, or L)iil)lii), the forces of the Kinel-Owen, in Roderic's 
army, are thus noticed l>y tiie hostile Frencli rhyming chronicler — 

" De Kineloiii, O'Nel, li Rrh, 
(Jd bei iiicuud trei mil Yrreis."* 

In 1244, King Henry III. writes to the famous Brian O'Neill, for aid 
against Scotland, as to " Bren O'Nell, Retji de Kinekin." In 1275, the 
colonial municipality of Cragfei-gus, or Carrigtergus, mention Aodh or 
Hugh (Boy) O'Neill, to King Edward L, as " Od O'Neill, B'^.c/em de 
Kinelyon." From 1177, when the Anglo-Normans invaded Ulster under 
De Courcy, the Kinel-Owcn, though having thenceforward so often to 
resist the Gall, or foi-ei/u enemy, as well as the Gael, or natire foe, 
nuiintained their independence, under several Princes, until the death, in 
1230, of the brave Aodh O'Neill, " Lord of Tir-Owen — King of the 
Kinel-Eoghain — King of Aileach — King of the North of Erin — Rov 
damua, or he who should he King of all Eiiu — a King, the most 
l)osj)itable and defensive that had come of the Gaels for a long period, 
inferior to none in renown and goodness— a King, who liad never 
rendered hostages, jiledgcs, or tribute, to (rails, or Gaels — a King, who 
had been the greatest plunderer of the Galls, and demulisher of castles — 
wjio had gained many victories over the Galls, and had cut them off with 
great and frequent slaughter — a man, who, though he died a natural 
death, it was never supposed tiiat he would die in any other way, than 
to fall by the hands of the Galls." 

From the decease of tiiis abU; Prince in 1230 to 131 o, or for about 85 
years, the fortunes of tlie Kinel-Owen, as well as the Kinel-Gonnell, very 
much declined, owing to impolitic wars with each othtu-, and to frequent 
contests for the supreme power in both prin(;i]jalities, which led to a])])li- 
cations for aid to the "stranger," and a couhequent extortion of hostages 
and tribute by him, from both territoi-ies. The great fi-ndal representative 
of this foreign supremacy, towards the close of tiie loth and at the begin- 
ning of the 14th century, was Richard de Burgo, the 2nd of the powerful 
Anglo-Norman Earls of Ulster of his name, generally styled "larla 
I'uadh," or the red Earl. But this encroachment was interrupted, 
ihrongh the victory of Bannockburn, in June, 1314, by the illustrious 
Robert de Brns, (or Bruce) which caused his gallant Inother, Edwar(l, to 
be invited into Erin, as her Ard-Righ, or Monarch ; in whose favour, the 
Prince of Tir-Owen, Donald O'NeiU, resigned his claim. By the results 
of the Scotch invasion, from May, 1315, to October, 1318, the power (jf 
the red Earl was greatly shattered; and, on the assassination (in a 
fann'ly fend) of his successor, "larla don," or the brown Earl, near 
Carrickfergus, in June, 1333, the proud P^arldom of Ulster fell to pieces. 
The old Princes of the north, O'Neill, O'Donnell, kc, with " ups])ringiug 
vigour," again became inde))endent; and "the race of Eoghan of red 
weapons" even extended their immediate po.ssessions farther than ever. 

* The Norman versifiers coujilet may be thus translated — 

" Of l^ii)eloii;in, O'Nei, the Kinf/, 
W ith hun ;^;)UU Yrrds did bruig." 

Tl:e native Irish were called Yrreis, Irre :s, or Irroh, in the idiom of the dominant 
r;i( e li(im France in England, and the aettiejnents ixoxa the latter countty in 
lie and. 



126 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

The warlike clan of Aodli Buidhe, or Hugh Boy, O'Neill, Prince of 
Tir-Owen from 12fiO to 1283, passed the Ban into Ulidia, eastern Ulster, 
or Antrim and Down, and, between 1333 and 1353, with what colonial 
antipathy terms "persevering virulence" wrested, from the niixt'd popula- 
tion of old natives, and descendants of Anglo-Normans planted there by 
De Courcy, &c., the territory, hence designated Claniiiu>iy. It was 
divided into North and South — the former situated between the rivers 
Ravel and Lagan, embracing the modern Baronies of the 2 Antrinis, 2 
Toomes, 2 Belfasts, Lower Massereene, and County of Carrickfeigus — 
the latter, south of the Lagan, including the present Baronies of Upper 
and Lower Castlereagh. Upon the hill of Castlereagh, about 2 miles fixmi 
Belfast, was the stone-chair, on which tlie rulers of the countiy were 
inaugurated/'^ and, from the chieftain-line of this 2nd Hy-Niall, (n- Clan- 
naboy, principality, has sprung the last ennobled representative of the 
race of O'Neill in Ireland. t On King Richard II.'s arrival in Irehmd, 
in 1394, with 34,000 men, the Prince of Tir-Owen, Niall " More," or 
" le grand O'Nell," did homage, at Uundalk, as "Prince of the Irish 
in ulster," to the King, though without being really less independent 
than before; since, notwithstanding the vast ex])ense of this expedi- 
tion to Richard, "yet," says Sir John Davies, "did he not encrease his 
reuennue thei'eby 1 sterling jionnd, nor enlai-ged the English l)or'der the 
Lredth of 1 acre of land; neither did he extend the iurisdiction of his 
Courtes of Justice 1 foote further then the English colonies" — in which 
that narrow "itu'isdiction" was previously established. From the ruin 
of the Earldom of Ulster, the chief exteiiial contest of the O'Neills, till 

*In 1832, Mr. subsequently Dr. Petrie ])ubliwbed an engraving of, and article on, 
the "coroDation chair" of the O'Neills of (Jlaiuiabny at C'astlereagh. Having re- 
Tiiarkeil, that "the curious jiicce of antiquity represented was, for a long ]ieriod, 
the chair, on which the O'Neils of Castlere.igh were inaugurated, and originally 
stood on the hill of that name, within 2 miles of Belfast. ' he says- "After the 
ruin of CdU O'Neil, the Last Chief of Castlereagh, and the downfall of the family, in 
the reign of James I., the chair was thrown down and neglected, till ahout tlie 
year 1750, wlien Slewart Banks, Escj., Sovereign of Belfast, (iaused it to he removed 
to that towu, and had it built into the wall of the Butter-Ma-kct, where it was 
used as a seat, until the taking down of the market-] ilace, a few years a^o. It was 
then mixed with the other stones and ruhhish, and was about to be broken, when 
Ihomas Fitzmorris took jiossession of it, and removed it to a little garden, in front 
of his house, in Lancaster Street, Belfast, where it I'emaiued till the piesent year, 
when it was purchased from liim, for a youiur gentleman of cultivated mind and 
elegant tastes, E. C. Walker, Esq., of Granhy Eow, Dublin, and liathcarrick, in 
the County of Sligo, who has liad it removed to the latter j)lace, where it will be 
preserved, with the care due to so interesting a monument. This chair, which," it 
is added, "is very rudely constnicted, is made of common whin-stone — the seat is 
lower than that of an ordinary chair, and the back higher and narrower." It is 
ccuisidered, by the learned archaeologist, to have probably belonged to chiefs of tne 
country i>revious to the O'Neills, from its resemblance to seats of the kind to be 
seen in other jiarts of the island, and from the mode of inauguration, connected 
with such seats, having been of very remote anti()i!ity in Erin; or "said to have 
bppu introduced, even before the arrival of the ]\'ileuians, by the Tuatha-de-Danan 
colony." 

i'ilie Eight Honourable John Bruce Eichard O'Neilk 3rd Viscount and Baron 
O'Neill of Shane's Castle, County of Antrim, a Eepresentative Peer of Ireland, 
(ieneral in the Army, Vice-Admiral of the Coast of Ulster, and Constable of Dublin 
Castle, born at Shane's Castle, Decenibei', 1780, and deceased, February, 1855, in 
his 75th year. The O'Neill estates devolved to the EeV*. William Chichester, Pre- 
bendary of St. Michael's, Dublin, who hence took the naine of O'Neill, and has 
since, or in 18G8, been created Baron O'Neill of Shane's Castle, County of Antrim, 
in the Peerage of Great Britain and Ireland. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 127 

tlie 16t1i century, was witli tlieii- iieiglibouis, the O'Donnells, who, in 
]nish-()\ven — the original seat in Ulsttr of the Kinel-Ovven — encroaching, 
about the middle nf tlie 14th century, ui)oii the hin-der-tevritoi-y there of 
the race of Owen, which corresponded with the modern Barony of Rapho, 
and in whicli the old royal residence of Aileach stood, early in the 15ih 
century su|»])lanted the older O'Gorndeys, of tlie race of Owen, by tiie 
O'Dogliertys. of the race of Connell. Tlds being naturally resented 
by the O'Neills, as a usurpation of the ver\' cradle of their race in Ulster, 
occasioned a long and bh)ody war with the O'Donnells, which was not com- 
pletely terniiuiited, till O'Neill's final confirmation, by charters, in lo 4, oi 
luish-Ow en to O'Donnell. Yet the power of the Kinel-Owen, though thus 
contracted towards Tir Connell, or on the west, extended as usual, to 
the sea on the north, and was undiminished towards Uriel and Lecale, 
or Louth and Down, on the south and east; where, to the 16th century, 
the foreign borderer, or Saxon settler, continued to pay them " black 
rents," or tribute.* 

Until tlie reign of Con O'Neill, surnanied "Bacach," or the Lame, in 
Tir-Owen, the heads of the race of Niall there "despised," observes an 
Engliibh writer, " the titles of Earles, Marquises, Dukes, or Princes, in 
regard of that of (Jncale." But, in l.o42. inasmuch as, "of all the Irish 
Princes, none was then com))aralile to Oiie.ale for antiquity and noblenesse 
of blond, "t Con was ci-eated, by King Henry VIII., Earl of Tir-Owen. In- 
1559, howevei", Con's celebrated son and successor, Shane, or John, 
known as "an Diomais," or tltf. Proud, set no value on the title of Earl 
granted to his father, but, after the ancient manner, was inaugurated 
"O'Neill," and styled "King of Ulster." As a national poet writes of 
that renerated ceremony, and the feelings of lilM, with wliose " pride of 
place "J it was ass(>ciated — 

" Hi^ Crelion's aronnd him -tlie blue heavens o'er him — 

His true clau behind, and bis broad lauds before linn ; • 

While, groiii»'d far below him, oil moor, and (.n heather, 

His taiiists, and chiefs, are assembled together; 

Tliey give him a sword, and ho, swears to protect tliem ; 

A slender white wand, and he vows to direct them ; 

And then, in (iod's sunshine, O'Neill tliey all hail him, 

'Ihioiigh life, unto death, ne'er to flinch from, or fail him; 

And earth hath no sjiell that can shatter or sever 

Tliat b(aid from llu-ir true hearts— ^Ae ilEU Hand/o?" ewr.'"§ 

* After the fall of the intrnsive EarLlom of Ulster in 1333, the O'Neills, says Dp. 
O'Donovan, " were not only free from all Anglo-Irish exactions, but they compelled 
tlic English of the Pale to ]iay them lilach rent.'" Which tributary state of tlie 
English of the Pale to the O'Neills in the direction of Lecale and TTriel, or of the 
setU'VS in Down and Louth, is shown, independent of an// native Irish evidence, 
by the English records resi>ectin^ Ireland, in the IGth and IGth centuries. 

t Moryson. A few years before, it was alleged, " O'Neill's mind is to be King 
of Ireland, and to proclaim himself King, at the hill of Tai'a.'' 

:;: " An eagle towering in his pride of place." —Slutk.-ijx'ure. 

§ In accounting f^r the failure of all his devices to cut off the great Ulster 
potentate in UK)-', Queen Elizabeths Lord Deputy, Mountjoy, mentions how he 
did nut find " any subiects haue a more dreadfuU awe to lay violent hands on their 
sacred Prince, then these people haue to touch the person of tlieir O'Neales." With 
reference to the dillerent fate, in the south, of the Earl of Desmond, by the hand 
of a native assassin, the Secretary of Mountjoy also observes — " wherein th» 
Vlster men challeiiLie an honour of faithfuhiesse to their Lords abone those ov 
'Mounster; for, in the f .bowing warres, iioiif of them could \e induced, by feare, 
«,!• reward, to lay luuides on their reuerenced Oneale. " And again he notes — " Tbe 



HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

•' Proud Lords of Tir-Owen ! high chiefs of Lough ISTeagli ! 
How broad stn»ch"d the lands that were rul'd Vjy j^our swayl 
Wlaat eagle would venture to wing them right througL, 
But would droop on his pinion, oer half ere he tiewl 
From the hills of ISIac Cartan, and waters that ran. 
Like steeds down Glen Swilly, to soft-flowing Ban — 
From Claunaboy's heather to Carrick's sea shore, % 

And high Arma^rh of Saints to the wild Innismore — 
From the cave of the hunter ou Tir-Connell hills 
To the dells of Glenarni, all gushing with rills — 
From Antrim's bleak rucks to the woods of liosstrevor — 
All ecbo'd ijour war-shout — tke Red Hand/ r tvtr.'" 

Then, "greatlie it was feared," remarks a hostile contemporary, "that 
his intent was to haue made a conqnest over the whole land. He 
pretended to be King of Vlster, euen as he said his ancestors were, anci, 
affecting tlie manner of the great Turke, was continiiallie garded with 
60U armed men, as it were, his lanisaries about him, and had in readi- 
iiesse to bring into the fields lOUU horssemen and 4000 footmen. He 
furnished all the pesants and husbandmen of his countrie with arn)our 
and weaj)ons, and trained tliem vp in the knowledge of the wars. . . . 
He cared not for so ineane an honour as to be an Earle, except he might 
be better and higher than an Earle. ' For / am (saith he) in hlcud imd 
power better than the heat,, and I will giue place to none of tliern; for mine 
ancestors were Kiyigs of Vlster. And as Vlster v)as tlieir^s, so now Vlster 
is mine, and shall be mine: ivith the sword I wan it, and with the sword. I 
will keep it.' " The title of Earl was, in fact, of no account in Tir-Owen 
to that of O'Neill, "compared with which," says Cauulen. "even the 
title of Cie.sar is contemptible in Hibernia." After a sanguinary war 
against the English and his neighbours, but especially the O'Donnells, 
tliis John the Proud being assa.ssinated in 1567, the i-evival of an O'Neill 
in Ulster was made, in 1569, " high treason," by the Parliament of the 
Pale — " forasmuch," it remarked, " as tJte name of 0' Neyle, in the judg- 
■inents of the uncivill people of this realm, duth carrie in it selfe so great a 
iSovereigntie, as the/j suppose that all the Lords and. people of Ulsier should 
rallier live in servitude to that name, than in subjection to the Crown of 
England^ Nevertheless, Turlough, John's cousin, " whom, after his 
decease, the country had elected to be Of Neijle^' continued to be so in Tir- 
Owen; avenged his predecessor's murder upon tlie Scots, by killing 
their leader in liattle ; and was exhorted by the Bards to attempt greater 
tilings, as descended from ancestors, who had been Ard-Righs of Erin. 
Put his advanced years, and the complicated circumstances of his position, 
rendered peace with the English most expedient, until his decease, in 
15'J5. 

Meanwhile, as Turlough's destined successoi', and "to sui)press the 
name and authority of O'Neal,"* tlie famous Aodh, or Hugh, was, ia 
1585, de.'^ignated, and, in 1587, confirmed, as Earl of Tirone, by Queen 
Elizabeth. But that this foreign or antinational, and comparatively 
modern, title should supersede in Tir-Owen tiie time-honoured distinction 

name of Oneale was so reuerenced in the North, as none could bee induced to 
betray him, vj)ou the large reward set vpon his head." This fidelity arose from 
the syslciu oi c'andiiji, unknown among the English. 

Or, in the words of the contemporary Lile of 8ir John Perrott, "to abolish the 
tit'e and power, of 0-Neale in Ulster, who. because they had byn Princes of that 
l>roviiice, as loiige as the name remayued, they thought the dignitie and prerogative 
must ever folio w." 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 12^ 

of tlie " O'Neill," as licad of the old rc>y;\\ and inurtial race of Eoghan, 
M'as so intolerable in their eyes, that, according to the po]>nlar ami 
traditi'.nial belief, the Benshee, or guardian spirit of the house of Nial), 
night after night, in the Castle of Duugannon, upbraided tiie so-called 
Eiirl; and conjured him to cast away such an odious designation, as ni> 
better than a bi-and of slavery, stamped upon him V)y the enemies of his 
country; at the same time, summoning him, to draw the sword, for hku 
deliverance. And, at tJiis period, indeed, the general condition of 
Ireland was such, that she but too much needed a deliverer. Hence the 
Earl "did afterwards," adds my Anglo Irisli ann.dist, "assume tjie name 
of O'Neal, and therewith he was so elevated, that he would often boast, 
that he, would rather he 0' Need of Uls'er, thtni King of Spdia /" * Under 
this " illustrissimus Princeps Hugo O'Nellus" — to use his designation oti 
the Continent, where he was ranked among the greatest Generals of the 
day — occurred the final struggle for Celtic independence against Queeu 
Klizabeth— which, from 1595 to 160-3, cost the Queen such an enormous 
amount of blood and treasure — which was so long unfavourable, and at 
one time confessedly almost fatal, to her ai-ms in Ireland — which did not 
terminate by his capitulation until after her decease — and, in reference 
to which, as concluding a contest of 434 years, from the 1st Auglo- 
?Torman landing in 1169, King Jiimes I.'s Attorney-General for Ireland, 
liir John Davies, has observed — " The troth is, the wnqued of Ireland was 
made ])eece and pesce, by slow steppes and degrees, and />// seuerall attempts, 
in seuerall ages; there were sundry reuolutions, as well of tlie Knglisl^ 
fortunes, as of the Irish, some-ichi'es one previifing, some-whiles the other; 
and it was neuer brought to a full period, tdl his Afaiestie. tliat now is, 
came to the Crowne.^' The Earl of Tirone, whose title and estates were 
contiiiued to him by Eliz;il)eth's successor, James I., in 1603, having 
subseipiently, or in 1607, to retire, from the machinations of his enemies,t 
to the Continent, died there, at Rome, in 1616. He has been called 
'■ the 111--'- Hannibal;" and, as long as he survived his departure from 
Ireland, .ithough old and finally blind, he was, to his foes, as Hannibal 
indeed banished, but as Hannibal feared; a rumour of '■' 'I'irone is 
cuviingi'' was one of alarm to the despoilers of his race; and, in con- 
nexion with the site of the ancient regal lesidence of Aileach, fiom which 
the (/Neill, dov^^n to 1283, was styled " King of Aileach," a curious local 
reminiscence of the great opponent of Elizabeth has existed, in the 
]>o]mlar imagination, to recent times. " A troo]) of Hugh O'Neills horse," 
it was said, "lies, in magic sleep, in a cave, under the hill of Adeach. 
These bold troopers only wait, to have the s])ell removed, to rush to the 
aiil of their country; and a man," continues the legend, " who wandered 

* The celebriited Ulster Pard, Rory O'Cahan, surnamed " Dall," or the Blind, 
having; made an excursion to Scotland not long before the succession of King James 
VI. to Queen Elizi'.heth, and having gained great admiration there by his miisic.d 
skill, is related to have been sent for by the King, to play on the harp before him. 
" O'Cahan accordingly attended at the Scottish court, and so deli>!,hted the riiyal 
circle with his ]ierfc>rmance, that James walked towards him, and laid hjs bar.d 
familiarly on his shoulder. One of the „ourtiers present remarking on the honour 
this conteried on him, Eorj' observed, 'A greater tliau King James has laid his 
Land on my shoulder.' 'Who is that man':;' cried the King. ' O'jSieill, Sire,* 
rejjlicd Eorj-, standing U])." 

t On tliose machinations of the land-coveting description, (likewise employed, as 
hns lieen shown, for the ruin of the Earl of Claiicarty,) see the l-ev'- C P. Meehan's 
leaiueil ami interesting •■ ^'ate and Fottnnes of Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, and 
Ki/ry O'Donel, Earl of Tyrcuunell, ' &c. 

K 



130 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIG \DES 

accidentally into the cave, fontid them lying beside their horses, fully 
armed, .and liolding the briilles in tlieii- iiands. One of them," it is added, 
"lifted his head, and asked, ' /*• tJiP- time cnyneV — but, receiving no 
answer, dropped back into his lethai-gy !" This suggestive story very 
naturally became, in Ulster, the suliject of a suitalile jjoera, on "the 
awakening of Hugh O'Neill's linrsemen."* The great Hugh was suc- 
ceeded abroad, in the title of Earl of Tirone, by his sons, Don Heni'y and 
Don John O'Neill, Colonels, &c.. in the S|lani^sh service; of whom the 
latter, dying in Catalonia, in 1641. the chief of the O'Neills then in 
Ireland was Sir Phelini O'Neill of Kiuard, or Caledon, in the County of 
Tirone. In the civil war of l()41-53, Sir Phelini headed the rising of 
Ulster; and, during that contest, tl)e name of O'Neill was likewise 
l-opresented by the illustrious JMajor-Geneial Owen Roe O'Neill, the , 
defender of Arras against 3 Marshals of Fiance, and the router of the 
Puritans at Benburb, considered, but for his inopportune death, in 1649, 
to have been the fittest opponent for Cromwell ; and by Major-General 
Hugh Duff O'Neill, the subsequent gallant defender of Clonniel and 
Limeiick. 

The father of Goi-don O'Neill was Sii- Phelini above-mentioned, and his 
■mother, the P>aroness of Stiaban<^, originally Lady Jean Gordon, and 
daughter of George Gordon, 1st Marquis of Huntly in Scotland; whence 
the name of Gordon, borne by her son. Under King James II , Gordon 
O'Neill was Lord Lieutenant of, and Member of Parliament for, the 
County of Tirone. He was Captain of Grenadiers in the infantry 
regiment of William Stewart, Lord Mountjoy, before the Revolution; 
and, after it broke out, he raised, for the royal cause, mostly in Tirone, 
the Regiment of Foot, which bore his name, as its Colonel. He served, 
in 1689, at the successful operations against the Williamites in Ulster, 
jirevious to the lilockade of Derry ; then at that blockade, where he was 
wounded in the thigh; in 1690, was at the B>iyiie; and was jjresent, as 
Brigadier, July 22nd, 1691, at the battle of Aughrim, or Kilconnell. 
'There he was stationed on the Urrachree side of the position, with the 
Irish right wing, composed of some of the best corps of the army, which 
wing was victorious that day, but for what happened in other quarters; 
,and he duly signalized himself, at the head of his regiment, capturing, 
after the 3rd great re))ulse of the enemy, some ])ieces of their artillery; 
till, having been so severely wounded, as to be apparently lifeless, he was 
.stripped, and left upon the field, among the slain. But, being recognized 
by some Scotch Williamite officers, connected with him, through his 
niotliGi", as a Gordon, ihey had him attended to. He was removed to 
Dublin, recovered, and, being i-eleased under the Treaty of Limerick, he 
followed his Sovereign to France. No officer had stronger military 
.claims upon the exiled Court of St. Germain, through his own services, 
and as the head of a race, among wdiom, besides so many gentlemen of 
subordinate rank that fought for the royal cause in Ireland, Sir Neal 
.O'Neill, Colonel of a Regiment of Dragoons, died, after being wounded 

* This legend, about O'Neill's sleeping horsemen at Aileach, is like another, 
in Contin ntal literature. " The German," too, we are told, " goes back to 
the Hdhenstaufexis, to the great Barbarossa, the ideal Emperor, who, accord- 
ing to po(iular tradition, is not dead, hut asleep, in the Itartz mountain! 
And he irUl awake some day, anU re.ii)i'ear in Lis strength, to uphold justice, 
vex evil-doers, aud .€:^t»hlisli the Empire iu its glory: Why does he tarry so 
luag 'i " 



IN THE SEUVICE OF FRANCE. 



131 



»1. the B<\vne,* Sir Donald or Daniel O'Neill was also Onlnnel of a 
Regiuient of Dragoons, Henry O'Neill was a Brigadier of Infantry, and 
Oormac, Felix, and Brian were all Colonels of Infantry ; Brigailier Hrnry 
and Colonel Felix having fallen at Aughrim. Brigadier Gordon O'Neill 
was therefore made Colonel in France (tf the Irish Infantry Regiment of 
Oharleinont. From the frustrated invasion of England in 1092 to the 
Peace of Ryswick in 1697, this regiment served against the Gernuuis; 
and, in February, 1698, its remains, with those of the Queen's Dragoons 
a pied, were formed into the infantry Regiment of Galmoy; to which 
Gordon O'Neill was attached, as a supernumerary or reformed Colonel. 
By his lady, Mildred, (a Protestant of the Established Church, deceased, 
in December, 1686, at Derry, where he used to reside before the Revolu- 
tion,) Gordon O'Neill had a daughter, Catherine, married to John 
Bourke, 4th Lord Brittas and 9th Lord Castle-Connell, also exiled in 
Fi-ance, as a Jacobite loyalist. Of this marriage, there were 2 sons — 
John, 5th Lord Brittas, and 10th Lord Castle-Connell, variously 
mentioned as Cai)tain and Colonel in the French service — the Honourah'e 
l'liom;is Bouike, Lieutenant-Geiieral in that of Sardinia. f Brigadier- 
General Gordon O'Neill died in 1704. In tlie various cor! s of his 
countrymen .serving in France, numbers of O'Neills have since beeu 
officers, from the Cadet and Ensign, to the Colonel, Chef-de-Brigade, 
and Mai-echal de Camp, and several of them Chevaliers of St. Louisj 
among the most eminent of whom was the late Colonel (Jharles O'Neill, 
(of the branch of Derrynoo.se, County Ai'magh,) Chef dn Bureau de 
1 Infanteiie an Ministre de la Guerre, Officier de la Legion d'Honneuv, 
&.C.X To Spain, also, the O'Neills have supplied officers of distinctioti 

• In Sejitember, 1791, at Mailrid, the flecease is mentioned of Don Carlos Felix 
O'Neill, a great favourite of the Kin j:, an ohl bieiitenant-General, formerly Governor 
of the Havannah, and the son of Sir Neal O'Neill of the Province of Ulster, &c. 

f "He," reUites Ferrar, in 17S7, "is a most disinterested friend to his coimtry- 
men ; so much so, that the King has said to him, 'Bourke, you have solicited many 
favours for your Irish friends, but nevei' asked one for yourself.' " 

t To an absti-acfc of this otficer's career, I jirefix a fuller notice of his father's, aa 
mare a portion of my suhject- the Brigade in France previous to the Revolulion. 
Jitltn O'Neill was bom January •20th, 1737, at Derrynoose, County of Armagh. He 
left Ireland when young for Paris, where his brother was Principal in the College 
des Irlandais. After completing his studies at the College of Plessis, he entered 
the Kegiment of Clai-e, in December, 1753, as a Cadet; passed, with the same rank, 
to the ivegiment of Pvoth, in 1759; became, April 2Gth, 1701, a 2nd Lieutenant; 
March 1st, 1703, Ensign; IMarch 24th, 1709. (when the corps was. for some years, 
that of Roscommon) a 1st Lieutenant; February 13th, 1774, (when the regiment 
was that of Walsh) was made Captain Commandant of the Lieutenant Colonel'a 
company ; and, under the renewed formation as Walsh's, after being merged in tha 
Legion of Dauphiiie, or in 1770, was likewise a Captain commandant. January 
22nd, 1779, he was created a Chevalier of St. Louis; July 0th, 1788, he was ap- 
pointed Major ; July 25th, 1791, Lieutenant-Colonel of the regiment, then the 92nd ; 
and January 8th, 1792, C'olonel of the corps, which he continued to be till 1794; 
having previously, or May IStli, 1793, been nominated General of Brigade and 
Marcchal de Cymp. He had gone through the cam])aigns in Germany from 1759 
to 1702; those of 1709 and 1770 in Corsica; and, during the war for the emanci- 
patiou of the United States of America from England, had fought at 3 naval 
engagements in the Victoire against Ailmiral Rodney, and at the reduction of the 
3 West India Islands of Tobago, St Eustache, and St. Christophe between 1781 
and 1783. He was stationed in the Isle of France and St. Domingo from 1788 to 
1792, and finally served in campaigns from 1793 to 1798. Authorized July 9t!i, 
1799, to retire, he was gianted, March 2Sth, 1801. a pension of 3000 francs ; and, at 
I', ris, where he fixed his residence, died, in his 7pth year, about March, 1811. 
Colonel Miles Byrne, who mentions the veteran, in 1803, as then en reiraUe witli 



132 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIfiADES 

down to tlie war against Na])oleon I. ; and the name has been connected 
■with nobility there to our clays, in the person of Don Juan Antonio Luis 
O'Neill y Castilla ; whose titles, dating from 1679 to 169.5, are Marques 
de la Granja, de Valdeosera, de Caltojar, and Conde de Benajiar. 

Like the preceding Irish infantry regiments of King James in Fiance, 
that of Charlemont, or O'Neill, in 16!}2, had 2 battalions, 16 companies, 
1600 ]>i'ivates, and 64 oflicers. By Mac Geogliegan's sul^scquent list of 
the oiiicers, they were — "Gordon O'Neill. Colonel — Hugh Mac Midion, 
Lieutenant-Colonel — Edinond Miir|'hy, Major — 12 Captains — 28 Lieu- 
tenants — 28 Sub-Lieutenants ~ 14 Ensigns." The mure recent strength 
»if the corps was the same as that of the others, referred to, or 2 battalions, 
llOU privates, and 242 officers. 

THE INF.\NTRY rvEniMENT OF DTBLIN. 

Tlie "Regiment de Dublin. Infanterie," appears to have been so called 
in Fiance, from having been first levied, on the breaking out of the War 
of the Revolution in Ireland, liy Sir Michael Creagh. Knight, Lord Mayor 
of Dublin for 1688-1), Member, also, for Dublin in the Farliament of the 
latter year, and Pay-Master-(iPiieral of the Forces in Ireland to King 
James II. The corps was all raised in Dublin, where the Colonel had 
lunch property. The name of Creagh, anglicizeil from an old Irisli \\oi(l 
meaning a branch-hedrer, was. according to family tradition, originall}^ 
Q'Neill — of the North Mnnster or Dalcassian sept of Tradraidhe or 
Tradry, County of Clare* — until connected with the annals of Limerick, 

the rank of Oeneral of BriL^ade, adds — "He was a small man, rather handsome, 
with tiue features," ami, " having been born and hroiiwht up in Ireland, he S|iol\e 
Eni;lish. He had the reiiutation of Ijeiiig a just chief, though a severe disciplinarian, 
and a sti'ict ohserver of military rules and honours. Though proud and haughty 
Rs one of the descendants of the great O'Neill of the North, still he was iniicli hked 
liy liis oiiicers," who "used to call their Colonel, 'the Monarch,' in their chat 
a nong themselves."— His son, Charli's O'Neill, horn in France, Sejitemher 29th, 
177d. became, April '22nd, 1788, a Sous-Lieutenant in the Regiment of Walsh; and 
in the course of the wai'S under the Republic, the Empire, and subsequent to the 
lve^torati(>n of the Bourbons, I'ose to be a Colonel, an ofhcer of the Legion of Hont)ur, 
and Chevalier of St. Louis, &c. He was wounded, and made ])risonei% November 
4th, 1799, at the battle of Fossauo. He served at sea in the Jupiter, the Valeureuse, 
and the Countgiu.r, from June, 1804, to November, 1807. In the Peninsular contest, 
which he passed through from 1808 to 1812, he receiveit a contusion on the left 
aiHi, at the 1st siege of Sai'agossa ; and, at the battle of Salamanca, in command 
with his battalion of Voltigeurs, was disabled in the left foot, from a gunshot wound, 
and made prisoner by the English. Though sent back to France, in April, 1813, 
as so seriously injured, and notwithstaiidnig his consequent severe suffering, he 
lieaded a battalion of National Guards in the decisive campaign of 1814, where he 
was engaged at the aifairs of Meaux, of Claje, and in the defence of Paris. After- 
wards, or in 1823, at the head of the 27th Regiment in Spain he was distinguished, 
July IGth, before the Isle of Leon. He held the appointment of Chief of the Bureau 
of Infantry till the Revolution of July, bS.'^O, and died at Paris, in July, 1844. He 
ap])ears to have been an honoiu' even to the honourable name he bore; a good 
coraraile and friend; ever willing, while employed in the War Office, to oblige his 
father's countrymen. He was very fond of music, and both sang well, and 
plaved on several instruments. 

* These southern or Clare O'Neills, of the line of Heber, must not he confounded, 
as they have been by some, with the greater northern or Tirone O'Neill's, of the line 
<if Ileiemon. The fertile and beautiful territory of Tradry, the best in the (Jounty 
(ifChire, and CO extensive with the present Deanery of Tradry, was, after the Anglo- 
Mormnn inv.^sion, rsur])ed l)y the l)e Clares ; and, on their overthrow, passed into 
the poosession of the Mac Nauiaras. But i^umbers of the O'Neills have remained 



IN THE SERVICE OF FIJANCE. 133 

1 V some (if those O'Neills liaving assisted its iuhaliitants to ex[iel the 
IJanes. On tliis occasion, the O'Neills, who acted gallantly, were 
additionally distinguished by wearing green branches on their caps or 
liclni^-ts; " whence," alleges the lucal historian, " they took the name of 
(Jreagh ; and tiie action happening near Cieagh Gate, that and the Lano 
received their names from them." The race of Creagh were of eminent; 
respectability, during se\ei-al successive centuries, in Limerick. Notwith- 
standing the many gaps in the rolls of its Mayors, and of other v'l^'ia 
otficei-s con-esponding to Sheriffs at present, the name of Creagh, Ik mi 
1216 to 1651, the year when the city iell into the hands of the Croiu- 
wellians, is to be seen, among those who bore the former dignity there, 
34- times, and, among th se who filled the latter office there, 60 times. 
After the cajjture of the city, by Ci'omwell's brother-in-law, Ii-eton, in 
tlie autiunn of Kiol, when Pierce Ci-eagh Fitz-Piei'ce was Mayor, and 
William Creagh 1 of the Shei-iffs, many Creaghs, with others of the old 
f.imilies, retired, from the yoke of the usurpers, in vaiious directions. 
Of those Crtaghs, " several," we are told, " went to llochelle in France, 
■wlieie they obtained ])atents of nobilit}'." Another branch of the Creaiih's, 
established, about the reign of Edward III., in C(nk, became wealtliy 
merchants there, and intermarried with the leading families until about 
1644, or during the same civil war which was so disastrou.s to those of 
the name in Limerick, when the re[)resei,itatives of the race in Cork wei-e 
]ilundered, and e.xpelled the city, as belonging to its "ancient Irish 
inhabitants." In 1541, Ciiri.stopher Creagh, a man f)f great influence 
and power, both with tlie English government and the old natives, wa.*? 
jMayor of Cork, the 4th in descent fi-ora whom, Michael Creagh, by his 
marriage with a Miss O'Driscoll, was the father of Sir Michael Creagh, 
LoT'd Mayor of Dublin. The Regiment of Sir Michael Creagh waa 
among the best equipped, most efficient, and healthy in the Irish army. 
The command of it was sometimes devolved by Sir Michael npon Colonel 
Lacy. It served in the campaigns fi'om 1689 to 1691; at the blockade 
of Derry ; under King James against Marshal Schonberg; at the ;ictiou 
of the Boyne; on the frontier at Ballyclough, agnhist the WiUiamites in 
the County of Cork, ifcc* There were Creaghs officers of tin- Iiisli 

in the territory of their ancestors till our time; among whom the tradition lelative 
to the Creaghs has been ])reserved. Under too many circumstances long unfavonr- 
alile to the retention of the name of O'Neill, in its old form, some of this (,'lare race 
modilied it into Nihell, or Nihiil. My Limerick authority in 1787 write* — " t)f 
this family" of Nihell "is Baron Harrohl, a native of Limerick, and Colonel of 
the Regiment of Koeningsfeldt, in the German service. Several of them liave 
fcrved honourably in the Irish Brigades on the Continent. Lieutenant-(_'oloncl 
Nihell of r)illoii's regiment jiarticidarlj' distinguished himself at the battles of 
Fonteuoy and Lafeldt ; and the present Sir Balthasar Nihell, now a Brigadier- 
(ieneral in the King of Naples' service, and Colonel of the regiment, formerly called 
the Regiment of Linjerick. This gentleman was 1 of the gallant Lish ciliicers, wko 
disengaged the King's person at Villetri.. when he was surprised by the Imperial 
(Jeneral Connt Browne," also of Limerick origin. Of such of the Tradry sept, as 
did iiof modify their old name, seems to have been the Lieutenant-Colonel O'Neill 
of the Regiment of Clafe, who fell at the battle of l''ontenoy. 

* The ciicnmstaiice of Sir Michael (ireagh, as a Protestant, having also been a 
Jacobite loyalist, apjiears to have rendered his memory proportionably obnoxio' s to 
V\ iilianute prejtnlice in Dublin. Accordingly, in the animal processions of its 
Williamite cor]ioration during the following century, headed by the Lord Mayor 
<if the da,y, it was a custom to halt at Essex Gate, and summon Sir Michael to 
reinrn as a fntritive, if he wonM not be outlawed, for having ahseonded, as Lord. 
Jriayor, with the o'Scial gold collar of S.S., granted to the Corporation by Charles 



134 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

Brigade in France till the 1st Revolution, the principal of whom was a 
Marechal de Camp, or Major-General ; th(! name occurs with high military 
rank in Spain, as late as the contest against Napoleon I. ; and the late 
Sir Michael Creagh, who was 58 years in the army of Great Britain 
and Ireland, and received tlie thanks of Parliament, was a Major-General, 
and Colonel of the 73rd Regiment of Foot, on his decease, aged SO. in 
September, 1860, at Boulogne. 

The Colonel of the "Regiment de Duhlin" in France was John Power, 
apparently the same gentleman who had been Lieutenant-Ci^lonel to 
Sir JMichael Creagh in Ireland; another John Power was Lieutenant- 
Colonel to his namesake in France; and the Major, in both countries, is 
mentioned as Tol)ias or Theobald Burke. The Power.s, or Poers, passed 
from France into England with William the Conqueror in the 11th, 
centuiy, and were anu)ng the earliest and most distinguished Anglo- 
I^(»rman settlers in Ireland in the 12th. The head of the Powers in 
Ireland at the Revolution, Richard Power, Loi-d Baron of Cnrraghmore, 
Viscount Decies, Earl of Tyrone, Loi-d Lieutenant of the County of 
Waterford, &c., adhered to King James II., sat in his Parliament of 
1G89, and levied a Regiment of Foot, of which he was Colonel in 1690, 
at the Williamite capture of Cork. Being conveyed as a prisoner to the 
Tower of Londor), he die<l tlieie the same year, leaving 2 sons, John and 
James, successivnly Earls; through the oidy siu-viving issue of the last of 
whom, Lady Catherine Power, the Barony was conveyed by marriage, 
in 1717, into the Beresford family, whose chief is the Marquis of Water- 
ford. Of Powers, there were, besides the noble head of their name, in 
the Irish army during the Wai- of tlie Revoluti in, a Colonel, several 
LieutHuant- Colonels, Captains, Lieutenants, lirc; and afterwards various 
officers in France in the Regiments of Dublin, Billon, Berwick and 
Bulkeley. But the most distinguished of the name abroad, as uniting 
the honours of the pen with tliose of the sword, was " Colonel Power, an 
Iiishujau by biith, ixi the Sjianish service," who having been Adjiitant- 

II. ! But Sir Michael's mayoralty for 1688 having expired, according to old style, 
ill Marcli, 1G89, he was succeeded, until 1690, by ^o many as 2 Aldermen, Terence 
Dermot, and Walter Motley, and so had nut the gold collar to abscond with, when 
the Jaciibite, or, wliat he cfinsidered, the legitimate, goveiaiment, was obliged to quit 
JJiil>lin fur Limerii-k by the reverse at the Boyne ; till wliich time, he, as a lea<lin'^ 
otHcial of that government, was at Dublin. And, independent of what he sufi'ered 
throuiih his conse(iXicut attainder, and the sale of his property by the Willinniites, 
lie was no small loser by their getting possession of Duhlin. The Report, in 
Decem'oer, li)9t), to the English Parliament, of the Commissioners for Forfeited 
Estates in Ii-eland, thus re ers to the spoliation in Dul)lin, with which even 
AVilliam's Lords Justices, Coningesby and Sydney were connected. "Indeed, tlie 
plunder at that time was so general, that some men in considerable em])loyment3 
Were not free from it, which seems to ns a very great reason why this matter has 
«ot been more narrowly search't into; particularly the Lord (7 — n— «// />i/ seized 
a great many black cattle, to the number of .SOI) or thereabout.s, besides horses that 
were left in the Park after the battle of the Boyne, and which we do not find ever 
■ft'ere accounted for to his Majesty; he also seized all the plate and (joods in the h'lUfie 
o/iS'J/- Michael Creajh; .(Lord Mayor of the City of Duhlin for the year 1689,) which 
are r/eiieralhi thmiijht to amount to fjrenf, value, but this last is said to be by grant 
from his Majesty; there were several rich goods and other household stuff," it is 
ailded, " delivered by the Commissioners of the li'evenue to the then Lords Justices, 
the Lord S~ dii — // & Lord (^ - n -nnshi/, which we do not find were ever returned 
accounted for to his Majesty, or left at the Castle, at their departure from tho 
gii^'eriiinent." Thus, it was iiot snthcient for Sir Aiicliael Creaiih to be plundered, 
M hi'ii hviti.;, by WiiliaiUite rapacity, without being libelled, when dead, by VViliiamice 
BHcu.Uicity. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 135 

General to the Infante Don Philip in the War of the Austrian Succession 
in Italy, published, in 2 volumes, at Berne, in 1785, " Tableau de la. 
Guerre de la Praymatique Sanction en Allemagne & en Italie, a.veo une 
Relation OriyinaJe de V ExpedUio)i, du Prince Charles Edouard en Ecosse 
<6 en Angleterre" — the details of the latter interestii)g enterprise, having 
lieen couiumnicated, as the Colunel states, either by the Prince himself, 
or by some of his companions. 

The Regiment of Dublin, like that of Charlemont, was employed in 
the campaigns against the Germans from 1692 to 1097, and was dis- 
solved by the general reform in 1698. It likewise coinpi-ised, at first, 2 
battalions in 16 companies, or 1600 soldiers, and 64 officers. Its officers 
afterwards, according to Mac Geoghegan, were — " John Power, Colonel — 
John Power, Lieutenant-Colonel — Theobald Burke, Major — 12 Captains 
— 28 Lie\i tenants — 28 Sul)-Lieutenants — 14 Ensigns." More recently, 
its 2 battalions mustered 242 officers, and 1100 soldiers. 



THE INFANTRY REGIMENT OF ATHLONE. 

This regiment was commanded, on the Continent, until 1693, by Sir 
Maurice Eustace, Baronet, of Castlemartin, in the County of Kildare. 
Tiie race of Eustace or Fitz Eustace is of French or Norman origin. 
From 1326 to 1496, the Fitz-Eustaces were several times Lord Treasurers, 
Lord Cliancellors. and Lord Deputies of the Pale; the most celebrated of 
whom was Sir Roland Fitz-Eustace of Harristown, in the County of 
Kildare, who, having filled all those posts, was created Lord Portlester, 
bv Edward IV.; and the family was further ennobled, with the title of 
Viscount Baltinglass, by Henry VIII. The subject of our immediate 
notice. Sir Maurice Eustace, was grandson of William Fitz-John Eustace 
of Castlemartin, and son of Sir Maurice Eustace, Lord Chancellor of 
Ireland from 1660 to 1665. Previous to the Revolution, Sir Maurice 
Eustace was Captain, first, in the Infantry Regiment of Sir Thomas 
Newcomen, Baronet, etc., whose 4th daughter, Margaret, he married; 
aftei'wards commanded a troop in Colonel Theodore Russell's Regiment 
of Horse; became a Catholic; and when the Orange invasion took place, 
and the Revolution broke out, he, with proportionable attachment to 
King James II., levied, for his service, a Regiment of Foot, in Kildare. 
The name of Sir Maurice, or of his regiment, -was among the most 
prominent in the campaigns from 1689 to 1691 ; being mentioned at tiie 
blockade of Deiry; at the routing of Hunter's insurgents in the County 
of Down; at the 1st siege of Limerick; at the guerilla or frontier war 
in Kildare, and the Queen's County; at the defence of Ballymoi-e; at the 
battle of Aughrim, where Sir Maurice was severely wounded; at the 
subsequent contest in Kerry; and among those corps, the remains of 
which left Limerick, after the 2nd siege, to embark foi- France. The 
name of Eustace had dis])layed, among King James's supporters against 
the Revolutionists in Ireland, 2 Members of Parliament, a Colonel and 
Lieutenant-Colonel, with several Captains, Lieutenants and Ensigns ; 
includitig various estated gentlemen attainted for their loyalty, aiul 
sul jected to Williamite confiscation, in the Counties of Kildare, Carlo w, 
AVicklow and Dublin. Sir Maurice, as the head of his name in rank 
and services, was, acr-ordingly, not overlooked at the Court of yt. 
Germain, on the remodificatiun of the Irish forces in Brittany. He was 



136 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

made Colonel of the " Regiment d'Atlilone. Infenterie," wliioli was 
a[)i)ointefl to serve in Italy; and he held that comnuiTid until the latter 
end of 1'''93, when the Colonelcy was conferred by King James on its 
previous Lieutenant-Colonel, Walter Bourke, Esq., of Turlough, in the 
County of Mayo. 

This gtrntleman belonged to a i"ace, which ranks, with those of Fitz- 
Gerald and Le Botiler, or Butler, as among the 3 most illustrious of 
French, or Norman, oi-igin in Ireland. Tlie name h;is been variously 
written in France, England, and Ii-eland, as De or Du Bourg, or Burgh, 
,De Bui'go or Burgho, Bourke, and Burke. The founder of the race in ^ 
Ireland, in the 12th century, was Guillaume Fitz-Aldelm, or William 
Fitz-Adelm, de Burgo. That nobleman, accompanying Henry II. to 
Ireland, in 1171, as his Steward, was made Governor of Wexford; on » 
the King's return to England, in 1172, was intrusted with tlii^ nian;ige- 
ment of his Irish affairs; was named Chief Governor of the Anglo- _ 
Norman settlements in 1178; obtained large possessions, particularly in 
ConnauLjht, by the civil war between the rival 0'Con(n-8 "' during the 
latter portion of that, and the earlier \'ears of the next, century ; and 
died in 1204-5. The eminence of the hou.se of De Burgo increased, 
until, through its matrimonial connexion with Maud de Lacie, or Lacy, 
it acquired, in addition to its own possessions, the E nldom of Ulster, 
and became the greatest Anglo-iSTorman family in Ireland; its head, 
Richard, the famous red Earl, having sat as the 1st iKjbleman in the 
Parliament of the Pale at Dublin in 129.5, and, in all Commissions and 
Parliament Rolls, being named, even before the Lords Justices them- 
selves. But upon the murder near Carrickfergus, in June, l.'^3'^, of tliis 
Richard's successor and grandson, William, or the broivn Eivrl^ leaving 
only an infant daughter, a gi-eat revolution occurred in Connaught, as 
■well as in Uls ei'. That in Ulster has been duly noticed under tlie 
Regiment of O'Neill, or Cliailemont. In Connaught, Sir William de 
Burgo's 2 elder sons, the leading male re[)i-esentatives of the house of De 
Burgo, fi'om whom and those of the name in general, according to Anglo- 
Norman In w, or if the late Eiirl's daughter were to be his heir, all his 
lands might be conveyed, in marriage, to a stranger^ preferretl the Irish 
or Brehon law, which provided that, by a male succession, the territory 
of a race should be preserved in that race; and they accordingly seized 
npon, and divided into 2 distinct lordships, the large po.ss^^ssions, from 
■which the jireceding heads of the De Burgos had, among their titles, 
"Lords of Connaught." Then, renouncing Anglo-Norman, for Irish, 
laws and customs, and causing nearly all those of the same colonial origin 
in that province to do so likewise, these 2 noblemen henceforth proeliimed 
themselves Irish Chiefs, as Mac William "Lighter," and Mac William 
"Onghter;" determining to keep by force what they had gocten. And, 
in this, they succeeded, although the rights of the former " Lords of 
Connaught" and "Earls of Ulster " devolved by the marriage of the last 
Earl's daughter, in 13-52, to no le.ss a pei'sonage than Lionel Plantagenet, 

* Through the insane and. sanguinary divisions for supremacy amongst the 
O'Coiiors, their power dechned, and that of the Anglo-Norman feudaHst, invited 
l)y the conteniling parbies to assist them, increased in Connaught, till Turlough 
Don, slain in December 1406, was the last of his old royal house, culled K'wj in 
0(mLian_'ht. " Because,'' says my authority, "they were not themselves sticady bo 
eac 1 (ither, they were cruslied l)y lawless power, aud the usurpation of foreiguera. 
May Uod forgive them their sixia! " 



IN THE SERVICE OF FUANCE. 137 

Dnlce of Clarence, 3rd son of Edward III., King of England; wliich 
nobleman in vain came over twice, or in loGl, and 1367, as Chief Gover- 
nor of the Anglo-Norman settlements in Ireland, witii the hope of re- 
covering what he regarded as Ids property.* The territory of Mac William 
" Eighter," or tJie Lower, comprehended the 6 Baronies of Loughreagh, 
Dunkellin, Killtartan, or Killtaraglit, Clare, Athenry, and Leitrim, in 
the County of Galway; whose chief, Ulick de Burgh, was first ennohled, 
in the English manner, by King Henry VI 'I., in July, 1543, as Earl of 
Clanricarde, and Baron of Dunkellin. The territi>ry of Mac William 
" Oughter," or the Upper, comprehending, in general, tiie County of 
Mayo, was far more extensive, as observed by the Lord Deputy, Sir 
Heuiy Sidney, writing of its Ciiief, Sir Richard Fitz-David Bourke, ia 
1576. " He is a great man ; his lande lyeth a longe the west, north- 
west coast of this realnie, wherein he hatlie maney goodly havens, and 
he is a Lorde of 3 tymes so moche lande as the Earll of Clanricarde is." 
Of this Chief, or Mac William "Ougliter" — l)y hi.> wife, Grace, daughter 
of Eoghan or Owen O'Mailley (or O'Malley) Chit^f of the district called 
the Owle.s, or 2 Baronies of Murresk and Burrislmule, in Mayo, and a 
heroine, that, under the popular designation of Grduua Weji'e, is so 
generally known for exploits, suitable to a race, of which the native 
proverb says, "there never was a genuine O'Mailley who was not a 
mariner "t — the eldest son, Sir Theobald Bourke, surnanied "ny long," 
or of the ship, from being born at sea, and who was also a distinguished 
captain in the Elizabethan wars, was the 1st of the line of Mac William 
"Oughter" created a Peer, as Viscount Bourke of Mayo, by King Chai'les 
L, in 1627. 

The family of Tuilough, a branch from the above chieftain and 
ennobled line, and |)ossessed of a considerable property, was represented, 
at the Revolution, by Walter Bourke, as eldest son of Richard Bourke, 
Esqr., of Turlough, by his marriage with Celia O'Sliaughnessy, of the 
ancient dynastic house of Kinelea, and subsequently of Gort, in the 
County of Galway. Like so many of the name of Bourke — who, includ- 
ing 5 noblemen, or the Lords Clanricarde, Castleconnell, Brittas, Galway, 
and Boffin, amounted to not le.ss than between 70 and )>0 commissioned 
ofhcers in the Irish army during the war of the Revolution — Waltei 
Bourke early embarked in the contest; as Member for the County <•{ 
Mayo, sat in the national Parliament of 1689 ; and, the same year, under- 
took to raise a Regiment of Foot,. of which he appears on the muster- 
rolls, in x\j)ril, 1690, as Colonel, and which was subsequently attached 
to the army, tliat fought at the Boyne. At the battle of Auglirim, July 
22nd, 1691, he was stationed, with his regiment, on the Irish L'lt, in 
and about the Castle of Aughrim, to arrest an ascent from the iidjoming 

* The circumstance of tlie De Burgos having been nhli" to set at defiance the claims 
of a son of the renowned Edward III., tinire acting as the repiesciitative of bis 
royal father in Ireland, is explained by the very great weakening of tlie power 
«»f the colonial government tliere, that was a result of the iScotcli or Bruce's inva- 
siou ; and by the utter inability of Edward, from the ein[)loyment of his forces in 
so many wars, to s])are anything like a sufficiency of troojis for a defence even of 
the diminished territory If/t him, which was Init ])recariously held through pay- 
ments of Ijlack -rents, tributes, or pensions, to some of the old natives, for peace, or 
protection against others! 

+ This ancient se[)t likewise appear, in Bardic panegyric, as "the olan of the sea- 
Fent treasures, the prophets of the weHfcher, and the Mauanuaus, or sea-gods, of the 
western ocean." 



138 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

defile, or old broken causeway, which was the key to the Irish position 
ou that side, as tlie sole access for hostile cavalry there. The defile being 
but a narrow, boggy trench, 60 yards in length, thro\igh which 2 horse- 
men at most, or with difficulty, could attempt to proceed abreast, and 
that ex|)Osed to musketry from the Castle and its environs at between 
30 and 40 yards' distance, if not even less, the Colonel might have baffled 
such an apparently hopeless undertaking, had he been supj)lied with 
proj)er ammunition. But the barrels of bullets sent him were unfortu- 
nately found to consist of balls that had been cast for English guns, or 
too big for the bore of his men's French muskets.* The Williamite 
cavalry consequently passed l)eyond the Castle, and, through a 2nd piece 
of good foitiine, in the fall of Bt. Kuth by a cannon shot, (when about to 
charge tliem with a superior body of horse before they could form,) were 
enabled to change the fortune of the day; while the Colonel, assailed b^ 
2 infantiy regiments, had to retire into, or more immediately about, the 
Castle. This edifice, though tlihipidatcd, or of little strength, exce[)t as 
commanding the detile, and though the Colonel was without available 
bullets, he continued to hold, till nothing more was to be ho])ed from 
maintaining it. Then sallying, in order to effect his escape, over the 
adjacent gi'cat bog, towards Galway, by breaking through tlie investing 
force, he, notwithstanding that they were double his number, and had 
been duly provided with ball, so roughly handled them, that he would 
prol)ably have succeeded in his attem])t, l)ut for the arrival of some fresh 
squadi-ons of Williamite horse and dragoons, to the aid of their infantry; 
by whose junction the sortie was repulsed, and the Castle taken; the 
Colonel himself, and 52 more, being all who survived of his regiment, as 
prisoners.t On the Colonel's release by the Treaty of Limerick, and his 
subsequent passage into France, he sutfei-ed a similar retluction of rank 
to that of so many other officers there; being made only a Lieutenant- 
Coloufl to the Kegiment of Athlone. This regiment was not attached, 
in 1692, to the Irish and French Force jn-evented landing in England by 
the naval reverse of I^a Ilogue ; but commenced its active services on the 
Continent, in the Army of Italy under the Marshal de Catinat, whom it 
joined May loth, at Fenesti-elles. At the ovc-rthrow of the Allies in the 
battle of Marsaglia, or Orbas.san, October 4tl), 1693, the Lieutenant- 
Colonel was distinguished, and he was commissioned by King James, at 
St. Germain, November 13th, to succeed ISir Maurice Eustace, as Colonel. 
Till after the siege of Valenza that led to the pacitication of Italy in 1696, 
Walter Bourke commanded the regiment theie ; and tlie next campaign, 
or that of 1697, he did so on the Rhine. By the general refbi-m among 
the Irish troops in 169S, the remains of the Regiment of Athlone, united 

•"The men,'" says the contemporary Jacobite, Phuikett, "had French pieces, 
the bore of wliich was small; ami had English ball, which was too large!" He 
then naturally exclaims, at tliat "miscarriage, thro' heedlessness — «?/;// was not 
this foieseen, and the damage ])revented?" With Plunkett before Lord iMacaulay, 
why, too, it n;ay be fairly asked, has his Lordship \)een entirely silent upon such, 
an important ])oint, as this resi)ecting the unsuitable bullets, iu liU version of the 
battle? The Williamites were confis--iedly unsuccessful in the contest, up to their 
attemjit, as a Inut resource, to get through the pass of Aughrim, tlie strongest or most 
defensible portion of tlie Jacobite jwsition— and should the cansu of their having 
gotten thron^h be left loitoUl? 

t In addition to tlie other more generally known authorities concerning Bourke's 
regiment here^ I am iiidelited to that of tlie Sco'eh VVillianiite veteran, Major 
General JMackay, who atted at the battle, in the iiiiiuediate direction of the p.iss of 
Auijhrim. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 139 

with those of the King's Disraounted Dragoons, and tlie 3 Indepenrlent 
Companies, were formed into a Eegiraent of Foot, for the Duke of Ber- 
wick ; the kite Colonel of the Regiment of Athlone being attached, as a 
sii pern mn era ry or reformed Colonel, to the new corps, until, (as hereafter 
shown,) more fully provided for. 

The Regiment of Athlone, (seemingly named so from some connexion 
with the defences of that place in 1690 and 1691,) was the last of the 
larger infantry corps of King James's army in Fiance, which consisted 
of 2 battalions, and 16 companies of 100 soldiers, with 64 officers. The 
officers, as s})ecified by Mac Geoghegan, were — '' Walter Burke, Colonel 
— Owen Maccarty, Lieiitenant-Colonel — Edmond Cantwel, Major — 12 
Ca])tains — 28 Lieutenants — 28 Sub-Lieutenants — 14 Ensigns." After 
wards the officers of its 2 battalions were 242, and the soldiers 1100. 



THE INFANTRY EEGIMENT OF CLANCARTY. 

Among the earliest of the additional infantry regiments, ordered to be 
established, in 1688, by King James II., previous to the Revolution, was 
a Regiment for Colonel Roger Mac Elligot ; the formation of which was 
commenced in the sjiring of that year. The Colonel was an experienced 
officer, who had served, on the Continent, with 1 of the 6 regiments, per- 
mitted, by King Charles II., to remain in the pay of the Dutch republic; 
on condition tl;at, if those corps should be wanted at home, they should 
be sent back by the repulilic to England, upon a requisition from the 
Crown, to that effect. When, after having applied, without success, both 
to i-he Prince of Orange, and to the Dutch government, for the fultilment 
of tills agreement. King James II., by his Proclamation from Whitehall, 
in March, 1688, finally ordered those regiments to return home. Colonel 
Mac Elligot, and such as were Catholics in the regiments, naturally obeyed 
the Proclamation; while the Protestant officers and soldiers as naturally 
preferred staying in Holland, in order to form part of the expedition 
under the Prince of Orange, invited over by the Revolutionists of Eng- 
land, to aid them against the King. Roger Mac Elligot was of an ancient 
Munster race, the Mac Elligots or Mac Elligods, whose territory con-iisted 
of Billy-Mac-Elligod, and otiier possessions, in the Barony of Tiuchan- 
acmy, in Kerry; a Comity, that sui)])lied, during the War of the Revolu- 
tion, several other eminent officers to the Irish army — such as Colonel 
Charles Mac Carthy More, who raised a Regiment of Foot, and so gallantly 
deiended Carriekfergns in the summer of 1689 against the hind and sea 
force of the .Marshal Duke of Schonberg — Colonel Daniel ]\Iac Carthy, 
also commander of a Regiment of Foot, with which he signalized himself, 
and fell, at the battle of Aughrim, in July, 1691 — Brigadier Dennis 
Mac Gillicuddy, likewise Colonel of a Regiment of Foot, slain, shortl}-- 
before, at the 2nd siege of Athlone — Maurice O'Connell of Ihrahagh, or 
Iveragh, and of Ash-Tower, County Dublin, Brigadier, and Coli>nel of 
Foot, killed at Auglirim — Sir Valentine Browne, 1st, and his son 
IJjTicholas 2iid, Lord Kenmare, Vinth of whom were Colonels of Foot, and 
behaved well, at Aughrim, Limerick, &c. After the breaking out of tiie 
Revolution, in Ireland, Cohmel Mac Elligot was elected, with Cornelius 
Mac Gillicuddy, Esqr., to represent the B(U-oiigh of Ardfert in Kerry, in 
the national Parli.iinfnt of l(i89; iiis Regiment of Infantry appears 
upon the aiuster-roUs of King James's army for that year; and the Comte 



140 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

D'Avaux, Lonis XIV.'s Ambassador to King James in Ireland, in a 
letter from Dublin of May 6th, referring to " M. Mac Elligott," as then 
"Gouverneur de Kiiisal," or Kinsale, adds of him, "c'est un foi-t lionneste 
homme de mes amis." In July, IGUO, the Regiment of Mac EUigot waa 
among those present at the Boyiie. 

In the succeeding autumn, the Colonel was stationed in Cork as its 
Governor, when the Earl of Marlborough (afterwards the famous Duke) 
hauled from Portsmouth, near the town, with 9 regiments of infantry, 
2 detachments of marines, and a due supply of cannon, mortars, and 
every tin'ng requisite for a siege, besides ships of war, to second, by battery 
and bombardment from the water's edge, the operations of the army on 
shore. Colonel Mac Elligot had a garrison of, perhaps, 4500 men. But the 
town was quite unfitted for enduring a siege, from its completely coijp- 
manded posititm in a hollow; it was inadequately sup{)lied with ammuni- 
tion ; and no relief of it could be undertaken by the Duke of Berwick, 
in opposition to the very superior numbers, &c., of Marlborough, as 
reinforced and covered by Ginkell; so that nothing better was expected, 
on the prospect of such a siege, than that the place should be set on fire, 
and the garrison witlidrawn. The Colonel, nevertheless, defended it from 
the 4th to the 8th of October; when, a breach, effected from the 7tb, 
being about to be stormed; a bombardment going on from the sea; and 
only 2 small barrels of powder being left, he had to capitulate; and 
■was conveyed, as a prisoner of war, to the Tower of London. Next year, 
also, or early in September, IGUl, on the advance of the Williamites 
under Brigadier Levison to Listowell in Kerry, it is noticed, in their 
accounts, that among 20 Catholic or Jacobite ladies captured at Lord 
Kerry's, including Lady Westnieath, Lord Merrion's sister, (fee, tliere was 
" the wife of Mac-Elicut, formerly Governour of Cork, and who was taken 
jtrisoner there, when the town submitted to the Earl of Marlborough." 
In his ca)itivity at London, which lasted till after the Treaty of Ryswick 
in 1697, Colonel Mac Elligot, for nearly 4 years, or to the period of Lord 
Ciancarty's escape from the Tower, was treated with liberality; having 
been allowed the range of the Tower at large, and even to go occasionally 
into town, for his health. But henceforth, although without having given, 
as he says, any additional cause for offence, he was kept so close a i)risoner, 
that his constitution suffered "to the last extremity." Meantime, he 
was not foi-gotten by King James, who, at the remoch^lling of the Irish 
army on the Continent, made him Colonel to the "Regiment de Clan- 
carty [nfanterie." That appellation seems to have been given to the 
rei^iment from the various circumstances of its connexion with South 
Munster, or Desmond; of which the Mac Carthys, whose head was the 
Earl of Clancurty, were the royal tribe; from which nobleman's regiment 
souK^ n)en were originally detached, to make up a regiment for Colonel 
Mac Elligot; and to which part of Ireland the Colonel himself belonged 
by race. This regiment, after the battle of La Hogue, in 1692, was 
attached to the Marshal de Catinat's army in Italy; served against tiie 
Baibets of the Alps; and was finally transferred to the Duke de Ven- 
dome's army in Catalonia, with which it assisted at the reduction of 
Barcelona, in 1697. Among the Irish corps broken up, by the reform of 
King James's troops in France, early in 1698, was the regiment <f 
Mac Elligot. Tiie name of Mac Elligot, besides supplying a Major-General 
and Baron to the military service of Austria under the Empress Maria 
Theresa, has been re.piesented, to more recent times, in the service of 



IS THK SEUVrCE OF FRANCE. 1 4l 

France, where, iricliuHug a Marechal de Camp, it coritribnted several 
officers to the Regiments of Clare, Berwick, Roscommon, itc. 

The Regiment of Claucarty, or Mac EUigot, was the smallest of King 
James's "infantry" regiments in France. It made, in 1692, but 1 bat- 
talion, in 8 companies of 100 privates each ; the officers, according to the 
previously mentioned infantry scale of 4 to each company, would be 32; 
and the whole, therefore, 832. Mac Geoghegan's later list of the officers 
increases them thus — " Roger Mac Elligot, Colonel — Edward Scott, Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel — Cornelius Mur|»hy, Major — 6 Captains — 16 Lieutenants 
— 16 Sub-Lieutenants — 8 Ensigns." The soldiers were aftervvaixls many 
hiss, or but 550; the officers were many more, or 121. The battalion, or 
regiment, consequently, as complete at first, would be 832, and, as com- 
plete at last, would be 671, strong. 



THE 3 INDEPENDENT COMPANIES, &c. 

The "Trois Compagnies Franchtis," or "3 Independent Companies" of 
Suther-land, Browne, and Hay, by the organization of 161)2, consisted each 
of 104 soldiers, and 4 officers — viz., a Captain, Lieutenant, Sub- Lieu- 
tenant, and Ensign — the whole 3 therefore including 324 men of all 
ranks. By their more recent formation, the full complement of these 
Companies in soldiers was but 60 to each, or 180 between the 3, while 
their officers were altogether 21; the entire 3 thus containing 201 men 
of every kind. By the gener.d reform, in 1698, among the Irish troops 
in France, those 3 Independent Companies, as already observed, wei-e 
merged into the infantry Regiment of Berwick. Wlien the Irish, con- 
veyed into France after the Treaty of Limerick, were formed anew into 
an army for James II., those in Louis XlV.'s service, or the Brigade of 
Mountcashel, also underwent a change in their organization, by which 
the Regiments of the Lords Mountcashel and Clare were to have 3 bat- 
talions each, while the Honoiuable Arthur Dillon's had but 2. Accord- 
ing to these arrangements of 1692, there were, of Irish infantry in France, 
counting the 2 corf)s of Dragoons d, pied as such, 13 Regiments, or 25 
battalions, and 3 lnde|)endent Companies, making, in round numbers, 
above 19,000 men; of Irish Cavalry, 2 Regiments, or 4 squadrons, aiul 
2 Troo))S of Horse Guards, forming, in like manner, above 800 men; and 
the total of Iri.sh infantry and cavalry consequently being upwards of 
19 800 men. Of these, Louis's force, or the Brigade of Mountcashel, 
would be aVjout 5000 men ; so that the army of James would be more 
than 14,000 foot, and 800 horse. Besides tiiese Irish military, we are 
informed of " une quantite prodigieuse," either attached, as volunteers, 
or reformed officers, to the regiments of their own nation, or serving, in 
the like capacity of supernumeraries, along with ditferent French coi'ps. 

By the latest table I have found of the Irish troops in France, previous 
to the disiiolution of James II.'s army there after the Peace pf Ryswick, 
and from which table the Irish battalions appear to have been increased 
from 25 to 2Q subsequent to 1692, by the addition of a 3rd battalion 
to Dillon's Regiment, the fuU strength of the various corps was as 
follows: — 



142 



IllSTOIiY OF TillC IKISII B.'UOADKS 



In LouU XlV'.'s sci'vii'O 



la James 11. "s servioc. 



UNFANTliV. 



< 1. l,.-e's 3 

s -J. (1,1 o-s 3 

( :i. UUlonn 3 



4. Guards 2 

T). (,Hip' n's 2 

(;. Jlariuo 2 

7. I.niu'vick 2 

8. C'liM.rUMUont 2 

y. I'l III n 2 

10. Ati\l()np 2 

U. ('\:\r vav'.v 1 

|-J. IvuK's 1) sniouuted l)r:iKiion.s . 1 

l:i. Quoi iiV UisuKHiut. (I Dragociiis . 1 



Tlio ;! luiloi'endeut Coni]);uiiPs .... 
Total of lul'antry 



I-t Ti-c 
-11 I 'I'l 



C.WALUY. 

Guards . . 
ji of Ilor.se Guards . . 



Cllld. 
Sohdrrx. 

. -MV-i ) Louis'hS Ren-im^nta 
. ii()l:i ,' of Foot,iii!)baitahouB, 
boing tiODO stroug. 



2Ul:! 

1.1 f.> 
Ml.' 
l:!4-.' 
]:!+•.' 
l:i4J 
l:;iJ 
VM-J 
(17 1 



James's 10 Kegi- 
mrut ■ oi Footer l>is- 
lUDUnted Drafi-ons, 
in 17 battalions, 
maUiiis, Willi ■', Indo- 
17,2'j(i po idcnt Coiiipani i 
iOl 11 :!S-.' Infantiy; hm 
^ 2 Tro p- of Horse 
17,4-Jl I Guards, an 1 2 Regi- 

mi'iits of Horsp. of 

I '2 squadrons each, 
I in.ikitig !I14 Cavalry; 
and llic whole bilLg 
V2,o2(i strong. 



ino 

100 



/t'-riimcnts. S<jii,„!riin.i. 

1. Kllii;'s 2 . . 372- 



Queen's 



Total of Cavalry 



SITMJIAUY OF INFANTRY AND CAVALRY. 
Ivfaiitrii. \-\ HeKimonts (or 2() battalions) and 3 Inde 



In bolh servii; 



(lendoui Comp mie 



idfdli II, : 
of Uoi> 



Ro^jiiionts (or 4 squadrons) and 2 Troops 



17,4-.>1 f Louis's force 0,039 



!)44 ) James's force 12,326 

Grand Total . . ls,;!iir, 1S.W5 



By tlie extensive reform rimoiig t]ie Trisli tfoojts in IG )S, the 3 reojiments, 
()rio;iiiMllv <>t Lofd Mountcasher.s Brigade, ami tlu! iiitaiitry. or ilisuiomited 
dragoons, and detached couipanie.s of King James's ;irmy, were reduced, 
from 20, to Imt 8 hatttdions; eacli of these Itattalions coiLstitnting a 
regiment of If comnanies of 5U men ])er company, instetid of 100 as 
formerly. These 8 Regiments of Foot of 1 liatt.ilion consequently 
mustered 700 soldiers etich ; giving a general total of nGnO nien, besides 
officers. The 8 were Lee's, Clare's, Dillon's, Dorrington's, Albemaile's, 
Berwick's, Galmoy's, and Bourke's. The 2Troo])S of Horse Guards were, 
as already shown, disbanded; ;ind. instead of tht; 2 Regiments of Horse, 
but 1 regiment, of 2 squadrons, was kept up, as the Regiment of Sheldon. 
From what lias been related of the 5 first of those infantry corps, it now 
only remains to give correspomling notices of Berwick's, Galmoy's, and 
Bourke's Regiments of Foot, and Sheldon's Regiment of Horse. 



THE INFANTRY EEOIMENT OF BERWICK. 

This regiment, organized from what remained of the Regiment of 
Athlone, the King's Dismounted Dragoons, and the 3 Independent 
Companies of King James's army after the Peace of Ryswick, was 
granted, February 27th, 1698, to James Fitz-Janies, Duke of Berwick, 
natural son of Jtimes, Duke of York, subsequently King James II., by 
Arabella Churohili, sister of the famous John Churchill, Duke of 



IN THE SEHVICE OF FnANCE. 143 

Marlborough. Jfimes Fitz- James was horn Aiigust 21st, 1670, and 
educated as a Catholic in France, at the Colleges of Jnlly, Dn Plessis, and 
La Fleche. In 168G, his father, then King of England, placed him 
under the care of an Irish officer of eminence in the Ini])erial service, 
Lieutenant-General, the Honourable Count Francis Taafie, (brother of 
the Earl of Cariingford,) in order to commence his military career, against 
the Turks, with the Austrian army, under the Duke of Lorrain, in 
Hungary. He was present there, and distinguished, at the capture of 
Buda. Returning for the winter to England, he was created, in March, 
1687, Duke of Berwick, Earl of Tinmonth, and Baron of Bosworth. He 
rejoined the Austiians that spring in Hungary; was commissioned, liy 
the Emperor Leopold I., a Colonel Commandant of Taafle's Regiment of 
Cuirassiers; was at the defeat of the Tui-ks, in the battle of Mohatz ; and 
was also made a Serjiant-Genural of Battle, or Major-General, V)y the 
Emperor, who gave him his jncture, set in diamonds. Between this 
j)eriod and the Revolution in England, he was appointed Governor of 
Portsmouth, Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire, Colonel of the present 
8th Regiment of Foot, and of the Cavalry Regiment of Oxford Blues, 
Captain of the 3rd Troo]) of Life Guiirds, and Knight of the Garter. On 
the success of the Revo'lution, he accomjianied the King, his father, in 
his escape to France, in January, 1689 ; and thence came with him to 
Ireland, in March. In the campaign that followed against the Revo- 
lutionists of Ulster, he served, as Major-General, at the routing of their 
superior forces into Derry; signalized himself there repelling the sallies, 
in 1 of which he was wounded; beat a hostile party at Donegal, burning 
their magazines, and taking a good booty of cattle; defeated another 
Orange party before Enniskillen ; was made Lieutenant-General; and 
commanded, with ability, a detachment to delay Marshal Schonberg's 
advance by Newry towards Dundalk, against the Irish main army, under 
the King. Despatched, in February, 1690, from Dublin to ('a van, with 
a force designed to dislodge the Revolutionists from Belturbet, he was 
anticipated, by their attacking him, with greater numbers, at Cavan. 
He rep'ulsed them at first, but had his horse shot under him, and was after- 
wards compelled to retire, with his infantry, into the fort; the Revo- 
lutionists, with the smaller loss on their side, firing the town, and its 
magazines, yet having to return, without taking the fort, to Belturbet. 
In July, as Lieutenant-General, and Captain of a Troop) of Horse Guai'ds, 
he commanded the cavaliy of the Irish right wing at the Boyne ; charged 
and recharged the Williamite cavalry 10 times; though it was more 
numei-ous, broke it, utdess when it was supported by infantry ; had his 
horse killed, was trampled down and bruised, only rescued in the 7aelee 
by a trooper; and, with the other Genei-al Oificers, conducted the retreat 
to Dublin. In August and Septendier, he was at the successful defence 
of Limerick against William III. On the Did^e of Tyrconnell's 
departure for France in September, being left Deputy-Governor of the 
Jacobite territory in Ireland, he, with a body of infantry and cavalry, 
and 4 guns, attacked Birr Castle; but, on the advance of a very superior 
Williamite foi-ce against him, had to retire into Connaught. A like 
Williamite superiority of numbers, &c , prevented his attempting to 
interrupt the subsequent siege and cajiture of Cork and Kinsale, in 
Octol)er. He, nevertheless, preserved the Jacobite territory during the 
remainder of 1690, and till February. 1691; constantly harassing the 
enemy, trum beyond the Shannon, with a guerilla warfare; and, iu 



144 ' HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

January especinllv, when they collected their forces to cross that river, 
obliged them to retire with loss. 

Ill February, 1691, quitting Ireland for France, he joined, as a Volun- 
teer, the army, under Louis XIV., at the siege of Mons; signalized him- 
self greatly iu the 2 assaults upon the horti-work of that fortress ; after 
it was taken, remained with tlie Marshal de Luxembourg ; and likewise 
signalized himself at the surprise and cutting up, September 19th, of thfe 
Allied cavalry at Leuze ; where he is .stated to have killed an English 
officer who attacked him. In 1G92, created Cajitain of the 1st Troop o' 
Irish Horse Guards, he was to have accompanied his father, King James, 
with the Irish forces, to England, but for the battle of La Hogue; after 
which, he rejoined the Fi'ench army in Flanders, and was among its most 
distinguishetl officers, in the defeat of the Allies, August 3rd, at the battle 
of Steinkiik. Serving as Lieutenant-General in 1693 under Luxembourg, 
he, at the overthrow, July 29th, of William III., in the battle of Landen, 
headed the attack upon the village of Nerwiiiden, and carried all before 
him, until, not being duly snppoi-ted, he was overpowered, maile ])risoner 
by his uncle. Brigadier Charles Churchill, (hi-othor of the Duke of Marl- 
borough,) and ])re.sented to William III. Released, not long after, for 
the Duke ot Ormonde, he, during the reduction #f Chaileroy by Luxem- 
bourg in September and Octol)er, .sotnetimes mounted the trenches, and 
sometimes commanded the covering detachment of 17 battalions and 
gome horse, about Mons. Employed, in 1694, under the Dau)thiu in 
Flanders, he led a column in the f imous forced march from Vignamont 
to Pont d'Es|)ieres, which secured French FJandei's from William III. 
Acting, iu 1695, with the same army under M.irshal de Villeroy, he 
took several castles garrisoned V)y 400 men, and was at the bombardment 
of Bruxelle-s. In 1696, nominated by King James Captain-General of his 
Armies, he went over in disguise to London respecting a projected rising 
in England, to l)e supported by an expedition from France, for the "restora- 
tion ' of the King; but had to return, without .success, in the object 
of that hazardous journey. This, and next year, 1697, he also .served in 
Flanders, though without being engaged in any operation of consequence. 
In 16i8, his Ti'oop of Irish Hor.se Guards being broken up, he obtained 
the Iri.sli Infantry Piegiment named i'rora his English title. In 1701, he 
went to Eome, on the part of King James and Louis XIV , to compli- 
ment the new Pope, Clement XL, on his accession ; and to offi^r Irish 
troops, under his own command, to the Pope, should he, as Louis advised, 
levy an army against the approaching war in Italy. Clement declined to 
do .so, but received the Duke favourably; giving him 2000 pistoles for the 
expen.ses of his journey, 4000 pistoles for the distre.ssed Irish Catholics or 
Jacobite exiles in France, and .several jiresents for King James, his Queen, 
and the young Prince of Wal^.s. In 1702, acting as Lieutenant-General 
under the Duke of Burgundy in Flanders, he led the pursuit of the Dutch 
General Ginkell from the vicinity of Cleves to Nimeguen, which cost the 
enemy several hundred men and horses, artillery and other carriages, 
besides a pillaging of their territory, to the amount of some hundred 
thousand crowns, and of nniny thousand cattle. In 1703, having served 
with the same army under the Marshal de Villeroy, he was named, in 
December, to command 18 battalions and 19 squadrons to be sent into 
Spain; and, the same month, after ])ermi.ssion ol>tained from King James 
ir.'s son as James HI., was naturalized a Frenchman. Peeeived in state, 
February loth, 1704, at Madrid, he, as Cautain-General of Spain, pro« 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 14d 

ceedcd, March 4th, with King Philip V., to the camp. From his entering 
Portugal early in May, till obliged by the excessive heats to retire into 
quarters early in July, he made a most successful campaign, reducing 
above 30 of the enemy's towns; capturing 8 English, 2 German, 2 Dutcli, 
4 Ptu'tugnese battalions, and 18 independent comjmnies; besides taking a 
very large spoil of bombs, grenades, powder, ball, small arms, saddles, &c., 
sent from England, 300,000 piastres in coin, and a great qiiantity of ])lato 
and tents; including those of the King of Portugal, and the Arclidukf 
Charles of Austria, Pretender to the Ci'own of Spain. On the renewal o£ 
active operations in September and October, the Duke's army, leduced by 
drafts elsewhere, was but 10,000 men. That of the King of Portugal 
and Austrian Archduke was above 21,400 men. With this superiority, 
accompanied by the figure of St. Anthony of Padua as s]jiritual General- 
issimo of Portugal, the King and Archduke advanced from Almeida 
towards the Duke, defensively posted, about Cindad Rodrigo, behind the 
liver Agueda. There, while by various movements, and the fire of their 
artillery, the Allies endeavoured to dislodge the Duke, they likewise 
attempted to bring over his troops to the Pretender; and, at Madrid, the 
disadvantages ixnder which the Duke laboured appeared to be such, that 
he was even ordered, not to attempt maintaining his groimd. Yet he 
re|)ulsed the enemy everywhere, silenced their artillery, harassed thera 
with parties, and having smashed St. Anthony's image with a random 
cannon-shot, thereby rendered the superstitious Portuguese so indisposed 
for further active service, that, before the middle of October, their main 
force retreated, covered by the English and Dutch, into winter quarters ; 
the rest, that had laid siege to Valencia d'Alcantara, being also subse- 
quently compelled to retire. 

Receiving, in November, from Pliilip V., at Madrid, the insignia of the 
Order of the Golden Fleece, the Duke returned to France; in February, 
1705, was made Commander in Languedoc, to appease the troubles, re- 
newed there, among the Camisards, or revolted Huguenots, by eniissarie.s 
from the Allies; and, having suppressed those disturbances, he was, in 
October, selected to reduce Nice. It ranked among the first fortresses 
in Euro|)e; was situated on a lofty rock, accessible only on 1 side; there 
and elsewhere strengthened by works, which cost a vast sum ; was fur- 
nished with an ex|)erienced Governor, and garrison of 2000 men; and 
supplied with about 100 cannon, and other requisites in proportion. To 
attack the place, secure his rear, and woi'k 86 cannon or mortars, the 
Duke had only about 5000 men, and the o[)eratiotis ccmsumed alxjve 
60,000 cannon-shot, 8000 bombs, and 700,000 pounds weight of powder, 
until January 5th, 1706, when the fort capitulated. February 15th, 
created Marshal of France, he, on the 20th, Wcis named to command in 
Spain, against the Portuguese, English, and Dutch, and, March 12th, 
reached Madrid. The Allies having assembled their army of 45 battalions 
and 56 squadrons, he arrived at Badajos, the 27th, to oppose them. But, 
after thi-owing 8 battalions into Alcaiitara, which was betrayed to the 
enemy, the marshal was left only 30 squadrons, subsequently reinforced by 
8 battalions ! — or too small a force to attempt anything beyond manreuv- 
ling, to delay, as long as possible, the Allies' advance to Madrid. They 
entered it, June 25th, under Lord Galway and the Marquis de Lasminas ; 
and were to be joined there by the Austrian Archduke, as Charles 11[., 
and by Lord Peterliorough, with more troops. But the Marshal, pre- 
viously joined by King Philip, Was supplied from the Castiles, Auda- 



146 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

Insia, I'C, with a force, wliose operations, aided by the loyal peasnntry, o 
guerillas, rendered Madrid and the surrounding country so untenable, that, 
before the Archduke coidd arrive, or early in August, that metropolis was 
recovered; the enemy during their stay, and in their subsetpient retreat 
out of Castile, having numbers of their ti-oops cut off" or taken, with quan- 
tities of baggage, and several convo3's intercepted, including 1 with Lord 
I'eterborough's plate, &c., and 100,000 pieces of 8. The reduction of 
above 200 cities, burghs, or villages, in Valencia and Murcia, among 
which was that of Carthagena on November 18th, completed the Mar- 
shal's achievements in this campaign, that, without a battle, cost the 
enemy a loss, in prisoners alone, of 10,000 men. Continuing to command 
the French and Spanish armies against the Allies, under Lord Galway, 
the Marshal gained his greatest victory at the battle of Almanza, Api'iU 
2r)th, 1707, where, with only about 2000 men killed or wounded, he 
destroyed, or made prisoners, not less than 13,000 English, Dutch, and 
r«irtugupse; taking 120 military ensigns, all the hostile artillery, &c. 
For this signal success, which led to the recovery of almost the whole of 
Valencia and Aragon, the Marshal was rewarded, soon after the action, 
by King Philip; who conferred upon him the former appenages of the 
2nd sons of the Kings of Aragon, or the cities of Liria and Xerica iu 
Valencia, with their dependencies, accompanied by the title, from those 
])laces, of Duke, and the dignity of Grandee of the First Class, for him- 
self and his descendants. After further conquests in Valencia, including, 
May Gth, that of its capital, the Marshal was to join the Duke of Orleans, 
for the siege of the strong fortress of Lerida ; which, from various causes, 
c<)uld not be commenced until October 2nd, but was successfully termi- 
nated, November 11th. The 24th, the Marshal was made Governor of 
the Limousin by Louis XIV. Appointed in May, 1708, to command 
the Army of the Rhine under the Elector of Bavaria, he sujtplied Fort 
Louis with additional artillery, rendered the lines along the river secure, 
and was transferred, for the rest of the campaign, to Flanders. 

From 1709 to 1712, except while for some time, and not as General- 
in-Chief, in Flanders, he commanded the Army of Dauphine, or that on 
the frontiers of Piedmont, for the protection of the southern provinces of 
France against the Piedmontese and Germans, under the Duke of Savoy 
and the Imperial Generals. The Marshal's arrangements for this pur- 
pose were so excellent, that, while he spai'ed for other services so many 
as 20 battalioiis from the force considered requisite for him, he was al)le 
to baffle all the designs of enemies, much superior in number. Llence, 
in France, these campaigns were esteemed masterpieces of defensive 
tactics, while the Marshal's opponent, the Duke of Savoy, observed of 
him, in reference to them, that "He had never beheld anyone manoeuvre 
so well, or make war so skilfully, or so nobly." In the winter of 1709, 
the Marshal was granted by Louis XIV. the lordship of Warty, the name 
being changed to that of Fitz-James, and was fui'ther nominated a Peer 
of France, under the title of Duke of Fitz-James; the royal letters 
j>atent, to that effect, being dated in May, 1710. In 1712, Girona 
having been so blocked up by the Coimt de Stahremberg, as to be 
reduced to great extremities, the Marshal was connnissioned, in Novem- 
ber, to relieve it from France ; which he accomjilished, early in January, 
1713. In September, 1714, his services to the Crown of Sj)ain were 
completed by the reduction of Barcelona, after a resistance so obstinate, 
that, between besiegers and besieged, the loss amounted to about 1G,000 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 147 

hilled or woiinrled. For this achievement, Philip V. granted him a 
])ension of 100,000 livres a year, and sent him a sword, adorned with 
diamonds of very great value. In April, 1716, the Marshal was nomi- 
nated Commander in Guyenne. War having broken out with Spain in 
1719, he reduced Fontarabia in June, St. Sebastian in August, Urgel in 
October; and, peace occurring in 1720, he was elected, for his services, 
a Member of the Council of Kegency, under Louis XV.'s minority. In 
1721, he was intrusted with the command over Guyenne, Beam, 
Navarre, the Limousin, Auvergne, Bourbonnais, Forez, Rousillon, and 
part of Vivarais, in order to arrest the progress of the plague beyond the 
southern provinces of France, and most ably achieved that very impor- 
tant object. He was made Chevalier of the Order of the Holy Ghost, 
and of the Orders of the King, in June, 1724, and Governor of Stras- 
burgh, in April, 1730. Choseu to command upon the Rhine, in 1733, 
when hostilities broke out between France and Austria, he crossed that 
river about the middle of October; from the 14th invested Fort Kehl, 
and occupied it, the 29th. In May, 1734, he passed the lines of Etlingen, 
considei'ed so impregnable by the minor German powers, as to have 
mainly influenced them to take part with the Emperor Charles VI. 
against France. Early in June, he opened trenches before Philipsbnrgh, 
and, the 12th, visiting the works, about 7 in the morning, he ascended a 
portion of them, best situated for judging what was fittest to be done, 
though most dangerous, as exposed to the cannon of both sides, when a 
French and German battery, firing at the same time, a ball, it is uncer- 
tain from which, swept off his head, in his 64th year. 

The Marshal Duke of Berwick was 1 of those commanders of whom 
it is the highest eulogium to say, that to such, in periods of adversity, it 
is safest to intrust the defence of a state. Of the great military leaders 
of whose parentage England can boast, he may be ranked, with his uncle, 
Marlborough, among the first. But, to his uncle, as well as to most 
public characters, he was very superior, as a man of pi-inciple. The 
Regent Duke of Orleans, whose extensive acquaintance with human 
nature attaches a suitable value to his opinion, observed — " // ever there 
■was a perfectly honest man in the world, it was the Marshal Duke of 
Berwick." In France, he was compared for his virtues, his abilities, and 
the manner of his death, to the illustrious Marshal de Turenne. In 
S[)ain, his name, with the triumphs of Almanza and Barcelona, was 
stamped upon her military annals for ever. In England, his loss was felt, 
in proportion to the value of his achievements to her enemies. " He 
left, indeed, behind him," writes Loi'd Mahon, "a most brilliant military 
reputation; and, though his whole career was passed in the sei-vice of 
France, yet may England, as his birth-place, and as his father's kingdom, 
claim some share of his glory as her's ; and, while she dej)lores the defeat 
of her arms at Almanza, proudly remember, that the blow was struck by 
an English hand." In Ireland, with which he was variously connecte<I, 
through his eai-ly services, his marriage, and his regiment, he was always 
remeinbered with respect, and regarded with hope, by the old populati^m 
of the country, suffeinng imder the oppression of the Revolution ; and 
was celebrated, in Gaelic verse, as the " victoi-ious hand of the battles," 
and "cause of joy to Inisfail." He was an excellent husband, father, and 
fiiend, an enemy to vanity or ostentation, a lover of truth, and vimv 
generous, indeed too much sw for his mean<, to those in need, especially 
the exiled Jacobites. He was fond of ";ardening, and of reading, and wa.i 



148 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

the friend of learned men — among whom were Lord Bollngbroke, the 
President de Montesquieu, and our accomplished countryman, Count 
Anthony Hamilton* — and he left Memoirs of his life in French, down to 
1716, in a clear, concise, unaffected style. In pei'son, his tigui-e wa^^ 
noble, and his stature and air commanding. " I," adds Montesquieu, 
" have seen, at a distance, in the works of Plutarch, what great men loere; 
in Marshal Berwick, I have seen what they are!'' 

The Duke was 1st married, at St. Germain, in 1695, to the widow of 
Patrick Sarsfield, Earl of Lucan, originally Lady Honor de Bui-go, 2nd 
daugliter of William, 7th Earl of Clanricarde. She died, January 16tii, 
1698, at Pezenas, in Languedoc, to the great grief of her husband ; wlio 
had her heart preserved in a silver box, and her remains suitably interred, 
the next month, at Pontoise, with the following epita|)h by Father 
Gelasius Mac Mahon, head of the old chieftain-riice of Mac Mahon of 
Monaghan, and brother of Colonel Art Mac Mahon, killed at the last 
siege of Athlone. 

" Perspice quhqtiis aih'>i, mevinnqup ex Marmore disce, 

Geiiiinc auh hoc Tuui lo qimm pn'tio.sa j'lctif., 
Iiiclijiu Stirpe Duciiin, Ri'ijalls tSconjuin s Auctiix, 

Lfda Dacli C njax, Principe dli/nn Partnit. 
Clanrickard N'ntmii, Ornionc], &^ Clanoartire Neptem, 

Berwici Dmnliiam, plorat Jerna Nuruiii. 
Intffjritas, Virtus, Jloven.sc/ui' Modestla Murum, 

Gnudla sunt Cijelo, ojetera L actus hahet. 
Pontis Sacia Dumus commix mm I ignu-i lionora, 

Alortaa deintrltan poscit Honora Vkes.''^ 

By this lady, the Duke had, October 21st, 1696, 1 son, James Francis 
Fitz-Jaraes, Marquis of Tinmouth, to whom, after having served 2 cam- 
paigns with him, he tran.sferred his regiment, in May, 1713. The young 
Marquis was at the reduction of Barcelona in 1714, and held the 
regiment until 1716. Then, for having accompanied King James II. 's 
son to Scotland against Geoi-ge I., with whom France was at peace, the 
i-egiment was taken from the Marquis. It was given back to his father, 
who established him that year in Spain, by a marriage with Dona 
Catarina de Portugal, heiress to the Duke de Varaguas, and by settling 
upon him the Duchies of Liria and Xerica. There, in addition to his 
titles of Duke of Berwick, Liria, and Xerica, Earl of Tinmouth. Baron 
of Bosworth, and Grandee of the 1st Class, he was a Chamberlain to 
his Catholic Majesty, a Knight of the Golden Fleece, and of the Russian 
Orders of St. Andrew, and St. Alexander, Colonel of the Irish Regiment 
of Limerick, a Lieutenant-Genei-ul ; and, after having been Ambassador 
to Rus.sia, where he obtained the 2 Orders of Knighthood last-mentioned, 
he was likewise aj)pointed Ambassador to Na])les, where he died, June 
1st, 1738; leaving 2 .sons, the succeeding Duke of Berwick and Liria, ttc, 
and Don Pedro Fitz-James, an Admiral in the Spanish service. The 
Marshal next gave his regiment to the eldest .son of his 2nd marriage 
witli Anne, daughter of the Honourable Henry Bulkeley, in 17U0 — the 
Duke of Fitz-James, boin in 1702. The Duke was Colonel till his death 
in 1721, with the rank of Mestre de Camp d'lnfanterie. His brotlier, 
the Lord Henri de Fitz-Jame.s, succeeded in command of the corps till 
Deceniher, 1729 ; when he, too, was follovyed, as Colonel, by his brother, 
the Conite Edouard de Fitz-Jaine.s ; who, after serving, first in the 

* Author of the Memoirs of Grammout, &c. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 149 

wars of Germany, then of Flanders, and final I3' of Germany again, from 
1733 to 1758, died in May, that year, at Cologne, a Lieutenant-GeneraT. 
The regiment devolved, the same month, to Ch:irle9, Duke of Fitz-Jamen, 
born iu 1712; enrolled in the Mousquetaires in 1730; distinguished ia 
the Continental wars last referred to; Marshal of France in 1775; and 
deceased in 1787. In 1783, his son, Jean Charles de Fitz- James, subse- 
quently Duke, and Marechal de Camp, from Lieutenant-Colonel beeainc 
Colonel-Proprietor of the corp-t, and was so until the Revolution, liy 
which he was obliged to quit France; and, in 1791, the old ai)pellatii>ii, 
from 1698, of the " Regiment of Berwick," was changed for that of the 
88th Regiment of Infantry — the number, also, it may be remarked, of 
another Irish Regiment of Infantry, or the Coiuiaught Rangers, 1 of the 
most celebrated in the army of Great Britain and Ireland. 



THE INFANTRY REGIMENT OF GALMOY. 

Of the Irish descended from the Normau conquerors of England, no 
name ranks higher than that of Le Botiler, or Butler. A learned writer 
on "Feudal Dignities in Ireland," notes — "That 25 patents, ennobling 
various branches of the house, have issued from the Crown, amongst 
which may be enumerated, not only Peerages of England and Ireland, 
but also of Wales and Scotland; and that, of no other family, do so many 
ancient baronial and castellated mansions still remain, as of the house of 
Butler in Ireland." It has been represented, in the Peerage ot Ireland, 
by the titles of Ormonde, Dunboyne, Cahir, Mountgarret, Ikerrin, and 
Galraoy. The heads of all these ennobled houses, except that of Ormonde, 
as well as various untitled, though distinguished, branches of the Butlers, 
fought for King James, in the War of the Revolution ; among whom 
were several Colonels. Of those officers, the most eminent was Lord 
Galmoy. Pierce Butler, 3rd Viscount Galmoy, in the County of Kil- 
kenny, and Eail of Newcastle, was born, March 21st, 1652. He was the 
son of Edward, 2nd Viscount Galmoy, by EUinor, daughter of Charles 
White, Esq. of Leixlip Castle,* in the County of Kiklare, and widow of 
Sir Ai'thur Ashtou, Governor of Drogheda, slain, in the massicre tlieie, 
under Oliver Cromwell, in 1619. The house of Galmoy sutfereil miu-'i, 
in those calamitous times, for its adherence to the Crown against tiie 
Parliamentarian and Cromwellian revolutionists. The heir to the title, 
taken prisoner, in 1650, as a Captain of horse in the royal army, was 
killed, after quarter, and the family-property was seized by the reb Is, 
until the extinction of their usurpation, by the re-establishment of the 
Monarchy. In August, 1677, Pierce, the representative of the title here 
treated of, was created a Doctor of Laws of the University of Oxford, 
under the Chancellorship of the great head of his name, the Duke of 
Ormonde. In the reign of King James II., his Lordship was a Privy 
Counsellor of Ireland, Lord Lieutenant of the County of Kilkenny, and 
Colonel of the 2nd Regiment of Hoise in the Irish army. He served 
Avith distinction, especially at the Boyne and Aughiim, through the War 
of the Revolution, in the course of which he was a Brigadier, and Major- 
General of Horse; was 1 of the CV)mmis.sioners to the Treaty of Limerick, 
on behalf of his Catholic countrymen in 1691; and, though he had been 

* tjee the note on this family uuder the Kiiv^'s Regiment of Dismounted Dragooa3. 



150 HISTOUY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

attainted for liis loyalty by the Revolutionists, might have gotten back 
his estate ot" several thousand plantation acres in the (Jounties of Kil- 
kenny and Wexfurd, (or nearly 10,()(iO in the former, and about 5000 in 
the latter,) had he consented to remain at home, instead of following 
King James to Fi'ance, and inducing others to do so likewise. On the 
re-ai rangement there of the Irish troops in 1GJ2, he was made Colonel of 
the 2nd or Queen's Regiment of Horse. He served with it that year ou 
the coasts of Normandy, for the proposed invasion of England, to restore 
the King; and at the siege of Roses, in 1G93. Created Brigadier by 
brevet (in the service of France), A[)ril 28th, 1694, he was attached that 
year to the Army of Germany ; to the Army of the Moselle, under the 
Marquis d'Harcourt in 1G95 ; to the Army of the Meust^, under tlie 
Marshal de Boufflei-s in 1696; and again to the Army of the Moselle, 
under the Marquis d'Harcourt in 1697. His Lordship's horse regiment 
being broken up by the general i eduction among the Irish forctis in 1698, 
he was conijiensated by urdei-s of Februaiy 27tli-28th; according to which 
the remains of the Infantry Regiment of Charlemont and tlie Queen's 
Dismounted Dragoons were fornie<l into a Regiment of Fo<jt, as that of 
Galmoy. Employed with the Army of Italy in 1701, he was present at 
the combats of Carpi and Chiari. In 1702, he fought at the affiiir of 
Santa- Vittoria and at the baitle of Luzzara; and was made Marechal de 
Camp or Major-General (in the service of France) by brevet of December 
3ri1, that year. Attached, with this rank, to the Army of Germany in 
1703, he was at the sieges of Brisach and Landau, and at the battle of 
Spire. 

Detained by sickness from taking the field in 1704, and not having 
been made a Lieutenant-General in b"' ranee, he passed into Spain, where 
he obtained that grade from Philip Y., in March, 1705, served that 
cam])aign in Italy, and signalized himself greatly at the battle of Cassauo. 
In 1706, he likewi.se signalized himself at the battle of Calcinato, and was 
])resent at the unfortunate siege and battle of Turin. He was attached 
to the Army of the Rhine in 1708; to the Army of Dauphine in 1709; 
and, from 1710 to 1712, to the Army of Flanders; serving, the last-men- 
tioned year, at the sieges of Douay, Quesnoy, and Bouchain. He was 
employed in Spain in 1713, and was at the reduction of Barcelona in 1714. 
After the general peace, the " Regiment de Galmoy " was diss(»lved, and 
incorporated with that of Dillon, by order of Januiuy 30th. 1715. lu 
1722, Lord Galmoy, returning troin Spain to France, obtained. May 10th, 
the I'ank of Lieutenant-General there also; to date from March 1st, 1705, 
the period of his appointment to the same grade in Spain. His Lordship 
died in his 89th year, at Paris, June 18th, 1740. He had been 1st Lord 
of the Bedchamber to King James II. at St. Germain, and had married 
a daughter of Toby Matthew, Esq. of Thomastown, County of Tipperary ; 
but survived his son, who was slain, without issue, in 1709, at the battle 
of Malplaquet. The successive claimants of the title of Galmoy were, 
down to the Revolution, officers in France; in whose armies, as well as iu 
others, various gentlemen have honourably represented a name, of which 
the illustrious General Lafayette is related to have said, in the war for 
the Independence of the United 3tates of Amei-ica, that " whenever he 
wanted anything well done, he got a Butler to do it." 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE, 151 



THE INFANTRY EEGIMENT OF BOURKE, &c. 

By the general reform among King James's troops in lODS, the. remains 
of the Infantry Regiment of AthU)ne, or tliat of Bonrke, having lieen 
nnited with tliose of other corps, to make a Regiment of Infantry for 
the Duke of Berwick, Colonel Walter Bonrke was only attached, as a 
secondary or reformed Colonel, to the new cor[)S, until June IStli, l(i99, 
when he was commissioned, as Colonel of another Irish Reginn^it of 
Infantry, to be called by his name. He joined the Army of Italy with 
it in 1701, and fought at Chiari. He was at the battle of Lnzzara in 
1702, and at the invasion of the Trentin, and the combats of Santa 
Vittoria and San Benedetto, in 1703. Brigadier by brevet, February 
loth, 1704, he served that and the ensuing year at the sieges of Vercelli, 
of Ivrea, of Verrua, and at the liattle of Cassano. In 1706, he was at 
the siege and battle of Turin. Removed from Italy to S])ain, he contri- 
buted to the reduction of Lerida in 1707. and of Tortosa, and several 
other jilaces, in 1708. Mai-echal de Camp by brevet, March 2Uth, 1709, 
he remained that year in Spain, under the Marshal de Besons, who kept 
on the defensive. He passed, in 1710, into Dauphine, where, and in 
Provence, he served, under the Duke of Beivvick, until 1712; upon the 
frontiers of Spain in 1713; and at the ca|)ture of Barcelona in 1714. 
After the general peace, a|)prehending, fi-()m the changes which were to 
occur among the Irish troops in France, that his regiment would be dis- 
banded, and himself and his corj)s being so well known in Sjiaiii where 
they had made several campaigns, he, witii the pei-mission of Louis XIV., 
proposed to Philip V., to pass into his seivice. The offer was favourably 
received l)y the Spanish Monarch ; but, before the matter could be con- 
cluded, Major-General Count Walter Bonrke (or, as he signed himself 
in France, " De Bourke,") died at Barcelona, in March, 1715. By his 
marriage with Catherine, daughter of Johu Nolan, Esq. of Iniscrowen, he 
had a son, Rickard, or Richard, a Captain in France,* besides daughters; 
1 of whom was wife there to the son of Sir Richard Nagle, King James 
XL's Attorney-General, and Secretary of State and War, for Ireland. 

In March, 1715, the late Regiment of Bourke was granted to its 
Lieutenant-Colonel, Francis Wauchop. This Scotch veteran had held 
the like grade, during the War of the Revolution in Ireland, in the 
Ulster Infantry Regiment of Biian Macgennis, Lord Iveagh, as well as, 
after ihs Treaty of Limerick, in the Queen's (or Luttrell's) Rcfgiment 
of Infantry, when he was ajtpointed Lieutenant-Colonel to the Regiment 
of Bourke. Having commanded, aud been wounded with it, at the 

* Of the old Norman Irish name of the deceased Major-General and Colonel of 
th« Eeirimeut of Bourke, there were, among the Irish troops in France, various 
otticers in the Regiments of Dublin, Albemarle, Dillon, Berwick, Lally, and Walsh. 
Next to Walter, the most eminent, in Louis XIV. 's wars, was Mkhael. Having 
been a reformed Lieutenant-Colonel attached to the Regiment of Albemarle, (suli- 
sequently that of Fitz-Gerald and O'Donnell) he was made Lieutenant-Colonel l>y 
counnission, September 3rd, 1702. He was that year at the battle of Lnzzara, at.d 
thenceforward till 1706 served in the Trentin, at the sieges of Nago. Arco, VercelH, 
Ivrea, Verrua, and the battles of Cassano and Turin. " In Flanders, from 1707 to 
1712, he was at the battles of Oudenarde and Malplaquet, the attack of Aden x, 
obtaining, by brevet of July 20th, 1711, the grade of Brigadier, and acted as sucit, 
at the successful affair of Denain, and sieges of Douay and Quesnoy. Transferred in 
1713 to Germany, he took part in the reduction of Landau and ?'riburgh; and, afi.^,1' 
the reform of the Regiment of O'Donnell, in 17 lu, served no more. 



152 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

famous affair of Cremona, in FeVjruary, 1702, he was granted the brevet- 
7unk of Cohjnel; and, as such, he is mentioned among the officers of the 
Irish Brigade, captured at sea by the English, in March, 1708, on board 
1 of the vessels accom])aiiying the son of King James II. to Scotland. 
The proposal made by Bourke l)eing finally accepted of under his Scotch 
successor, that officer passed, in June, 1715, with the regiment, into 
Spain. There, apparently in reference to its late Colonel, and to its coin- 
])Osition, through a coiresponding connexion with Conn;iught, it was 
entitled the Regiment of Connacia. Having fought with distinction in 
Sicily, in Africa, and finally in Italy, in the war of 1733, it was given by 
the King of Spain to his son, the King of Naples ; was there variously 
styled the King's Regiment, and the King's Irish Regiment; its jnib- 
lished strength, in 1741, being 2 battalions, each G50 strong, and subse-, 
quently 4 battalions. Into this service, as previously intimated, another 
Irish corf)s in Spain, or the Regiment of Limerick, commanded by the 
Marshal Duke of Berwick's eldest son, the Duke of Berwick and Liria, 
&c,, was likewise transferred; and, from some of the officers of these 
regiments, it would seem, that the illustrious Corsican patriot, Pascal 
Paoli, when an officer, too, at Naples, attained his 1st knowledge of 
English. "I asked him," says Mr. Boswell in 176o, "if he understood 
English ? He immediately began, and spoke it, wliich he did tolerably 
■well. When at Naples, he had known several Irish gentlemen, who 
were officers in that service. Having a great facility in acquiring 
languages, he learned English from them." 



THE HORSE REGIMENT OF SHELDON, &c. 

The Colonel of this corps, Dominick Sheldon, an Engh'sh Catholic 
gentleman, was of an ancient family, whose earliest j)rogenitoi-, Anselme 
de Sheldon, so called from Sheldon in Warwickshire, is mentioned in the 
i-eign of King Henry III. In later times, the name was distinguished 
for fidelity to King Charles II. agaio.st Oliver Cromwell, and to King 
James II. against the Prince of Orauge. Dominick Sheldon first served 
abroad, among the troops sent by If-ing Charles II. to aid Louis XIV. 
against the Dutch. With these, a Lieutenant, February 1st, 1G73, in 
the Regiment of James, Duke of Monmouth, he was, that year, at the 
siege of Maestricht. Removed, io 1674, to Germany, he fought at 
Sintzheim, Einsheim, and Mulhausen; at Turkheim, and Consarbrick, in 
1G75; and in Flamiers, at the sieges of Conde, Bouchain, and Aire, in 
1676. His regiment being reformed in 1678, he returned to England. 
Shortly after the accession of King James II., he appears in the Irish 
army, as a Captain in the King's Regiment of Infantry, or Royal Irish 
Foot Guards under the Duke of Ormonde; then, or in 168,'5-G, as having 
exchanged into, and become Lieutenant-Colonel of, the Horse Regiment 
of Ricliai'd Talbot, Earl of Tyrconnell; and, in 1G87, he oV)tained, 
through the EarVs interest with the King, a pension of .£200 jjer annum 
fi-om the Irish Concordatum Fund. A Brigadier at the commencement 
of the War of the Revolution in Ireland, he served with credit through- 
out tliat contest, in which he became Major-General of Cavalry; par- 
ticularly distinguished himself at the Boyne, where he had 2 horses 
killed \inder him; on the Duke of Tyrconnell's departun; f)-.- France 
after William III.'s deff.itt it Liii^erlck, was 1 of the 12 Counsellors of 



IV TTfK >!T;r,V[nE of FRANCE. 153 

State left to assist the Duke of Berwick in the gov^ernment and defence 
of the Jiicoliite territory; and, after the Treaty of Limerick iu 1691, 
commanded the 1st body of the Irish troops who went to France. On 
the new formation of the Irish army there in 1692, he was created 
Colonel of the 1st or King's Regiment of Horse. He had a commission 
FeVjrnary 11th, 169.3, from Louis XIV. to rank as Mestre de Camp de 
Cavalerie. Brigadier, also, by brevet, March 3rd, 1694, he served that 
3'ear with the Army of Germany ; with the Army of the Meuse ia 
1696; with the Army of the Moselle in 1697. 

After the Peace of Ryswick, or early in 1698, the 2 Irish, or King's 
and Queen's, Regiments of Horse, in France, were formed into 1, as 
that of Sheldon; the Colonel's commission being dated February l-oth, 
that year. His name and regiment are mentioned, 1st with the Army 
of Germany, and afterwards with the Army of Italy, in 1701; towards 
the close of which, or in Deceml>er, the corps was distinguished again.st 
the Imperialists, between Mantua and Cremona. Matechal de Camp by 
brevet, January 29th, 1702, and attached, by letters of February 21st, 
to the same Army, he was wounded, cutting up the Austrian cuirassier.s, 
in July, at Santa Vittoria. From this period I do not find him regu- 
larly employed; .probably from his being chiefly engaged in the service of 
his Sovereign, the son of King James II. But he was made, October 
26th, 1704, a Lieutenant-General ; pai-ted with his regiment, in Januaiy, 
1706; appears to have been among the General Officers to accompany 
his Sovereign to Scotland in 1708; to have been taken pri-soner, pre- 
vious to the battle of Malplaquet in 1709; and to have been soon 
released. He went with James to Scotland in 1715; after the failure of 
the Jacobite rising there, returned, with him, to France, in 1716; 
and died, in 1721. The name of Sheldon — or, as it was sometimes 
written in France, "Scheldon" — is to be found in the Regiment of Dilloa 
down to the Revolution, as well as iu the i-anks of Mareuhal de Camp, 
or Major-General, and Lieutenant-General. 

The successor to Dominick Sheldon, in the Colonelship of his regiment, 
was Christopher Nugent, Esq. of Dardistown, County of Meath. The 
origin of the Nugents is traced to 1 of the leading French or Norman 
conquerors of England; whose descendant, in the following century, was 
the Chevalier Gilbert de Nogent, or Nugent. He came over, under 
Henry II., to Ireland, with the famous C-hevalier Hugue de Lacie, or 
Lacy; married his si.ster Rose; and was granted, by that powerful feudal 
intruder in Midhe, or Meath, the country of Dealbhna, or Delvin, the 
ancient teriitory of the O'Finnallans,* as a Barony, to V)e held, with the 
exception of certain ecclesiastical property, by a service of 5 knights' 
fees. In this considerable territory, GilV»ert provided fn* his brothers 
and other followeis ; from which period, the race of the Nugents has 
extended into several honourable Vjranches; the princijial being that of 
the Barons of Delvin, additionally ennobled, since 1621, as Earls of 
Westmeath. The he^id of the next greatest branch, that of Moyrath and 
Dardistown, County of Meath, or Thomas Nugent, Esq., wa.s, the same 

• The O'Finnallans were of remote Munster or Dalcassian oriirin. Their last Chief 
in Delvin was Ceallach, or Kellaah, mentioned in 1174. Since then, those of the 
race, under the oddly-modernized name of Fendon, have been "in a state of 
oljscurity and ))overty;" and Dr. O'Donos^an adds, that, when he "examined the 
Parony of Delvin iu 1837, he did not hud niauy of this family iu their original 
locality." 



154 HISTORV OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

year, ciratfcl a Baronet; whose 2 sons were Sir Robert, as next Baronefc, 
and Francis of Daidistown. The latter, by Lady Bridget Dongun, sister 
of William, Earl of Limerick, had 3 sons, officers in Ireland and France; 
the 2 younger already noticed, under the King's Regiment of Dis- 
mounted l)ragt)ons, and the eldest, Christopher of Dardistown, our 
present subject. Among the distinguished ivpresentatives of the name 
of Nugent in the War of tlie Revolution — of whom may be mentioned 
Thomas Nugent, 4th Earl of Westmeath, first Colonel of Foot, next of 
Horse — his brother, the Honourable John Nugent, afterwards Major- 
General of Cavalry, and Earl - their uncle, the Honourable William 
Nugent, Member for Westmeath, Lord Lieutenant of the County of 
Longford, Colonel, and Brigadier of Infantry — Sir Thomas Nugent, 3rd 
Baronet, of Moyrath, and Richard Nugent, Esq., both Colonels of 
Infantry — Walter Nugent, Colonel of Dragoons, &c. — was the head of 
the house of Dardistown. He was member for the Borough of Fore iu 
the Pailiament of KiSi); attained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel of 
Cavalry ; was attached to the 1st Troop of the Irish Horse Guards la 
16D1; after the Treaty of Limerick, refused, on condition of remaining 
iu Ireland, the offer of his estate, though it was a very considerable one; 
and went to France. 

He was ajipointed there to be the officer in command of the 2 Troo])S 
of Irish Hor.se Guards; served on the coasts or in Flanders in 1692, and 
in 1693, when he was wounded at Landen; acted with the Army of 
Germany in 1694; and with the Army of the Moselle in 1695. He was 
commissioned May 25th, that year, to h(jld rank, as a Mestre de Camp 
de Cavalerie, among the troops of France; and was employed with the 
Army of the Mo.selle, in 16li6 and 1697. The 2 Troops of King James's 
Horse Guards being disbanded, February 27th, 1698, he was attached, 
as a reformed Mestre de Camp, to the new Regiment of Sheldon, by 
order of March. He joined the Army of Italy, with this I'egiment, in 
July, 1701, and was present at tlie combat of Chiari, in September. 
He fought at the battle of Luzzara, in August, 1702; was with the Army 
of Germany, and very distinguished, and wounded, at the battle of Spire, 
in November, 1703; and was with the Army of Flanders, in 1704 and 
1705. By the retirement of Colonel Sheldon, he obtained his regiment, 
June 16th, 1706; changed its name to that of Nugent; and commanded 
it in Flanders till 1711; during which 6 campaigtis, he fought at the 
battles of Ramillies, Oudenarde, and Mal])laquet. Employed, by order 
of October 29th, 1711, at Calais, during the winter of 1711-12, he was 
present, the latter year, at the attack of Denain and the siege of Douay. 
Transferred to the Army of Germany, he was at the sieges of Friburgh 
and Landau, and the defeat of General Vaubonne in, 1713, and at the 
camp of the Lower Meuse in 1714. Having, without permission from 
the French Government, accom])auied King James II.'s son into Scotland 
iu 1715-16 against the Elector of Hanover as George I., he was, on the 
remonsti'ance of the British Ambassador in Paris, deprived of his regi- 
ment; though only in such a manner as to save a]ipearances. He was 
made by brevet of Septendjer 13th, 1718, Marechal de Camp or Major- 
Genei'al of Horse, to take rank from the promotion of March 8tlt pre- 
ceding. He did not serve afterwards, and died June 4th, 1731. Major- 
General Christopher Nugent was 1 of the most eminent officers of a 
name, which, besides himself, and several gallant gentlemen of inferior 
rank, gave, to the service of Fran ;e, a Major-General of Cavalry in the 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 165 

HononraWe John Nugent, finally 5th Earl of Westmeath — a Lieutenatt- 
Geiieral of Cavalry in the Chevalier and Baronet Peter de Nugent — a 
Mrtjor-General to the service of Venice in Christopher Nugent of Upper 
Killasonna, County of Longford — and, to Austria, furnished, with other 
distinguished officers, a com}>anion to her Field-Marshals of Irish paren- 
tage, in Laval, Count and Prince Nugent, of the house of Bracklyn and 
Balnacarrow,* derived, through the branch of Dromeng, from tlie 15th 
Baron of Delvin, and 1st Earl of Westmeath. Major-Genei-al and 
Colonel Christopher Nugent of Dardistown, by his marriage with the 
Lady Bridget Barnewall, 2ud daughter of Eobert, 9th Lord Trimleston, 
had a son, the Comte de Nugent, to whom, in 1716, when only betweea 
16 and 17 years of age, his father's fine regiment was transferred. 

It remained under that son's command, and continued to bear his 
family name, until 1733, when he resigned it to the Comte Charles de 
Fitz- James, who was commissioned, March 16th, as Colonel of the 
corj)S, henceforth known as that of Fitz-James; was finally Marshal of 
France, and, as already mentioned, was also Colonel of the Regiment of 
Berwick. By this nobleman, the Regiment of Fitz-James was granted, 
February 10th, 1759, to his son Jean Charles de Fitz-James, afterwards 
Marechal de Camp, Duke of Fitz-James, and likewise Colonel of the 
Regiment of Berwick. Under the Colonelship of this nobleman, the 
Regiment of Fitz-James was disbanded, December 21st, 1762, after, says 
the account, " it had served very gloriously, on all occasions." t 

* This illustrious officer, born in Ireland in 1777, entered the Austrian service in 
1794, and died on his estate in Croatia in 1863, or his 86th year. Besides being a 
Field-Marshal and Proprietor of the 30th Regiment of Infantry in Austria, he was 
a Count, Imperial Chamberlain, Counsellor of State, and Knight of the Golden 
Fleece; he was likewise a Roman Prince, a Magnate of Hungary, a Croatian 
Stelnick ; and held the rank, in the Bi'itish service, of a Lieutenant-GeneraL I 
had the honour of an introduction to him, when he was last in Ireland. 

t By Jar the most difficult portion of this work to write has been that, com- 
menced in the precedimj, and generally concluded in the present. Book— or the 
portion devoted to the history of the several regiments, and the family particulars 
respecting their commanding officers. The wide extent of Irish, British, and 
Continental information, printed and manuscript, which that portion involved, 
histories, memoirs, peerages, magazines, pamphlets, gazettes, state-pajiers, or letters, 
squibs of the day, traditions, have been so generally referred to in my volume of 
1854 on the Brigade, as to dispense with the cost of a reprinting or rehashing of 
them, ou the preseat occaaioik 



HISTOEY OF THE IKISH BEIGADES 



THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 



BOOK III. 



From the foregoing details respecting the different Irish corps in France, 
except that of Colonel Lally, to be more particularly noticed hereafter 
along with the account of his services, it appears, that there were, in 
French pay, from 1690 to 1692, 3 Regiments of Infantry — from 1692 to 
1698, including Mountcashel's Brigade, King James's ai-my from Lime- 
rick, &c, and counting Dismounted Dragoons as Infantry, there were 13 
Regiments of Infantry, (in 25 or 26 battalions,) and 3 Independent Com- 
panies, 2 Regiments of Horse, and 2 Troops of Horse Guards — from 1698 
to about the middle of 1699, there were 7 Regiments of Infantry, and 1 
Regiment of Cavalry, and, from the remainder of that year to 1714, 8 Regi- 
ments of Infantry, and 1 Regiment of Cavalry — from 1714 to 1744, 5 
Regiments of Infantry and 1 Regiment of Cavalry — from 1744 to 1762, 6 
Regiments of Infantry and 1 Regiment of Cavalry — from 1762 to 1775, 
5 Regiments of Infantry — and from 1775 to 1791, 3 Regiments of In- 
fantry. The existence of so considerable an Irish force in Fi-ance, for a 
century after the Treaty of Limerick, proceeded, at first, from the attach- 
ment of the mass of the Irish people, as Catholics, to the representative 
of the Stuart dynasty, as deriving his origin from the old Monarchs of 
Erin,* as also a Catholic, as excluded on that account, from the Crown, 
and as the only source from which, through a recovery of that Crown, 
anything better was to be expected, than a continuance of the Croinwel- 

" Consult, on this point, among other authorities which might he referred to, the 
following curious work, hy a County Limerick gentleman of ancient native origin, 
who, after he had held office under King James II. 's government in Ireland, 
retired with that Monarch to France. "A Chronological, Genealogical, and His- 
torical Dissertation of the Royal Family of the Stuarts, beginning with Milesius, 
the Stock of those they call the Milesian Irish, and of the old Scotish Piace ; and 
ending with his present Majesty K. James the 3rd of England and Ireland, and 
of Scotland the 8th. By Mathew Kennedy, Doctor of Laws, Master of the High 
Court of Chancery, and Judge of the Admiralty of all Ireland. Printed in Paris \>y 
Lewis Coignard, Printer and Bookseller in St. James-street at the Eagle d'Or, 1705. 
With Privilege." The Irish Jacobite Doctor's work, in which the pedigree of King 
James II. 's son is traced not only to the Ard-Riglis or Monarchs of Erin, but to the 
Kings of Ulster, Leinster, Connaught, and Munster, concludes thus — "And here I 
eiidthis young Pi-ince's genealogy, as well preserv'd and prov'd as any that can 
be found in profane history or records; with a hearty pi-ayer to the Holy Trinity, 
on whose festivity he was born, that he may be speedily establish'd in the safe 
]'Ossession of his Crowns, and all the rights of his Eoj'al Predecessors, to the satis- 
faction of his loyal subjects, and the confusion of his obstinate enemys ; and that 
from his loins may spring as long a train of Kings and Princes, as this, from which 
he derives hia most nuble bluud aud extraction," 



158 • HISTORY OF THE HUSH BRIGADES 

lian system of legalized land-usnrpation and upstart sectarian "ascend- 
ancy," imposed, aiter the Restoration, upon Ireland, by the odious Acts of 
Settlement and Ex|)lanati()ti,* and rendered worse by the results of the 
subsequent Williamite rev(iluti(m. But the resort of so many Irish to 
the French service, so long after the great emigration from Limerick, 
though jKirtly owing to the feelings whicii occasioned tiiat emigration, 
was still more owing to such o)»pressive religious and commercial legis- 
lation, as left midtitudes in Ireland no better means of esca])ing the fate 
f)f unemployed ])overty at home, than emigration to obtain a livelihood 
by military service abroad. Thus, to an English writer, denouncing, in 
1730, the idea of any countenance being given in Ireland to lecruiting 
there by the Kings of France or Spain, Swift replied — "Supposing that 
these 2 potentates will only desire leave to carry otf 6,000 men, between, 
t'lem, to France and Spain, then, by computing the maintenance of a 
tall, hungry Irishtnan, in food and clothes, to Vje only at £b a head, here 
■will be iSO.OOO per annum sav.d clear to the iration; for they am find 
mo other emjilcyijietd at home, heside beyyiiiy, i-obbim/, and ftea/ing !'^ 
Consequently, adds the Dean, in the same vein of bitter sarcasm, justified 
by the miserable condition to which his country was reduced — "If 30, 
40, or 50,()00, wjiich we would gladly spare, were sent on the same 
errand, what an immense ;«y)/i'/^ it must be to us!" The general position 
of the Catholics and Protestants in Ireland, from the termination of the 
Jacobite and Wilh'amite contest, till towards the commencement of the 
American W;ir ot Independence, has been sketclieil as follows by the late 
learned Dr. William Cooke Taylor. "Time has now set the broad seal 
of prescriptif)n on the Cromwellian and Williamite settlements of Ireland ; 
but, in the last century, tlie dfscendants. or reputed descendants, of those 
whose estates had been forfeited, were accustomed to ])oint out the bi-oad 
lands of their ancestors to their children, and to imf)ress upon their minds 
the cruelty and injustice of those by whom they had been confiscated. 
Like Roderick Dhu, the pauperized descendant of a line of kings could 
point to 

'Poeii-waving fields, and pastures green, 
Witli gentle grove.-s, and slopes lietueen ;' 

and, with more truth than the Highland chieftain, he might add, 

'These fertile plains, tliat softened vale, ^ 

AV'ere once tlie birthright of the f^.-iel ; 
The stranger came with iron hand. 
And, from uur fathers, reit the land.' 

The Penal Laws were then in full force; [)riest-hnnting was as favoin-- 
ite a sport, with the ultra-Protestant gentry, as fox-hunting, and hare- 
hunting, at a later jteriod; the ritual and services of the Catholic church, 
proscribed l>y law, were celebrated in the rocky ravines and remote i-ecesses 
of the mountains; any Protestant could conqiel his Catholic neighbour to 
give him uj) his best horse for £5, S*-. Od., and this law was absolutely 
enforced by a Protestant squire, whose horse was worsted in a race by 
the steed of a Catholic gentleman. He consoled himself for his defeat, 
by the com]iulsory purchase of the winning horse. The peasants of 
Ireland, goaded to agrarian insurrections by intolerable oppression, were 

* On the monsfrons injustice of the Act's of Settlement and Explanation, see Irish 
Arclneolotrical Society « Macariie j^'xcidinm, Xote 128, and tlie general references, 
UiiUer •• settlement, Act of " at index, p. 539, of that work. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 155 

coerced liy laws, which Arthur Young declared to be 'fit only for tho 
weridian of Barbary;' and the great bulk of the Prot,estaiit clergv 
neglected almost every clerical duty, save the levying of tithes." * 

The system of religious op])ression alluded to arose from the Penal 
Code, by which the Treaty of Limerick was violated — the Treaty of 
Limerick guaranteeing to the Catholics of Ireland, on taking a simple 
oath of allegiance to the Sovereigns established by the Revolution, and 
"no other oath," those rights, as suV)jects, which the possessors of their 
religion had by law under King Charles II., or substantially the same us 
at ])resentt — the Penal Code setting all this aside, by imposing such 
additional oatlis, and disqualifications, as excluded the members of that 
faith from both Houses of Parliament, from the legal professions, from 
the corporations, from acquiriTig any beneficial interest in land, from 
military and naval employment; and, in short, reducing the ])roscribed 
majority of the Irish nation so lo v, that, in 1759, it was decided, from 
the Bench in Dublin, by the Lord Chancellor of the day, — ''That the 
laws did not 'presume on Irish Papist to exist in the kingdont, where they 
toere only supposed to breathe, tlirough the connivance of Gover)imentr^ \ 
The system of commercial o])pressi()n, to which Ireland was simultane- 
ously subjected, proceeded from the mercantile jealousy in England, 
which, leaving only the linen manufacture in Ulster, because, at the 
time, of comparatively little importance, put down the Irish woollen manu- 
facture, worth ui)wards of £1.000,000 a year, to the ruin and disper.sion 
of those it employed, or 20,000 persons of both religions ! § and prevented, 
as far as possible, either the establishment of other branches of industry, 
in the island, or such a mercantile intei'course as was natural with foreign 
nations — no commerce being judged suitable ff)r Ireland by this shameless 
s])irit of monopoly, but such as might enal:)le its insatiable representatives 
to drain away from the comparatively scanty population that struggled 
to exist there, even what little profits they could derive from ])astiirage 
and the linen trade.|| This mercantile tyranny was. indeed, abolished, 
several years previous to the French Revolution, through the acquisition 
of Free Trade and Legislative Independence by the Volunteers from 

• " Eeminiscences of Daniel O'Coiniell," &c., "by a Munster Farmer," i.e.. Dr. 
Taylor; a native of Manster, a Protestant, a Whig, and, on the whole, a fair Irish, 
as well as a good foreign, historian. I correct him, however, in substituting 
" meridian " for " regions," the former being the word used by Young ; and in 
changing £5, O.s. Oci. into £5, 5.s. 0(/., as the sum legally payable to a Papist for hia 
horse, according to Meritou's Abridgment of the Irish Statutes, pp. 3SS-9 : Dublin, 
1700. 

+ Irish Archffiological Society's Macariffi Excidium, Note 278. 

+ The case, in reference to which that remarkable declaration was made, is men- 
tioned by Dr. O'Conor, in his Memoirs of his uncle, Charles O'Couor of Belanagare, 
pp. 376-9. 

§ "In acting upon these commercial restrictions," alleges Sir Walter Scott in his 
life of Swift, " wrong was heaped upon wrong, and insult was added to injury, with 
this advantage, on the side of the aggressors, that they could intimidate the in- 
jured people of Ireland into silence, by raising, to drown every complaint, the cry 
of rchd and Jncohite. These evils Swift beheld, with all the natural ardour of a 
disposition which rose in opposition to tyranny. 'Do not,' said he to Delany, 'the 
corru]>tions and villanies of men eat your tiesh, and exhaust your spirits?'" 

II From the many ruinous effects of the double yoke of sectarian and anti-com- 
mercial legislation under which Ireland groaned for the greater part of the 
century after the Treaty of Limerick, "it can afford no matter of surprise," says 
tlie learned Newenham, ' ' that, notwithstanding the extraordinary physical advan- 
ta.;es of that country, it was distinunished, above all others, by immense emigrations 
of people." The truth of which aastrilun he demonstrates by yaci*-. 



160 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

1779 to 1782, anil. fVoia 1774, wlien the political existence of Catliolics 
was first acknowledged, by a i)ai-liaineiitaiy '■'■ perm.Usion to express alle- 
giance to the iSuvere'upi whick before lliey luid not,'' the severity of the Penal 
Code WK8 considecably lessened, in 1778. and 1782. Tiiese improvements, 
however, in the state of Ireland, wei-e not snfficient to atfect the existence, 
in France, of regiments entirely officered V)y the descendants of Irislimeii, 
or Irishmen by birth, who still came there, in greater numbers than there 
■were posts for them. That nn'litary connexion with France was not 
sevei-ed, till the progress of revolutionary opinion there to repiiblicanism, 
from 1789 to 1791, occasioned a break-up in the existing organization of 
those coi-ps, on account of the attachment among tliem to monarchy; at 
ti.'e same time that the contest then approaching, between monarchy 
in England, and republicanism in France, impressed upon the English 
cabinet the necessity of uniting the interests of the Catholics, or great 
body of the Irish nation, more closely witli England, in o])position to 
France, by a fuller relaxation of the Penal Code. With this view, that 
Act was passed thi-ough the Irish Parliament, early in 1793, by which 
the prospect of military as well as other professional advancement l)eing 
opened to the higher classes of the Catholics, they, no less than the lower 
orders, might h<)pe for better employment, in war and peace, under the 
existing government of their country, than what they had been so long 
obliged to seek elsewhere. In addition to this pi-udent measure, an Irish 
Brigade was subsequently formed in the British service, to provide for 
the emigrant otiicers, of Irish origin or birth, from Fi-ance, as well as for 
others of their religion ; and thus, about a century after tlie Revolution 
in Great Britain and Ireland, which was the origin of the Irish Brigade.s 
in the service of France, their history ceased, except as a portion of 
information respecting the past, for the instruction of the future. 

Before giving an account of the general exploits of the cor|)S above 
desci-ibed, it remains to show, in what manner, and to what amount, the 
armies of France were strengthened, during that century, by exiles from 
Ireland. Notwithstanding the dan;^er of recruiting there for the Brigades 
• — the penalty for doing so being death, and tiiat to be decided by a Jury 
oil lohich, NO (Jatliolic could sit — so extensively did such recruiting exist, 
that, through agents and vessels, employed by Fiance, as well as by 
S[)ain, foi' her Irish regiments, men were engaged, and brought away, 
even from Dublin, and its vicinity. By an abstract, from the Stuart 
Papers, of a *' M^moire touchant des Moyens pour avoir des Recrues 
d'l)-lande, 1693," we are informed — " An Agent was to be established at 
Dublin, who was to have Agents, to act, according to his dii-ections, ia 
the, several Countie.s. They were to enlist recruits, and to facilitate 
their escape from Ireland." Of recruits from the Irish metropolis, or its 
vicinity, succes.sfuUy enlisted for France, (even at a period when a very 
great alarm was raised by the ruling " ascendancy " against any attempt 
of tlie kind,) the Protestant Lord Primate Boulter, writing from Dublin, 
in January, 1730, mentions how, on information that some officers in the 
French service* had men engaged to sail with them from Bullock, the 
Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in Ireland, General Pearce, "ordered 
50 foot and 4 dragoons to march to Bullock, and either seize or disperse 
those peo[)le. When they came there on Wednesdav," continues the 
Piimate, " they found there had been about 40 men listed for abroad, 

* Irish ones, of course, as sent to recruit in Ireland, for the Irish corps in France, 
Native French otiicers would uot do for that business. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. -161 

and 4 or 5 French officers with them; but that they went on board a 
sloop, about 11 o'clock, the night before." Of Irish for the service of 
Spain, Captain Moses Nowland — or rather O'Nowlan, of tlie ancient 
se]it whose original territory was in the modern County of Carlow,* — 
before his trial, in the Court of King's Bench, in June, 172G, and 
subsequent hanging at Stephen's Green, Dublin, in July, for enlisting 
men, had, according to the evidence on the trial, " shipj)'d off 200 men 
those 2 months past for the said service, and had 100 more to go off that 
night," respecting which the fatal information was given. In the pub- 
lished vei-sion of this unfortunate gentleman's last speech and dying 
words, (so coloured, under the Penal-Code administration of that day, as 
to make the suiferer ay)pear as criminal as possible, though otherwise 
nseful for its information,) he is represented as saying — " I believe there 
are very few here wdio are not sensible, that some foreign Potentate.^ 
entertain natives of this Kingdom as soldiers in their service, and that 
the Kings of France and Spain have several Regiments, composed solely 
of Irish ; and, as it is next to an impossibility, but that these Regiments 
must, from time to time, be deficient in their number, so, whenever a 
compleating is necessary, they send here, for that purpose. About 
FeVnnai-y last, E was ignorantly employed by an unknown gentleman, well 
dress'd, to carry some of these I'ecruits, under the notion of passengers, 
aboard a .ship, then at anchor in the Bay; where, dreadful time and 
place, whicli with horror I reflect on ! I was made f)rivy to the fatal 
secret, and, for a few pieces of gold, and the promise of a capital com- 
mission to satisfy my ambitious spirit, not only biibed to secrecy, but 
, employ'd as an Agent, to seduce more to enter themselves in the King 
of Spain's service, under the notion it was for the Pretender; a bait, 
which the ignorant readily swallow, and by which they ai-e easily 
deluded." He concludes thus respecting his death. " Nothing troubles 
me more, than the thoughts of the grief it will give my poor parents at 
Carlow, whose grey hairs will come with sorrow to the ground." 

Owing, however, to the Catholic religion having been more peculiarly 
that of Munster and Connaught; to their situation liaving been moi-e 
distant fiom the seat of government, as well as more favourable for a 
communication with France, than the i-est of Ireland; and to a consider- 
able contraband, or '■'■free trade" having existed between those j)rovinccs 
and France; the great majority of the soldiers of the Brigades were 
Munster and Connaught men. The maritime intercourse of France and 
Ireland had been increased beyond what it ever was by the War of the 
Revolution. After the termination of the contest, the French [U'ivateers 
fr.an the ])orts of Bretagne, or Brest and St Malo, that were very active 
on the look-out for the rich English merchant-men making for the Munster 
harbours of Cork, Kiusale, &c., were not without aid in these enterprises, 

* Tiie old Leinster clan of O'Nuallain, O'Nowlan, or O'Nolan (a name sometimes 
anglicized, or corrupted, as above, into Nowland, or Noland) are descended, accord- 
Iul; to the ancient Celtic genealosies of their country, from a brother of the 
renowned "Con of the lOU Rattles," Ard-Riuh or Monarch of Erin in the 2ik]'' 
century. The last of the Chipfhiiu line of O'Nolan. of the Baroiiy of Forth, in the 
County of Carlow, died in the time of O'Flaherty, author of Ogygia. But the 
race, in various subordinate branche;!, has been resi)ectal)le to our days. 'rhe:'9 
were several among the oihcers of the Jacobite or national army in Ireland iluriu i 
the War of the Revolution, as well as among the consequent victims of WilU.rnite 
)>riiscri()tioii or spoliacinn; and, down to the French Eevolution, the name is co be 
found in the Irish Brigaile, with the distinction of Chevalier of St. Louis. 

M 



162 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

through a communication witli the native po])ulation of the sea-coast ; 
eynipathizing with tliose belonging to a nation, so recently the ally of 
tlieirs, and the enemy of their enemies, the Williamites. Pi-ivateers 
likewise from France, manned with Irish and Scotch exiles, the adher- 
ents of King James, and acting by his commission fi-om St. Germain, 
were so animat(;d V)y the successes obtained against the Williainite trade, 
that they extended their operations into the Bay of Dublin; and Ii-ish 
Jacobite officers, comman(h'ng French vessels, are mentioned as very 
injurious to the same commerce in their cruises. Hence the communica- 
tion went on between Ireland and France, where there were many Irish, 
besides the flower of the nation engaged in tlie service of tlteir exiled 
King aiul Louis XIV. But, through the arl)itrary suppression by Eug- 
ln!id of the Irish woollen manufacture, her otiier legislation for the* 
injury or ruin of Irish commerce, and the continued limitations to 
employment in Ireland by the constant additions to the Penal Code, the 
causes for such intercourse with France were necessarily increased. Of 
the productions of Irelarul, the wool and the men, rendered equally 
iticapalde by law of beconang the great sources of wealth they might have 
been at home, were in requcrst for the manufactures and the armies of 
France abroad. Wel]-equi|>|ied smuggling vessels, freigiited with brandy, 
claret, laces, and silks, ciuisequeutly plied to the co;ists of Kerry, Clare, 
and Connaught, having Irish officer.s, and occasionally friars, on board, 
speaking the old language, which was still that of far the greater part of 
the country, and possessing a pro])ortionable influence with their country- 
men.'"' For these arrivals from France, cargoes of vjool were returned, 
accompanied by suitable numbers of hardy recruits, whose periodical 
emigrations were fancifully styled, "the flights of the wild geese." t 
These enlistments for the Brigades in France were most extensive to 
about 1748, or the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle. Then, on account of the 
serious injury so long experienced tVoin the valour of the exiled Irish l:)y 
the Allies in general, added to the more recent and immediate expei'ience 
of that valour by England herself in particular at tlie defeat of Fontenoy, 
such prohibitory measures were adopted in Ireland by the government — 
who, to a certain degree, had hitherto connived at the levies in question 
as a sort of safety-valve for the relief of the country under the unforLu- 

* The old Milesian or Gaelic population of Erin were naturally as much attached 
to their own language, as they were averse to that of the .Sassenaghs, or English. 
In the niidille ages, when a native or inde])eiulcnt territory was menaced with 
invasion from the settlements of "the stranger," it was customary for one clan, 
or sept, to claim aid from another, "for the .sake of tlie language of the Gaels;" 
since, though "as septs, they might be distinct as the l)i]lows, as to the language, 
they were one as the sea." Among the Irish Lirigades in France, during the most 
celebrated period of their existence, or down to tlu; war of Dettingeu, Fontenoy, 
&c., the (jiaelic was so general, that an officer, not kmiwuig it on entering those 
corps, subsequently learned it; and the exclamation of vengeance from the Brigade, 
in charging their opjioneiits at the famous battle last -mentioned, is related to have 
been expressed in the ancient national t(jngue. 

+ The celebrated English coininercial writer, Dr. Josiah Tucker, Dean of 
Gloucester, mentions, in 175;>, how, in the west of Ireland, wool -smugglers "got 
upwards of 50 ]ter cent, by the wool they sold to the PVench ; ' adding, "as long 
as this is the case, laws, and restrictions, will signify nuthiii;;." And, with that 
injurious transmission, for England, of the Irisii wool abroad, since it enabled 
France to rival her "in that most essential article of foreign commerce," a con- 
temporary English paniphlCiCer connects tlie necessity there was, to "take off tliose 
numbers fimn the Irish Brif^^ades, who amiually enlist themselves into tlie French 
or Spanish service, to the inconceivable iletri.neiit of Great Britain." 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 163 

nate circi: instances in which it was legally placed — that those recruitings 
may henceforth be said to have comparatively ceased. Yet, until lon-^ 
after, they did not do so altogetlier. For several years within the preseuu 
century, tlie numbers of those, who, during the latter half of the pre- 
ceding one, were in the habit of emigrating to serve in France, esjjecially 
from the remote and rocky coasts of Kerry and Clare, were a subject of 
familiar recollection and conversation, in the south of Ireland, witl* tho 
fathers of men still living. As to the Irish of the rank in society for 
officers, their emigration to France, from the facilities for going th^re 
which their superior means afforded tliem, could not be prevented; so 
that, during the continuance, under the Bourbon monarchy, of regimenta 
known as Irish, those corps, to the last, were generally officered either 
by the descendants of Iiish settlers in France, or by natives of Ireland, 

' According to estimates, stated to be deduced from the Bureau de la 
Guerre, or War Office of France, between the troops of the Irish regi- 
ments in her service, and the Irish in other corps of tbe French army, 
from October, 1691. to May 1745, or, from the Treaty of Limerick, 1o 
tlie battle of Fontenoy, those military t-xiles amounted to above 450,<:00, 
and, from 1745 to 1791 — or the break ing-up of tlie Irish Brig;ide, 
through the fall of the Bourbon monarchy by the 1st French Revolu- 
tion, — the rest of those exiles are alleged to have been so many more, as 
made up, for the century, a grand total of 4^0,000 men.* The existence 
of such a large number of refugees, during the former ))eriod, will a))[)ear 
the less surprising from this circumstance, — that, during the earlier, and 
raoTe generally celebrated, da3's of the services of tlie Irish in France, as 
■well as in Spain, their strength was, to a very great extent, kept up by- 
deserters from the British army. These, though, as Catholics, legally 
excluded from the British service, yet, having been without any better 
resource, from their misery, than to enlist in that service, pretended to 
do so as Protestants: but only acted thus, to get a free passage to the 
Continent, and there join, as soon as possible, those famous corps of 
their countrymen, with whom tlx-y might enjoy the exerci.-^e of their 
religion, then inti r.iicted in the British army; migiit rejoin beloved 
relative.s, or friends, "not lost, but gone before;" t might obtain, ia 

* " Par des calculs et des recberches faites au Bureau de la Guerre," observes 
the Abbe ISIac (jeoghesan, "on a trouve, qu'il y avoit en, deimis larrivee des 
troupes Irlaudoises en France en 1G91, jusqu eu 1745, que se donua la bataille de 
Fontenoy, jilus de 450,0i)U Irlaudois, morts au service de la France." After sifting 
this .itatement of the Abbe by ocher and hostile, yet corroborative, evidence (which 
might be considei-.tbly augmented) the industrious Protestant statistician, Newen- 
ha;ii, remarks — " Upon the whoie, I am inclined to think that we are not sufficiently 
warranted in considering the Abbe Mac Geoghegan s statement as an exaggeration." 
That statement, however, must be undeistood, as inchiding all the irish who 
served in France, instead of those who belonged to Irish regiments only. One of 
my French MSS., entitled, ".Souvenirs des Brigades Irlandaises," in treating of 
the Irish belonging to the armies of the princi|jal ("ontineutal powers, from the 
War of the Revolution in Ireland to the tirst lievfihition m France, says, "480,003 
sont morts an service xnil de la France." The MS. adds — " Ce resultat est bas6 
eur des recherches iaites aux Archives du Ministre de la Guerre a Paris." M. de la 
Ponce alleges, from Iiis authorities, "que par suite de calculs et de recherches 
executes dans les Archives du Depa'.tement de la Guerre, il a tte constate, qu'euise 
les aunees 1610 et 18ii0, plus de 750,1 00 Irlandais avaier.t ete mois?onnes par le I'er 
cu le l)ou!et sur les divers champs de bataiije, ' for the honour of hin country, or 
"I'eclat du noni Fran; ais." 

t An exani]>le (f such desertions, as those abrve alluded to, occurs, amorg the 
records of the OKeeUe lamiiy, in Iiai*<-e. Arthur UkteLe, Fsq., J.l*. for the 



164 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIOADES 

battlo, some of the vengeance then due for tlie many oppressiotis, and 
iu.Milts, so long inflicted upon their race, and creed ; and even might, aa 
tlicy anticipated, return, one day or another, to Ireland, to overtliro^v 
the detested state of things established thei-e by the Revolution."' Of 
those numerous desertions from levies made in Ireland, almost to the 
close of the war ended by the Peace of Utrecht, a well-informed oi- war- 
office writer notes — " Entire regiments were rais'd in that kingdom, of 
wliich I can tiaiiie several, until the ex]ierience we had, of their frequint 
d(\sertions to tiie Fnnich and Spaniards, shcw'd us, that, to list men in 
Irtland was only to recruit for the Irish troops in the service of France 
find Spain; and, consequently, to raise forces, at that time, for the 
Chevalier." Hence, too, the hoj)es thus expressed in the versification of 
tlie native Jacoljite song — • 

" O ! the Fi'onc.l) and .'>prmisli 
Soon mir foes will Wiuiiwh ; 
Then at once will vanish 

All our grief ami dread ; 
City, town, and village, 
Shall no itmre know jiilhige, 
Mn?ic, icastino-, tillage 

Shall al)ouii(l instead; 

*' Poetry, romances, 

J{:ices, and long dances. 
Shouts, and songs, and glances. 

From eyes bright with sniiles ! — 
(>in- King's feasts shall Fame hyuin, 
'/7iini(/h I 1)1111/ not name him, 
Victory will priiclaun him 
Jlunarch 0/ the Jslca!'" 

Under such circumstances, " let no one asperse the character of the 
Irish," exclaims an Irish Protestant writer, resj)ecting his Catiiolic 
conntrynien in the foreign military services, " they lent their valour to 
tlie states whicli sup])orted their dethroned kings, their outlawed religion, 
their denationalized countiy, their vow of vengeance, or their ho])es of 
freedom." These legimental and other particulars, connected with the 
iormation of the Irish Briga(h;s, will suffice, as an introduction to the 
BU)re attractive ])ortion of their history, on which we noio enter — or the 
general narrative of their achievements. 

Ccninty of Cork in King .Tames's reign, raised, for the royal service, a company of 
foot, which he comniaiuied, as t'aptain, in the licginient of Lord Kenmare, till the 
end of the War of the Itevolution. Then, ol)hged by his numer'ins family to 
remain at home, he sent his company to 1*^ ranee, whither 2 of his sons had pre- 
viously gone; one as Cai)tain, the other as Lieutenant, with tO men, whom they 
bad raised for the liegiment of O'Brien, or Clare. Some time after, a 3rd son, 
desirous of following his brothers abroad, got himself into the English army, after 
the manner noticed in the text; and succeeded in joining the French, "bringing 
over, ■ -saj's the account, '" 14 men of the army commanded by JNlilord Marlborough." 
3 y these means the 'S brothers "all met together,' as officers in the same regi- 
Eieut The name of O'Keelfe has been one of military distinction in France to our 
time, or repte.sented among her Genei'al Officers (U)wn to \S'y2. For H iKjuchot 
desertion, on the other hand, from the Fiench to the English army, see a note to 
Hook IV., under battle of Abnanza, in 1707. 

• The Protestant Lord Piimate for Ireland, Dr. Boulter, writing from Dublin, 
in 1,;;0, to the indie of Kewcastle, in England, remarks — "All recruits, raised 
iiere for France or Sjiain, are generally considered as persons, that may, some time 
rr otl.'tr, ])ciy a visit to this country, as enemies. That all, who are listed here, iu 
th( tfc services, hope and wish to do .o, theie is nu doubt.' 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. l(J-5 

The first service ajipointed for the greater portion of the Irish troop.s, 
after their reorganization in France in 1692, was an expedition to 
England. That invasion was concerted between James II. and Louis 
XIV., as equally for the interest of both; of the former, as the means of 
effecting his " restoration ;" of the latter, as his best resource against 
the League of Augsburg; since, unless William, its chief, could be 
dethroned, that great confederacy would be stronger than eve^, from //?'-? 
being enabled, by the Treaty of Limerick, to employ, on tlic Contin(-i»6 
against France, so many of the regular force of 67 regiments, absorlit-d, 
by the last year's war, in Ireland. The " Armee de Normandie," for 
James's service, was, including liis househokl and officers, to consist of 
30,000 men, with 50 guns. Of these, the Irish — as exclusive of the 3 
Regiments of Mounteashel's Brigade, and the Regiment of Athh:)ne, 
apj)ointed to serve elsewhere — would amount, in round numbers, to 
12,400 infantry, and 800 cavalry, or above 13,2ll0 men and oUicers. 
The whole were to be commanded, under the King, by the veteran 
Marshal de Bellefonds, to whom Patrick Sarstield, Earl of Lucan, was 
Marechal de Camp, or Major-General. From the great discontent 
against the Williamite government in England, tlie correspondence of 
William's own Ministers with James, and the Jacobite ariangrmonts 
made, that, if a landing could only be effected, " the King should enjoy 
his own again," nothing seemed requisite for success, but that tlie Frenc-'i 
fleet should be ready in time, to protect the proposed disembarkation, 
befoie the English and Dutch fleets could unite, to opj)ose it. Early in 
April, the French and Irish troops, destined for the expedition, wera 
assembled, between Cherboui'g and La Hogue, in Normandy ; and James, 
with his son the Duke of Berwick, the Marshal de Bellefonds, &c., 
arrived the 24th at Caen. The embarkation of the troops might (hen 
have been commenced. But, /"or se,veral, weeks, tlie " Protestant win /*■," 
as they were styled in Enghind, prevented the attempt, by damaging the 
French transports, and by preventing the jui-ction of the Toulon fleet, 
and other vessels, with the Brest fleet under tLe famous Chevalier Comte 
de Tourville; while the several English squadrons thus had time to unite 
vinder Admiral Russell, with the Dutch fleet under Admiral Van 
AUemonde.* Louis, informed that there would be a great Jacobite 
defection in the English fleet on meeting his, and that the Dutch were 
7iot ready to join the English, at length ordered Tourville to enter the 
Channel, and give battle. Tourville sailed accordingly. But, the Dutch 
meanwhile joining the English, the Jacobites despatched intelligence of 
the fact to France, whence 10 light vessels were sent after Tourville with 
the news, and a counter-order, that he was not to fight, till strengthened 
by the Toulon fleet. None, however, of the 10 (strange to say!) reaeheJ 

* "I am sorry, from my heart, for our good King James," writes Charlotte • 
Elizabeth, Duchess of Orleans, from Paris, May Utli, 1692. "Hitherto Ihnrcn, 
or, to speak inore strictly, the uunij, tights on the Prince of Orange's side ; for Kuig 
James has not been able to embark." And Francis Ainiesley, writing toSir Arthrr 
llawdon, from Loudon, May 29th, 0. S., 1692, on the defeat of the Fiench, observes 
— "It is concluded their design was, to have taken the advantage of Admiral.^ 
Carter and Delavalle's squadron, which consisted but of 33, and to have managed 
tlicm, so as to have made way fur the safe conduct of their trauspoit-ships, wit|» 
their army, to have ])oured in upon us here; and we may tliauk our Proti-xtanA 
winds for the escajie." How remarka'ole was the favour from the ntntf quarter 
exjerienced by William himself in 1()8S, through which he was enabled to reach, 
and disembark unmolested, in England, is shown by Lord Alacaulay, 



166 HISTORY OF TIIK HUSH D?J(7AI)ES 

liim, when, Mkv 2f)tl), l)ft,wf(»!i Buflonr aiv] Tjii Hocjm-, lie met the 
combined tlt^cts. 'I'hf'y, aceonliiig fo tlieir publisheil "line of battle," 
consiste<l of U!) sail of the line, 40,675 men, anrl 69^4 cannon, bi^sidos 
nearly 3D frigates, or tire-shipn. Of th>^se, there were, for action, 88 sail 
of the line. aKdmling 3(> three-deckers, besides minor vessels, or tire- 
Biiips. The French, bj^ their accounts, had but 44 sail of the line, lJJ,451 
inen, and 3216 cannon, with no more than I'i lire-ships —the strength of 
the Allied armamenc, between men-of-war and minor vessels, consequently 
bt'ing, as compared witii tliat of the French, in the pro])ortiou of more 
than 2 to 1! NevertheU>ss, from 10 in the morning till 10 at night, 
(exc'-'pt while intei-rnpted by a fog.) Tonrville maintained a noble engage- 
ment, against such enormous odds; not lusing a single vessel himself, 
and disabling several of the eneniy's; so that never was the glory of the 
French marine higher than tliatday! The result, however, from May 
30th, to June 3rd, wa^, that, obliged to retin; towards his f)wn coasts, 
where tliei-e was not due harbonraL,'e for his fleet, which he would 
otherwise have saved, lo of his iirincipal men-of-war went aground at 
Cherbourg, Fort Lisset, and La Ho^ue, and. with some small craft, were 
burneil by the eneniv.* This action, though honourable to the French, 
was a fatal blow to their navy. " T!ie d;-fe it ot La Ho^ue," i-euiarks an 
English contemporary of Louis XI W, '-was such a siiock to his naval 
power, that he was never alter aUe to put out a. fleet, to meet tiie 
Englisli and Dutch fleet in the (JhaTinel. He had been 30 years making 
til) a navy, at a-i much expenceas would have maintain'd all his garrisons ; 
it has been computed at 2O,0iK),000 st'^rimg. He had form'd to himself 
the project of making hin)self master in Ixitli. seas, and, then, of giving 
laws to ALL Christendom. He cou'd iiot do this without a fleet, su]>erioT- 
in strength to botJi English and Dutch ; liii own v;as tto in Beacliy Jight ^ 
'tieitra (((JO ; and now i(X}(id ii.avf. been so atjdin, had it come up before the 
Ji/.iK-iiovH alrc'iil I) in.(',atioih d. But this blow put an end to his dream, of 
of being the iNEPTUNii:, as well as the Mars, of Europe." The expedition 
Hgainst England was consequently given up; King James returned to 
St. Gerniain ; and the Irish troo))s were ordered, to join the Armies of 
Flanders, Germany, Spain, and Italy. 

The campaign of 1()92 in Flanders commenced with the reduction 
of Naniur by Louis XIV. in the presence of William III., as Moris 
had been reduced the preceding campaign. Tlie fdl, under those 
mortifying circ\imstanccs, of 2 Allied fortresses of such importance, 
gave rise to sharp reflections and sarcastic songs, oi- squilis, on both sides 
of the Channel, to the gloiifica.tion of I^onis, at W illium's expense. 

" II est faclieux, on le sait Idea, 

Poni' cles gnernevs habiles, 
De voir, i?aii#entrej>reii(b"e rien, 

Forcer de teiles villes. 
Mais. NassaiT, du inoiiis tu sanras 

(■(iiiiuient il le.s faut prendre; 
St Miinn )ie 1a i^ii (fi-'unl. />«;;, 

Ndiiiur dolt te ['appreiulrc .'" 

• On this engagement, and circumstances connecterl with it, I have availed 
mypelf of French official sorrces of informatimi; besides more generally Icnowu 
ail tiiori ties. I'Lerecan be little, if any, doubt, from the very gallant contest rnaiii- 
iained liy Tonvvj/le under svich disadvantages, that, if joined hy his entire forcd, 
X)V the Toulon lleet. lie v.-nnld have beaten the Ennlish anil Dutch, as fuiDioi- y ; 
pial a (lisciid)arkution, and "-iid .SuUart " restoratiuu," lu Eaglaucl, Wuuld then huve 
Lteii cenUiii, 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. IG? 

^ The author sure must take great paina, 

Who fairly wnces his story, 
In which of these two last campaigns. 

He gain d the greatest glory. 
For, while that he march d on to tight, 

Like hero, nothing fearing, 
^ainar wa/i taken in his ni.'/ht. 

And Monti wiUuii hit: hearing !'''' 

LoTiis, after the capture of Namm-, returned to Franee, early in July ; 
leaving the comuiaud of his fore s in Flanders to the Marslial Duke de 
Luxeniliourg. William, to obtain some satisfaction for this affront, 
collected his utmost strength, or, according to his own accounts, between 
9">,000 and 100,000 men, and, August 3rd, advanced against Luxem- 
boui'g. From the diminution of the French army at the siege of Namur, 
and b}' a detachment to Germany, Luxembourg would ajipear, as inferior 
in numl)er, to have betaken himself to the strong position of the hedged 
and wooded country between Enghein and Steinkirk. A very warm 
engagement of infantry took ])lace ; the " firing, muzzle to muzzle, 
tln-ough the hedges," being compared to "continued claps of thunder." 
William's main attack was that of his left, under the Duke of Wirtem- 
bt'rg, upon the French right towards Steinkirk. There the Allies, — ■ 
having had a great advantage in the way of a surprise of the French, 
tlirough the medium of a detected and double-dealing spy, — at first 
carried all before them, and won 7 pieces of cannon; until Luxembourg, 
ordering up the French and Swiss Guards, accompanied by seveial ])rince»> 
and noblemen, to charge the assailants sword in hand, the 7 guns were 
i-ecovered, others taken, and Wii-temberg repulsed with great slaughter. 
After a close contest, from about midday to 7 in the evening, Luxem- 
bourg remained master of the field, by the retreat of William — but iu 
good order. " The King," we are told, " tho' he dissembled the matter 
very much, yet could not but discover his regret for the disap])ointnient; 
he being observed, the night after the action, while he sate at sup])er, 
frequently to frown, and bite his lips." In alluding to a popular English 
statement of the day, attributing the loss of the battle "to Count Solmes, 
the Dutch. General, who refused to obey the King's orders, in suppcrting 
the /iJnglish,'' the British historian, Salmon, remarks — "But, there is no 
doubt, if the Dutch General had refused to obey the King's orders, lie 
would have lost his head; whereas, I don't find he was so much a.s 
turned out, or even tried for breach of orders. I'm afraid Monsieur 
Luxembourg, was the best General in the field; and, though King 
William was sensilile there was very little hopes of forcing the French 
cann», yet he was, in a manner, compelled to fight, to silence the clamour 
of the Allies, who expected something extraordinary from a King, who 
had been cried up for the greatest hero and General of the age. And, 
indeed, we had so high an opinion of the King at that time, that wo 
were ready to impute the misfortune to any thing, rather than to his 
want of courage or conduct." This victory of the French was, as a 
defeat of William, publicly rejoiced at in England, by the Jacobites, 
notes a Williamite author, " particularly at Bath, and at Windsor. As 
to Bath," he continues, " no better could be expected from that rendezvous 
of sharpers and ])r()digals. But Windsor was taken more notice of, 
b(!cause some of the ofienders were said to be the Princess's" Anne'a 



168 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

"servants."'^ The French acknowledged 6906 killed and wounded, and 
claimed the capture of 1300 men of all rMid<8, 8 colours and 10 crnns. 
The Allies piiblislied their killed and wounded as 6()-33 ; that, with the 
above-mentioned ])risoners, would make a total loss of 8003. Among 
Luxemboui-g's officers, who "gave ]>roofs of a great valour, and a rare 
capacity," the Marquis de Quincy names •' the Duke of Berwick, and the 
Earl of Lucan." And the Marshal himself, in his despatch to Louis 
XIV"., the day after tlie victory, writes — "Monsieur, the Duke of 
Berwick, was present from the commencement, when we proceeded to 
reconnoitre the enemy ; and behaved, during the entire comV)at, as bravely 
as I have rendei'ed an account to your Majesty, that he had done the 
last campaign. The Earl of Lucan was with him; in whom we have 
particularly noticed the vah)ur, and the intrepidity, of which he had 
given proofs in Ireland. I can assure your Majesty, that lie is a very* 
good, and a very al>le officer."1" 

The Marquis d'Harcourt was detached, in September, h}^ LnxemV)onrg, 
■with a flying camp, towards Namur, and ])roceeded to encamp, the 8th, 
at Roumont, v/ith the Ourte before him, when 4000 Germans, despatched, 
■without baggage, to purprise him, a|)peared, in 30 squadrotis, on the 
opposite side of the stream. Their advanced party of dismounted dragoons 
was held in check, among the hedges, by a similar })arty of the Mai^piis's 
forces and ])iquet, till he drew together his cavalry in 20 squadrons. 
The Marquis placed at their head King James's 2 Troops of Irish Hor.se 
Guards, nv the Duke of Berwick's, and Lord Lucan's; next the 2 French 
dragoon reginu-nts of Asfeld and De Eannes; and, leading the 1st Troop 
of those Horse Guards himself, while M. de St. Fremont led the 2nd 
Troo]), cros.sed tlie sti-eam, to attack the enemy. The chai-ge was then 
niijde with such vigour, that the German cavalry were broken at the 1st 
shock, put to a precipitate rout, and pursued above 2 leagues. From 300 
to 500 were slain, among whom were their leader, a Danish Major- 
General, 2 Mestres-de-Camp, and several more officers. From 100 to 
200, were taken j)risoners, including the Count de Wheten, commander 
of the troops of Neubourg, 2 Ca])tains of Di-agoons, and other subaltern 
officers. From 700 or 800 to 1000 of their dragoon-hoises are variously 
stated to have been captured. The Marquis d'Harcourt's loss is alleged 
to have been but 1 Irish officer killed, and ordy 13 private men killed 
or wounded. Of the conduct of the Irish in this dashing affair, the 
French account says — "The Gu:<,rds of the King of England, and the 
Irish regiments, have veiy much signalized themselves tliere."| And a 

•The Pri»C':',s-.s, subsequently Queen Anne, from High-Churcli influences, &c., 
was no lover of her ungracious brother-in-law, William; and lier " n]ipcr servants," 
the Marlborouiihs, husliaiid and wife, for revenge against William at tJii/i time, not 
improbably caused the "under serv.ints" of the Princess, at Windsor, to rejoice 
the more publicly at the King's defeat. Such sati.sfaction. at an overthrow of 
William, would lie very generally felt, even where not actually displayed, in Eng- 
land. According to Lord Macaulay, " 9 clergymen, out of 10, were Jacobites at 
heart, and had sworn allegiance to the new dynasty, only in order to save their 
benefices. A large pr. portion of the country gentlemen belouoed to the same 
X)arty. The whole body of agricultural pro])rieti'rs was hostile to that interest, 
which the creation of the national debt had brought into notice, and which was 
believed to be ]ieculiarly iavoured by the Court, the nionied interest " 

f "Berwick" is, in the French, metamorphosed into " JJurcick;'^ and "Lucan" 
into " Liwin,'' and even '■' Livdu.^' 

X " Les (iardes du Eoi d'Angleterre, et les rSgiments Trlandois, s'y sont^ fort 
signalez. ' The " rOgiaieuts Irlaudois," apparently the '1 Irish Regiments of Hor&e. 



IN TIIK SEUVICK OF FRANCE. 



169 



linstile Continental narrative observes — " It is testified of the Gnarcis of 
King James, that tliey have performed^ then- duty ])erfectly well, as did 
likewise the Irish regiments who were present there." The Irish officer, 
who tell on this occasion, in the tirst onset, was Matthias Barnewall, iOth 
Lord Trimlesten.* The family name, written in old documents, De 
Berneval, Bernevale, and Baruevale, fii-st appears, as of feudal distinction 
in Basse Bretagne, connected with the Dukes of Bretagne, and was of 
hip-h repute there, down to the Bevolution in France. The earliest 
representative of the race in England is to he found upon the rolls of her 
French c(uiqnevois, under the Duke of Normandy. Alter tiie sub- 
jugation and planting of England from France, and tlie extension of the 
Norman arms to Ireland under Henry IT., the 1st of the De Bernevals 
who emigrated there acquired large ))ossessions, from whom sprang several 
eminent houses, under the anglicized designation of Barnewalls, or 
Barn wells. The 1st of the Barnewalls, created a Peer in Ireland, was 
Rol)ert, 2nd son of Sir Christopher Barnewall of Crickston, County of 
Meath; which Fujbert was ennobled, in March, 1461, by Edward IV., 
as Lord Baron of TrymhMori, m that County. The 2ud of the Barne- 
walls similarly honoured was Nicholas Barnewall, Esq. of Turvey, County 
of Dublin, made Viscount Kiugdavd,, in said County, and Baron of 
Turvey in 1645-G by Charles I. The representatives of both the.so 
noble houses, with others of their name, adhered to King James II. 
against the Pi-ince of Orange, as j.reviously to Kings Charles I. and 
(,'harles II. against the Parliamentarian and Cromwellian rc^volutionists; 
the Barnewalls having been officers of the Ji-cobite or national army in 
the Duke of Tyrconnell's, Lord Galmoy's, and Colonel lleni-y LuttrelFs 
liegiments of Horse, in Lord Dongan's and Colonel Simon Luttrell's 
Eegiments of Dragoons, in Colonel William Dorrington's, Lord Goiaiians- 
town's, Lord Slane's, Lord Westmeath's and Colonel Charles O'More's 
Eegiments of Foot. During the century, also, from the British and 
Irish Pvevolution under James II., to the French Revolution under Louis 
XVI., there were Barnewalls officers in the Irish Brigade. Matthias, 
10th Lord Trimleston,— eldest son of Robert, 9th Lord Trimleston, by 
Mai-garet, daughter of Sir John Dongan, Banmet, and sister of William, 
Earl of Limerick — had fought for King James in Ireland, and was a 
Lieutenant in the Duke of Berwick's Troop of Guards, wiien slain, aa 
above mentioned, in action against the Germans, being then not more 
than 20 years of age. 

The Irish appointed, in 1692, to reinforce the Marshal Duke de Lorges 
in Germany, did not join him, till late in the summer. The French and 
German armies then, or in September, were sepai'ated by the Spirebaeh, 
which flowed through Sj)ire. The Germans raised a battery near the 
tower of Spire, as if meditating an attack in that quarter; but, mean- 
while, niaiching troop.s, on their right, through a wood, to seize upon 
the village of Dudenhoven, where there was a passage over the river. 
They established 4 battalions of Swedes there, with 3 pieces of cannon. 
To cut off the main body of the French troops, and that, under the 
Marquis de Feuquieres, stationed amidst the ruins of S])ire, the enemy 
only required to gain the tower of Dudenhoven, which was but a carabine- 
shot from that village, and where there was a bridge over a Ijranch of 

* " 11 n'ya eu aucun officier tiio cle nOtre part, siiiou Mylord Tremblestowu 
IrlauJois, t^ui fut tue a la premiere charge. ' 



170 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

the stream, otherwise impassable. There, however, they were prevented 
crossing by an [rish battalion, which kept their superior numbers at 
skirmishing distance. This gave time for the whole of the French to 
come up,* and range their infantry in a well-covered position, extending 
fi-om Spire beyond Diulenhoven; a brisk cannonade and musketry taking 
place between both armies. Half an hour before night, the Allies 
advanctid towards the post of the Marquis de Fenquieres on the right, 
where the firing Ijccame so lively, that the Marshal de Lorges, with most 
of his General ()ihcers, hastened there; while the Marqnis de Villars 
was sent to the left, to guard against an attack on that side. There the 
Irish battalions, that had come up fi'oni Brisach a little before the action, 
advanced most opportunely; bore, with such bravery, the fire to which 
they were exposed, as to signalize themselves gi-eatly; before ti'oops, 
destined for their support, reached them, silenced the hostile musketry f 
and compelled tlie enemy, after a considerable resistance, to quit the 
church and casile of Dudcnhoven, abandoning their dead.t There were 
2 Swedish battalions, in particular, (though the Swedes still ranked 
among the best troops in Europe.) so bewildered by the tire they had to 
encounter, that they flung down their arms, and ran away in great dis- 
order, as testiHcd liy the prisoners taken, and by the nunilier of drums, 
chevaux-dc-tris;-, etc., left behind. Next tlay, the (^ermans retreated, 
with a I0.SS variously reported, but certainly much larger than that of 
the Fi-eneh ; among whose killed and wounded, likewise variously 
reported, were " '2 Irish otKcers." The British historian Ralph notices, 
how " a part of the Irish troops, by the Articles of Limerick so liberally 
made o\er to tlu^ .service of France, behav'd extremely well, on this 
occasion." And, fi'oni the important portion of the position, occupied 
by the Irish, and their defence of that position, it is sufficiently evident 
by infci-enre, though not directly affirmed in the French accounts, that to 
those Irish, in all probability, the preservation of the French army was 
owing. 

On the side of Tt:dy, or Piedmont, the campaign of 1G92 was one of 
defence with the French under Catinat, whose army, (as not duly re- 
inforced, in order to strengthen that of Flanders,) was but 16,000 men; 
the Duke of Savoy, between his own Piedmontese and Vaudois troops, 
and his Spanish, Austrian, and cither confederates, liaving, on the con- 
trary, above oO.OOO. As Louis XIV., moreover, preferred risking even 
a ho.stile invasion of France to a loss of Pignei'ol or Su.sa, Catiuat could 
only intrench himself between tho.se fortres.scs; while the Allies, leaving 
a sufficient corps to watch him, and a smaller corps to blockade Casal, 
were able, under the Duke of Savoy himself, the famous Prince Eugene, 

* "II y avoit wn jtont sur le bras du meme niissoau, qui etoit impiaticable par 
tout : uuiis j\l. (le la liretfiche y arriva as.sez henreusement, avec 5 or G officiei'S, pour 
sanver ce poste, uu il etaMit un bataillon Irlaiidois, ce qui ne se jiassa pas sans 
escarmouche. Cela douna le teius aux tioupe.s, que conduisoib M. d Uxeiles, d arriver, 
et eiitin a toute 1 arince." 

t " Les I'ataillons Irlandois, qui avoienfc em embarquez il Brisac, et qui ar- 
rivereiit un peu avaut raction, essnierent, avec beaucoup de bravoure, le feu dea 
einiemis, et s'y sinnalereiit." — "Les bataillons Irlandois, qui venoient d'arriver, 
firent un grand feu. On marcha jtour les soi'ltenir, et on trouva que le premier ieu 
otoifc tini Les ennemis abandonnerent rej,hse et le chdteau de Dudenhoven avco 
]>recipitatiou, iiaia-.it jias retire leurs morts," &e. — "Les bataillons Irlandois, (|ui, 
arr-vercnt a propos dans '.-e tenjs, tireafc uu trbs-urand feu, et obliiei-ent les ennemis, 
iDp's n;ie assez l')nj;ue resistance, d'abandonner i'edise et le ohilLcau de i'udeii- 
h..aeu. ' 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 171 

Charles. Duke of Schonberg, (son of the old Marshal, slain at the Eoyne,) 
and otlier leaders of eminence, to penetrate into Dauphine. with above 
28.000 men. through unsusjiected passes, pointed out by the Vandois. 
The 1st place, which ventured to resist the invaders, was a little town, 
named Guillestre, having, indeed, a wall, but neither a fosse, nor out- 
works, and appai-eiitly so inadequate to oppose the force brought against 
it, that Prince Eirgene accompanied his summons to surrender with a 
threat of no qnai-ter, if the least resistance should be attem])ted. This 
menace not being attended to, Eugene ordered an immediate assault; 
by way of carrying such a place sword in hand, as a matter of course. 
But, says that Prince's historian, " M. de Chalandreu, a gentleman of the 
country, commanded there 200 Irish, and (JOO men of the militia of 
Dauphine ;" and this " Clialandreu, who was a brave man, animated his 
band so well, and the Irish defended them.selves with so much bravery, 
that the troofis commanded to escalade the wall were repulsed." The 
assailants had from 60 to 90 men killed or wounded ; no loss being 
mentioned on tlie side of tiie defenders. Tiie place, whose only chance 
of being maintained, for any consitlerable time, would have arisen from 
an impossibility of conveying a sutiicient battering-tiain across the 
mountains from Coni, was held for 3 da^'s against the enemy, (when, to 
delay him was so im[)0!tant,) and did not surrender, until the arrival of 
such a siege-train, as rendered any further resistance unavailaVde. The 
Allies next prc-ceeded to attack Embrun, into which the Marquis de 
Larre threw himself with 3000 men, a portion of them Irish of the 
Regiment of Clare; and, though the town was not regularly fortified, 
the Marquis defended it frf)m the 0th to the 15th of August; quitting 
it only on most honourable terms, after occasioning a lf)ss to the 
besiegers, differently reported at fi-om 600 or 700 to 1300 or 1400 men; 
of whom there was a very unusual proportion of great officers woiuided; 
Prince Eugene himself included.- This much will suffice i'ov the defence 
of Embrun, since, although a gallant feat of arms, in which Irish troops 
were concerned, yet I find no particulars of what thei/ did there, as dis- 
tinguished from their Fre)ic]i fellow-soldiers. The Allies retired into 
Italy at the end of iSeptember, after extensively ravaging and plundering 
the French territory ; which would, however, have suffered to a still 
greater extent, but for the interruptions to their advance, given at 
Guillestre and Embinin. 

The ]n-inci])al event, in 1693, of the war in Flanders, was the battle 
of Landen, otherwise Neerwiuden, or Neerhespen, fought, July 29th, 
between the Marshal Duke of Luxemboui-g and William HI. Tlie 
force of the Marshal amounted to 96 battalions, 210 squadrons, and 70 
pieces of cannon. The force of the King amounted to 6o battalions, 150 
squadrons, and 80 pieces of cannon, besides mortars, or liowitzers. 
William conqiensated himself for his numerical infei-iority in men by the 
superioi-ity of his position. It had the well-secured villages of Neer- 
winden and Neerlanden on the right and left; the intervening ground 
was generally a commanding eminence, which afforded gi-e.it advantage 
for tiie i)lay of his artillery upon the French; and this eminence was, 
moreover, intrenched in front of his infantry, so as ti ])!ace an 
eneujy. uiaiching up to attack, under a very considerable disadvantage. 
Tlie contest lasted from 4 in the morning till 3 in the afternoon, or 11 
bonis. The generally determined And destructive resistance of the Allie.s, 
to the greater numbers and fiery perseverance of the French, was well 



172 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

eN(Mii|)li(i('(l ;\t tlio time liy a comTnemorative medal, having?, on one side, 
William's Ijiist and riaine; on the other side, a jjorcupine, keeping, with 
his prickly (piills erected, 2 bidl-dogs at hay; the motto being, '-Never 
provoked unreve.ngedy A contemporary letter, in the Rawdon Papers, 
asserts of this battle — " While the stress ot" the business lay on the foot, 
and the Sjianish horse, we lost not 1 foot of ground; but, as soon as tlie 
Dutch horse came to be pvished, they gave way in l(^s than 2 minutes, 

and ])nt all in c nfusion I am sorry to tell you, some of the 

Englisk horse made as nrarh liaste to p7-eserve their dear persons, as any body 
t tere." The letter then indignantly attributes the loss of the day to " the 
lianmed misfortune of those devils giving way;" and the Williamite 
historian Oldmixon adds, that, "of ^/ie English Life Gitards, the 1st Troop 
vere so saird vnth tlie fury of a pursuing enemy, that they did not iJdtiJp 
(heiiueJrcs secure, till ihey readtd Bteda.'^ * The Allies were driven, from 
their entire jiosition, across the Geete; suffering severely ere they could 
]iass it. thougli sub.sequently able to effect their retreat, for the most part, 
ri'S[)ectably, or in a body. Among the confused and terrified multitude, 
who, to escape the French, had rushed into the river, where above 20U0 
of them wei-c diowned, was William's late Commander in Ireland, Ginkell, 
created for his success (through such very su[)erior means) there. Earl of 
Athlone, and enriched with a due share of confiscated JacoV)ite estates; 
but who, in tliis less fortunate situation at Landen, was only .so far lucky, 
as to nan-owly extricate himself from a watery grave. Luxembourg's 
loss was estimated, by the Duke of Berwick, as at least 8000 menj 
William's loss was finally owned in the London Gazette, No. 2897, aa 
10,473 men of all ranks, killed, wounded, or taken; thotigh other 
accounts, by General Officers in the action, say several thousands more; 
and the French published, that they captured 84 pieces of Allied artillery, 
witii 82 colours or standards, besides d<-ums and pontoons. 

The leading corfjs of Irish infantry, that of Dorrington, or the Royal 
Regiment of Foot Guards, was with the French at this victory. Its 
station is marked, in the 2nd line of the centre of Luxembourg's "ordre 
de bataille," as with the Brigade of Harbouville, consisting of 5 bat- 
talions; 3 French, or those of La Marche, Charolois, and Harbouville, 
and the "Gardes du Roi Jaques" forming the remaining 2. t To these 
Guards, a gentleman of high respectability in the County of Cork, 
Colonel John Bai-rett, was attached, in the capacity of a 2nd officer of 
that rank. His family name, as spelled "Baret" and "Barret," is to be 
seen in 2 lists of the original French conquerors of England, under the 
Duke of Normandy; and, after the descendants of tho.se subjugators of 
the Anglo-Saxons efiected settlements farther west at the expense of the 
Gaels of Ei in, a district was acquired, yet known, in the County of Coi-k, 

Concerning the cowardice amon^^ the Allied cavalry here, a Dutch periodical 
further iafonn.s us — " The King of Great Britain, after liaving cau.sed tlie con- 
duct of the troops that have fought at Necrwindeii to be carefully examined, 
and haviiii;- fountl that 4 regiments of cavalnj had not done their duti/, cnnsad the 
triopcrx to (Irdio lots, and the lot having fallen upon S of each regiment, tlicy were 
shot to death.'''' 

+ In Quinoy's sheet of Lnaembourg's army, the printer having had to contract 
"Gardes du Itoi Jaques" into "Gardes du it. J.," a misprint occurred of "D" for 
"J." This has occasioned Mr. O'Conor, who did not read behind Quincy, to allege, 
" there was no Irish corjis in Luxembourg's army." I correct the.se errors from 2 
ciinteni])orary Coutiueiital documents, an "Ordrc" and a "Liste" of rvu.xemhourir'a 
ai'uiy in July, lti'J3, both of whioJi.^ive the words " Gardes du iloi Jacques," &c. 



IN THE SEUVICE OF FHANX'E. 173 

as the Barony of Bnrrfils, consisting of aT)ove 26.280 acres. Wlien tlio 
great Aodli or Hugh O'ISeill, marcliing to the siege of Kinsalc; in l(j()0, 
as he passed by Castk^niore, near Mallow, asked. '"Who lives in that 
castle?" he was answeied, "Barrett, a good Catholic, whose family has 
possessed that estate ahdve 4U0 years." Colonel John Barrett, as the 
chief i-ej)re.sentative of his name, sat, after the breaking ont of tlu! War 
of tlie Revolution in Ireland, as 1 of the Members for the Borough of 
Mallow, in the national Parliament of 1689; and raised a Regiment of 
foot for King James II., wliich lie commanded during that contest. He 
was, in IGiJO, Military Governor of Waterford, with his own and another 
regiment of foot, when, in con.sequence of the advance of the Williamites 
thither after their success at the Boyne, he had to surrender the town; 
stipulating, however, to march away with his gairison, their arms, bag- 
gage, and a military e.scort, to tlie County of Cork. His regiment being 
sulisequeiitly a portion of the Jacobite garrison of Cork, on its reduction 
by Marlborough, he was 1 of a number of prisoners placed on board the 
Beda man-of-war, in the harbour there, to be conve\'ed to Eugland. At 
the destruction of that vessel, by the accidental igniting of its powder- 
magazine, he had the good fortune to be among .some who esca])ed, by 
being merely blown into the shallow watei-, n6;ar the shore. Upon the 
conclusion, in 1091, of the war in Ireland, by the Treaty of Limerick, 
the Colonel was am.>ng the princij)al estated gentlemen who decided on 
going to France,* whert^ as has been observed, he was apjjointed to 
serve, in his former rank, along with the Royal Regiment of Foot Guards. 
On this occasion at Landen, the Brigade of Harbouville suffered much 
from the tire of troops, so well intrenched, and so obstinate in defence, 
as its Allied opponents were. Indeed, it is admitted, that, to a compar- 
atively late period of the day, Luxembourg "'repentiid, more than once, 
for having engaged in a Cf)mbat, the success of wliieli appeared .so doubt- 
inl !" At last, in that part of the field where the Biigade of Harbouville 
AViis appointed to act, the Irish "Gardes du Roi Jaques," distinguished 
as in tlieir own country against Ginkell and his Allied force at Augliriin, t 
and duly animated by the signal intrejiidity of Colonel Barrett as a 
leader, obtained a glorious revenge for the reverses of the Bovne antl 
Limerick, by being the 1st corps ti) make an opening into the Williamite 
intrenchment, through which their French cou)panii>n.s-in-arms followed 
— this honourable success, however, having been purchased by the death 
of the brave Colonel Bariett. J. The gallant Lieutenant-Colonel of the 

* The Williamite "attainders of 1C91," according to Mr.- Dalton, "include this 
ofKcer, described as John Barrett of Dublin, Esq., as also of Ca.stleniore, County of 
(Jork, with 12 others," in that county, for confiscation, as Jacobite loyalists. 

+ The Allied or mixed national composition of the Williamite army m Ireland, for 
the War of the Revolution, is re^imentally shown further ou, in a note under the 
j'ear 1(598. Adverting to this mixed com)iosition of it, a Jacobite rhymer boasta 
of his countrymen, that, but for Luttrell's treachery, 

' ' All the A Hies could not them subdue ! " 

And, in mentioning "the English" at Aughrim, the contemporary Jacobite his- 
torian, Plt'.nkt'tt, adds — "I moan, under the word English, the Forraigners also, 
vvlio were the better moyety of the army"— alluding to the Dutch, Danes, and 
Huguenots, as contrasteii with the English and Anglo-Irish, of Gmkell's 50 regi- 
ii.tnts ihoie. On the Jaco'nite right wmg, the In^t obiiged to yield, and i>nJy 
through the result of events €/.s"i/7/.prf, even the Dublin Williamite ace amt refei'S 
tu "the oppi.aition made by the lloyai liegiuient of Foot so called," or, in other 
woids, the King's Foot (Juards. 

J The Light to the Bimd states, respecting the Irish Foot Guards, and Co ouel 



174 ITISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

Irish Horse Ivegiment of Sheldon, or Cliristopher Nugent of Dardiscown, 
was likewise at, and received 4 wonnds in, this battle, although his regi- 
ment does not sreni to have been there. Tn connexion with the high 
distinction of these Irish Catholic exil«'s on the side of France, as opposed 
to England and her Allies, it is interesting to observe, how a corps of 
French Protestant refugees, or Huguenots, the cavali'y Regiment of Ru- 
vigny, Lord Oalway, (origimdly the Marshal Duke of Schonbrrg's) noted, 
in Ireland, for its bravery at the Boyne, and still more so for its share 
in gaining the battle of Aughiim, was headed by William himself in 
charging here at Landeu, wlieie it was among tlie most rem;irkal)le for 
bravely, on the side of England and her Allies, against France! 

Of the General Oilicers of King James, the Duke of Berwick and Lord 
laican vi'er(( eniployi'd on Luxenibdurg's left wing, to force the strongly- 
guarded vdlage of Neerwinden on the Allied right. Of the 3 Lieuten- 
ant-Generals ap])ointed for that dilhcult service, each at the head of 2 
French, brigades, the Duke of Berwick was to lead in the centre; M de 
Rubantel, to whom Lord Lncan was ]\Iareclial de Camp, on the right; 
and M. de Montclievreuil on the left. "This viHage," says the Duke of 
Berwick, "extended, like a belly, into the ])lain, so that, as we all 3 
marched in 1 front, and as I was in the centre, I attacked 1st. I 
]iush(Ml the enemy, chasing them, iVom hedge to hedge, as far as the 
jdain ; on the border of which I again formed, in line of battle. 
The troops, who should have attacked on my right, and ray left, instead 
of doing so, judged that they would be exposed to less fire, by throwing 
themselves into the village; thus, all of a sudden, they found themselvea 
behind me. The enemy, perceiving this bad manoeuvre, re-entered the 
village, on the right, and the left: the tiring then became terrible; con- 
fusion took place among the 4 brigades under the command of De 
Rubantel and De Montclievreuil to such an extent, that they were 
diivtn out ; and I consequently found myself attacked on all sides. 
After the loss of a vast number, my troops, in like manner, abandoned 
the head of the village; and, as I strove to maintain myself in it, under 
the hope, that M. de Luxembourg, to whom I had sen-t for assistance, 
would forward some to me, I found myself at last entirely cut otf. I 
then became desirous of attempting to save m^'self in the direction of the 
jiiain, and, having removed my white cockade, I was mistaken for 1 of 
the en(Mny's otlicers; unluckily, Br'igadier Churchill, brother of Lord 
Churchill, at ))resent Duke of Marlborough, and my uncle, was passing 
near me. and re(;ognized my only remaining Aide-de-Cainf) ; upon which, 
instantly suspecting the probability of my being there, he came up to me, 
and made me his prisoner. After having embraced one another, he told 
me, that he was obliged to conduct me to the Prince of Orange. "We 

Barrett — '* It was the Irish Eoyal Regiment of Font which first open'd the enemy's 
retreuchmeut ; wliereby the Gallick' troops imraeiliately reaped advantage, after 
buii'cring much, fur awhile befoi-e, ni tightnig against an intrenched army. " In this 
action, L'oli. Barret of Clork, by his'bould Icatleing of the said Irish Regiment 
siguahzed himself, and slept in the l)ed of honour." Hence, hkewise, the allusion 
of Forman to "the Irish" liere, where he asserts of France— "It is not apt to for- 
get, how gallantly Sarstield, Earl of Lucan, and the Irish, behav'd at Landen." 
Fieffe, m Ins " Histoire des Troupes Etrangferes au Service de France," mistaking 
the 2 appellations, and 2 battalions, of James's Guards, for 2 different regiments, 
nevertheless acLjuaints us, how "les Regiments des Gardes Irlaudaises, et des 
Gardes du Roi d Aiigleterre, y veugerent glorieusement I'affront de la Boyne et de 
I (Uuerik." 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 175 

galloped off for a long time, without being able to find him ; at List, we 
met liim very far away from the action, in a hollow, where neither 
friends nor enemies were to be seen.* That Prince made me a very 
])olite compliment, to which I only replied by a very low bow: after 
having gazed at me for a moment, he put on his hat, and I mine; then 
he ordered, that I should be conducted to Lewe." The young Did<:e was 
subsequently sent to Antwerp, in order to be transferred to the Tt)wer of 
London and imprisoned there, under the pretext of his having been, as 
an Englishman, the subject of William, and, consequently, or for being 
taken in arms against 1dm, a rebel ! But LuxemVionrg soon put down 
this DiitcJb impudence, by threatening reprisals with respect to several 
Allied officers, and, among others, the Duke of Ormonde ;t so that the 
Duke of Bei-wick was, in due course, sent back to the Marshal, instead of 
being lodged in the Tower of London. As for Lord Lucan, in that 
attack upon the village of Neerwinden, (which the French took twice, 
and were driven from as often, ei'e they could master it,) his Lordship, 
behaving gallantly, was severely wounded, and, being removed to Huy, 
shortly after died there, of a fever J — "but gained," says a Williamite 
writer, "as much honour by his generosity and humanity to the English 
in that fatal battle, as by his bravery and conduct in the field." Mr. 
O'Conor adds of his Lordship — " Arminius was never more popular 
among the Germans, than Sarsfield among the Irish — to this day his 
name is venerated — canitur adhuc. No man was ever more attached to 
his country, or more devoted to his king, and religion." § In a manu- 
script volume, written in the reign of William's successor. Queen Anne, 
and containing a copy of Dean Lynch's Latin version of Keatinc's 
History of Ireland, &c., (for a knovvledge of which I am indebced to Mr. 

* William, np to this pei'iod of the engagement, having been successftd, there 
was no iiecessiby for his incurring any unusual pei-sonal risk. But, when it became 
requisite, that his troops should he encoiu-aged as much as possilile, he acted, at 
the head of artillery, infantry, and cavalry, to the admiration of friends and foes. 

t James Butler, 13th Earl and ^nd Duke of Oi'monde, heading a charge of British 
cavalry, received 2 sword-wouuds; had his horse shot under him; and, when on 
the ])oint of being killed, was rescued, as a prisoner, by 1 of the French Guards, 
who judged him to be a person of distinction, from the rich diamond ring on hia 
linger. At Namur, to which the iJidve was conveyed, "the misfortune of his 
Grace," says his biographer, "was a blessing to a great many of the poor prisoners 
of the Allied troops, who were confined in the same town, as he distributed among 
them a considerable sum of money." He also amply rewarded the French Guards- 
man, to whom he owed his life. This illustrious Irish Protestant nobleman had, 
from vcnj natural apprehensions for the saj\4i of hin Church, deserted King James 
II. in 16j8, and afterwards voted for the Prince of Oraui^e as King ; but only as 
^'fearin;/ a Recent might pavp the way to a Itf/nd/iicL" He finally sacriliced every- 
thing for the Stuart cause, of which more hereafter. 

J Those particulars respecting Lord Lucan's death are derived from the Lettrea 
Histori(|ues for Sejitembei-, 1G93, and from his Lordship's countryman and coutem- 
porai'y, Plunkett. The editor of the Continental periodical writes — "Le Lord 
Lucan, .Sarslield, celebre par la derniere guerre d'lrlande, et que je mis an nombre 
des morts, n'etoit altu'S que blesse; mais on a apris depuis, qu il est mort de sea 
blessures a Huy, ou il avoit ete transporte " Plunkett states — "The Earl of Lucan, 
after doeing actions worthy of himself, was des[)erately wounded, and thereby fell 
into a feaver, of which he dyed soon after." Such is what we know from History, 
as contrasted with Romance, on the subject. 

§ If comiiared, however, with such commanders, of the old native race, as Hugh 
O Xcill, in i'Jlizabeth's, and Owen Roe O'Neill, in Ciomwell's time, Sarslield was no 
better than a puffed Palesman. "In the science of war," Mr. 0'V.'onor elsewhere 
JListly renuuks, "Hugh, the famous Earl of Tyrone, and Owen Roe O'Nial, far 
surpassed hun. He had neither their skill, experience, or capacity." 



6 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

Gilbert,) I find, with Father Ge]:isius Mac Mahon's lines on the DuchesB 
of Berwick, previously cited, the following : — 

"Epitaphium III'" D^i Saksfield, Comitis de Ldcan, &a 

" Ingens exigufi Sarsfiekl hie conclitur urna, 
liiclyta seel virtus cuncta per ora volat. 
Stemnia, tides, Patriae pietas, constantia Regi 

Inviotnm Pngilis vexit ad astra Decus. 
Hen gratum Auriacis! Heu tlebile fiiniis Hiberiiis ! 
Teri'or ut Auriacis, his jacet uinis Amor." 

The Duke of Berwick was employed in operations connected with the 
reduction of Charleroy, which, after a creditable resistance of 27 days, 
o])en ti-enches, was surrendered, October loth, to the French : the gallant 
M. de Boi.sselot, so famous for the successful defence of Limei'ick against 
William in 1G90, being made Governor of this important acquisition from 
the Allies. 

Tiie French Army of Germany, in 1693, was at first commanded by 
the Marshal Duke de Lorges, and afterwards by Monseigneur. Among 
its Lieutenant-Generals was Lord Mountcashel ; and the Irish troops 
attached to it wei-e the Regiments of Mountcashel, Dublin, Gharleniont, 
and the Marine; forming altogether 9 battalions. But, by the ability of 
the Im])erial General, Prince Louis of Baden, that army was prevented 
effecting any thing in f)roportion to its considerable numerical superiority. 
Hostilities, indeed, commenced in May, with a quick reduction of Heidel- 
berg by De Lorges ; but, owing to the incajiacity or cowardice of its 
miserable Governor, who was duly degraded by the Pi-ince of Baden. 
At Heidelberg, and elsewhere, Loi-d Mountcashel, or his men, are noticed, 
yet not in any case worth detailing; the campaign, on the French side, 
having been 1 of plunder, rather than glory. * In S])ain, the conquests 
of the French, in 1693, under the Marshal Duke de Noailles, sup|)orted 
by the Comte d'Etrees at sea, were confined to the reduction, June 
1st — 10th, of Rosas, or Roses, in Catalonia, and the adjacent Fort of the 
Trinity. Brigadier John Wauchop mounted the trenches before the 
town twice, and the Honourable Arthur Dillon, and the grenadiers of his 
regiment, were among the troops who carried the counterscaf|». 

In Italy, the Allies were so strong, in 1693, that the Marshal de 
Catinat was obliged to remain upon the defensive till autumn, when, 
being well reinforced, he marched against and engaged them, October 
4th, in the battle of Marsaglia, or Orbassan. The Allie.s, under the 
Duke of Savoy, the famous Prince Eugene, and other distinguished 
Generals, including Charles, Duke of Schonberg, on the part of VVilliara 
III., consisted of Italian, Imperial, Spanish, Huguenot or Vaudois 
troops, to the amount of 38 or 39 battalions, and 79 squadrons, t with 
31 pieces of cannon. The French army, in which Catinat had some 
eminent officers of the War of the Revolution in Ireland, or his own 
countryman, Lieutenant-General the Marquis de la Hoguette, and Major- 
General D'Usson, besides Major-General Thomas Maxwell, Brigadiers 

* Henceforth, to the end of this war, no mention is made of the Irish corps serving 
in Germany, since nothing has been found related, to distlnrjuisk them from their 
French fellow -soldiers there. What were the national corps acting with the French 
in that quarter may be collected from the histories of the several regiments pre- 
Viiinsly given. 

t Lines of battle, in Quincy, and St. Gervais, compared, and retottcd. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 

Jolin "Wancliop, Francis O'Carroll, <kc., consisted generally of French 
troops, and several Irish corps; making, altogether, 47 battalions, anil 
78 sqnadrons, with 30 pieces of" cannon. After a warm contest of 
Letween 4 and 5 honis, Catinat was victorious, with only about :^()0() 
men, killed or wonnded ; having taken alxuit 2000 prisoners, including 
1^15 officers, besides 103 colours or standards, and all the artillery of the 
enemy; who acknowledged their loss in killed, wounded, and prisoners, 
to have been about 5500 men ; though it was far gn-atei-, according to 
the French. 

The Irish troops, marked in the line of battle as present, were the 
King's and Qneen's Dismounted Dragoons, each composing 1 battalion, 
and both brigaded together in the 1st line of the centre under Thomas 
Maxwell; the Regiment of Daniel O'Brien, 4th Viscount Clare, forming 
3 battalions, brigaded with a French regiment in the 2nd line of the 
centre; and the Queen's Regiment of Infantry, or Luttrell's, in 2 batta- 
lions, with 1 battalion of the Regiment of Limerick, or Talbot's, brigaded 
together in the same line under John Wanchop. To these Irish, the 
victory was, in a great degree, atti-ibutable. The French official narra- 
tive refers to the Ii'ish regiments, as having "fought with an extreme 
valour," and as having "in the space of half a league," or a mile and a 
half, "despatched more than 1000 of the enemy with sword-thrusts, and 
clul)bed muskets." Another notice in Frene-h, by Lientenant-General 
Count Arthur Dillon the younger, relates, how "the Irish distinguished 
themselves by a remarkable stratagem. Finding themselves very much 
incommoded by a redoubt, situated on the right of the enemy, they 
advanced towards him, holding their arms with the butt-ends upward.s. 
Jt being supposed, that they wei'e coming forward to deser!., they were 
allowed to appioach. They then jumjjed into the redoubt, of which they 
made themselves masters, and turned its carmon against the enemies. 
M. de Catinat, who had granted permission for this mancenvre, availed 
himself of the enemy's surprise, and put them to the ro\it. He gave," it 
is added, "the most advantageous accnunt of the conduct of the Irish, 
and of the share which they had in his victory." Of the King's and 
Queen's Dismounted Dra.iroons, more especially, the Mai'shal, writing, 
October 7th, to Louis XIV., states — "These 2 regiments of dragoon-^, 
Sivf, which were in the centre of the line, have dcme surprising things, in 
the way of valour and good order, during the combat. They have over- 
thrown squadrons sword in hand, charging them face to face, and over- 
throwing them."* Plunkett, referring to the Duke of Savoy, alleges — 
"The Duke V)roake the 1st line of the French. Then he canie up, to 
charge the 2nd; not doubting, but to have the like success. In this line 
were several liattalions of Irish, mixed with French. The Duke of Savov, 
having pf^i-ceiv'd great numbers of Irish to be in the line, ordered his 
men, to attack them, with sword in hand. In this attempt, his Royal 
Highness committed an important errour. For, by that method of figiit- 
ing, the Irish generally prevayl. The attack being given, the Confeder- 
ates were soon forc'd tu i)ly," i. « , give Avay, "and take their flight. 
The line pursued. The Irish overran their ordeis, and Cattinat, seeing 
there was no recalleing of them, commanded the whole army to follow. 

* Of these 2 Irish corps of Disinonnted Dragoons, it is also reported, in comiex- 
ion witli a very distinguished French officer^" Le Comte de Medavy, a fait dea 
oc'ion-s extraordinaires a la teste des Dragons du Roy et de la Reyue de I'Aii^le- 
teu-e, ou il a toujours este," until wounded, as particularized. 



178 niS'IOUY OF TIIK IRISH BIUGADES 

(Jreat w;is tlie slaughter of the Odiifoder.its. Tlie Iiish pnrsned so 
swiftly, that their loot overt:)(>k some of the hostile cavalry. The Duke of 
Savoy narrowly escaped with 10 hojsenieii, into his capital cittyof Turin."* 
Of the Jacobite ofiicei'S who fell, allutled to as "'having i'ought with an 
extraordinary valour at the head of the Irish regiments," and as having 
"signalized themselves by the actions which tiiey had jierformed on that 
day of battle," were the Major-General and Brigadier Thomas Maxwell, 
Colonel of the King of England's Dismounted Dragoons, Brigadier John 
Wauchop, also Colonel of Dragoons, "both Scots;" Brigadier Francis 
C'Carroll, Colonel of the Queen of England's Dismounted Dmgoons, 
"and others, wcn-thy of lasting mem<iry." Daniel O'Brien, 4tli Viscount 
Clare, acting as Culonel of his family regiment, was so severely wounded, 
that he subsequently died at Pignerol James de Lacy, of the family of 
Ballingarry-La'^y, County of Linieiick, Brigailier, Quartei'-Master-General* 
Colonel and Commandant of the Prince of Wales's Regiment of Infantry 
in Ireland, was likewise min-tally wounded. His young nephew, Peter 
de Lacy, who had been an Ensign under him in Ireland when only 13, 
and whom, after the Treaty of Limerick, he brought into France, was, at 
the time of this battle, a Lieutenant in the Regiment of Athlone, and 
was idtimately the famous Field-Mai'shal de Lacy, in the service of 
Russia, and father of the celebrated Field-Marshal in tlie service of 
Anstria.t 

Tlie greatest officer, who fell on the side of the Allies, was Charles 
Duke of Schonberg, son of the vete?'an Marshal-Duke, slain at the Boyne. 
He was the commander of tlnjse regiments, mostly of French and the rest 
of Swiss Protestants, or Vaudois, maintained, for the Duke of Savoy's 
service, by William III. Having disapproved of giving battle, he de- 
clined to act in any higher rank than that of Colonel, at the head of hia 
own regiment. In that capacity, he behaved most gallantly, as did his 
Huguenot or Vaudois forces in general, who suffered in propurticm; above 
2-3rds of them having been destroyed. He was brought to the ground by 
a wound in the thigh, and was about to be immediately desjiatched by the 
hostile soldiery, (probably Irish,) who knew him, when his faithful valet 
De Sale, ci'ying out "Quarter!" threw himself between his master and 
them, thereby sacrificing his own life. An Irish officer, then coming up, 
saved the Duke for the time, by ordering him to be made a i)ris )!U'r ; 
and the Marshal de Catinat allowed him to be conveyed to Turin, for his 
recovery. But the Duke died there, October 17th, generally and deserv- 
edly regretted ; and was interred, according to his wish, at Lausanne. :j; 
Sir Paul Rycaut, the English Resident for William III. at Hamburg, 
after noting how very .sad this overthrow of the Allies was according to 
the accounts from Paris, though he hoped the next letters from Turin 

* Fieffe says — "La victoire fut decidee en faveur des Francais ])ar ime chargo de 
20 bataillons, qui s'avauuereut, eu croisaut la bai'oiiiiette. C'etait la premiere tois 
fiu'on employait cetfce raanwuvre, dont s'aci|uaifct.erent fort bieu le.3 llogiments 
Etrangei's," or those, with others, of "Talbot, Afh/nnc, Dragons a Pied de la Reine 
<l'Anglterre, et Ulare.' Yet, neither in the " ordre de bataiUe" given by Qiuucy, 
nor in thos-e given by St. Uervais, is the ilegiinsnc of Allione mentioned as preienb 
there, tliough certainly 1 of those attaeheii to the army of Catiuat in Itaiy. 

t<.'oiiy of the Marshal's jouruai and other faniilj' pa]5ers. 

t Compare the self-devotion of De S.de with tli it of Coteron farther on, or at t^io 
battle of (Jassano, in 1705. The particulars respecting the Duke of Schonberg are 
taken from the contemporary accounts puMislied in flolland; including the narra- 
tive of the Allied defeat ftom V^aiider Meer, the ilesideat of the Dutch ilepublic at 
'Juriu. 



IN THE SEIIVICE OF FHANCR. 179 

wonlfl .sliow the loss of" the Confederates to have been lews, conclndca 
tijus — "Nothing, however, in this batth^, can repaie the loss of so gi-eat 
a man as the Duke ot Schoniberg, whicii is too gh)rious a trinni])h for 
our enemies to boast of." Such are the most interesting ))articiilat3 
connecteil with the battle of Marsaglia, or Orbassan, where the Irisli 
ajipear to have gained the highest honour which they acquired since their 
landing in France. In the account given of this engagement by T^ord 
Macaulay — in which he certainly ought not to have been silent respecting 
the above-recorded circumstances of the death of Charles, Duke of Schnn- 
berg, as well from the nature of the circumstances themselves, as from 
the Duke being the chief officer of the Williamite Huguenot contingent 
there, and son of the veteran Marsha!, who bore such a remarkable share 
in the events, which secured to William the tri[)le royalty of tlie British 
Isles — his Loi-dship adverts, as foUows, to the creditable conduct ot the 
Irish, in Catinat's army : "This battle is memorable as the first of a long 
series of battles, in which the Irish troops re rieved the honour, lost, by 
nii.sfortunes, and misconduct, in domestic war. Some of the exiles of 
I/imerick showed, on that day, under the standard of Frmice, a valour, 
that distinguished them, among many thousands of brave men." But, on 
several occasions, jn'evious to this famous day, or v^lierever the Irish were 
Vjrought into immediate or direct contact with an enemy since their 
landing on the Continent, it is sufficiently evident, from tliis work, that 
thev were duly noticed as remarkable for their braverv. 

In 1694, the Marshal Duke de Noailles, with 15,1)00 foot, and GOOD 
horse, entered Catalonia in May, and, by the 27tl), reached the river Ter, 
It was dangerous to pass in presence of an enemy, from its considerable 
width, the uncertainty of footing occasioned by its moving sands, and a 
depth of water uj) to one's waist. The Spanish army under the Duke of 
Escahina, variously represented as somewhat less, and as considerably 
more in number, than the French, Vjut certainly inferior in point of 
artillery, were posted along the banks, in oi-der to defend the fords, from 
Veiges, on their left, to Montgiy, on their right ; those fords being well 
intrenched. Tlie passage was tirst attempted by Noailles at Montgry, 
where the S])aniards had three battalions, protected by good works, and 
supported by 10 .squadrons. The assailants were received with a warm 
lire, accompanied with a loud defiance from drums, trumpets, and haut- 
bois. But, states the Marslial, writing to Louis XIV., the same day — 
" The Carabiniers, headed by M. de Chazeron, the grenadiers of the army, 
with the Regiment of the Queen of England's Dragoons, which is an ex- 
cellent corps that M. de St. Silvestre was desirous to lead as Ae commanded 
the infantry, dashed into the water with an extraordinary vigour, and 
forced the enemy to abandon their retrerichments. An action of greater 
vigour, or better conducted than on the pai-t of these gentlemen, could 
not be witnessed." The Spanish infantry there were either .slain, or cap- 
tured, their cavalry put to flight; and, higher up the stream, another party 
of infantry, stationed at a wood about the Duke of Escalona's quarters to 
defend the ford of Ouilla, "wishing to make a stand," says a French con- 
temporary, "on the approach of the Dragoons of La Solle, and of the 
Carabiniers, to whom were joined the Dismounted Dragoons of the Queen 
of England, was defeated ; such as were not killed being made jnisoneis 
of war." In this engagement, which, including a ])ursuit, mixed witli 
cavalry-charges, for 12 miles, lasted from between 8 and 4 in the morn- 
ing to about 11 o'clock, the Frencli did not lose above 5UU men. Tlie 



ISO HI&TOKY OF TIIK IRISH BRIGADES 

Spaniavds arlmifc their loss, in killed and taken, to have been 3000 or 
4000 men, thoiicrh the French make it many more ; and, among the sjioils 
of the vanrjnished, were their tents and baixgage, with the Dnke *<i 
Escalona's equipage and paj)ers, I'i, colours, &c. Of officers ])raised by 
tlie Marshal, for having becni "several tiuH>s distinguished " during tlie 
day, was Cl)ai-les O'Brien, 5th Viscount CUu-e, as "Milord Clare, at the 
bead of a regiment of dragoons," or that of the Queen of England alKnc, 
mentioned. Among the iuipnrtant results of this victory, wei-e the 
reduction of Palamos, Girona, Ostalric, or Hostalrich, and Castelfollit. 

In Italy, the Marshal de Catinat, assembling, in May, 1G94, a portion 
of his army near Pignerol, "despatched, in the mean time," observes my 
French anthoritv, "8 Irisii battalions into the Valley of La Peronse, iu 
order to oppose the Vandois, and to ])nt a stop to their incursions. Ovto 
arriving there, they killed a gi-eat number of those who were taken ofF 
their guard ; which ol)lige(l the Duke of Savoy, who had an interest in 
protecting them, to send thetn GOO men of his regular trooj)S. and the 
Marquis de Parelle to command there." King William's historian, 
Harris, i-ef.-rs to some "'small successes of the Vaudois in the Valley of 
Pragelas," and " their routing some Irish detachments in the Valley of 
St. Martin." as not " woi-thy the reader's notice." On the other hand, 
according to Mr. O'Conor. between the number of the Alpine moun- 
taineers cut off. and the extent of devastation and pillage committeil 
among them, by the Irish, Catinat's commission was executed with a 
ti^rrible fidelity; the memory of which "has rendered the Irish name 
and nation odious to the Vaudois. Si.x generations," he remarks, "have 
since passed away, but neither time, nor subsequent calamities, have 
obliterated the impression made by the waste and desolation of this 
military incursion." 

Tliis yeai-, we, in reference to the Irish of Oatinat's army, i-enew our 
acquaintance with Brigadier Don Hugh O'Donnell, known on the Conti- 
nent as Earl of Tyrconnell ; so celebrated during the War of the Revolu- 
tion in Ireland, from the alleged pro])hecies, and consequent popularity, 
associated with him as " Ball-dearg," or of the "red mark;" and subse- 
quently still moi"e talked nf, as. like another Jacobite Brigadier, Henry 
Luttrell, having tinally passed over to the side of William III., receiving 
a similar government pension, or 1 of X500 per annum. After the 
concUision of the war in Ireland, or in 1692, O'Donnell, having proceeded 
by Dublin to London, was offered there the command of that body of his 
countrymen in Ireland, who, not having chosen to accompany the majority 
of the Jacobite or national army to France, were formed, as Catholics, 
into a corps for the service of William III.'s Catholic ally, the Emperor 
Leopold I. of Austria, to be employed against the Turks in Hungary. 
Desirous, however, of returning to the service of Sjiain, O'Donnell 
refused this command ; which was, in consequence, conferred upon a 
nobleman of the most anciently-renowned or Irian race of Uladli 
or Ulster, Brian Macgennis, Lord Iveagh ; who accordingly led those 
Irish destined for the Iin])erial service into Germany, and thence into 
Hungary." O'Donnell, after being detained by illness till 1693 iu 

"These Irish, about 2200 in number, were long delayed in Mnnster by contrary 
■winds; landed fi-oiii Cork at Hamburg, early in the summer of 1692; and, being 
mustered by the Imperial Commissary near Bergersdorf, were marched thence into 
Hungary; where they snfTercd so much against the Ottomans, that the rcnmaul; 
bad, by November, 109.'J, to be dralted into other corps of the Imperial army. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 181 

Lonflon, first went to Flumlefs, and then into Spain. By the Stata 
Papers, abstracted in Thorpe's Catalogue for 18.')4 of the Soutliweli 
MSS., we find the Brigadier, in May, 1694, corresponding, from Madrid, 
with the English Secretary at War, William Biathwayt, <ij)on "a design 
for forming Irish Regiments in Spain for the service of tiiat state, in 
onler to draw off the malcontents against the government of King 
William III." The next letter, mentioned as directed to Secretary 
Blathwavt by O'Donnell, is dated from Tnrin, in September; the writer 
noting how, through the assistance given him at the Allied quarters by 
the Duke of Savoy, and the Spanish Viceroy of the Milanese, he, in order 
to induce the Jacobite Irish in Catinat's army to desert, had "oiBcers, oa 
all the passes in the neighbourhood of their encampments, to receive 'em, 
and invite 'em." But, he complains of those Irish corjjs, how watchful 
the officers were of their men ; as " having no other livelihood but their 
companies, and no way of recruiting the desertions." As a Brigadier iii 
the service of Charles II. of Spain, and pensioned by William III., as 
likewise a Brigadier in James II. 's service when abandoning it, O'DonnelJ, 
by thus seeking to gain over the Irish from the Frencli, was aiming to 
be equally useful to his Catholic and Protestant patrons, Charles and 
William ; both members of the same great alliance, or that of the League 
of Augsburg, against Louis XIV"., and James II., as confederated with 
Lt)uis. 

In 1695, the Spaniards attempted, early in the canqiugn, to recover 
some of the places lost in 1694, and, among them, Ostalrie, or Hostalrich, 
which was accordingly blocked np. The Marshal Duke de Noailles, 
being ill him.self, ordered Lieutenant-General de St. Silvestre, accom- 
])anied by the Hono\irable Colonel Arthur Dillon, with a portion of tlie 
armv, including the Irish troops, to relieve the town in May; which was 
effected, the enemy rntiring at the Lieutenant-General's approach. " Oa 
his return," writes the Marshal, "the rear-guai'd was attacked, with aa 
insolent audaciousness, by the raiquelets, to the number of aViout 4000, 
and by 5 squadrons of cavalry. Dillon commanded it. This Irish 
Colonel made such a good disposition of the troops, that the enemy, f;ir 
from being able to break in upon them, was put to flight." Quincy, who 
describes the rear-guard as " composee de trouj)es Irlandoises," ailds, that 
the enemy had about 50 men kdled, besides a Colonel of Dragoons, and 
that some, also, were taken prisoners. On the French advance, in July, 
under the Duke of Vendome, to raise the blockade of CastelfoUit, after 
descending a mountain, "and observing another which the enemies 
occupied, and which commanded the road to CastelfoUit," says the 
official journal, '• he sent forward to it Mylord Clare, with the Dismounted 
Dragoons of the Queen of England, and the grenadiers of the army, who 
made themselves masters of this height." In August, the Marquis of 
Gastanaga, Viceroy of Catalonia, with a considerable Spanish force, and 
a very fine corps of 3000 British and 500 Dutch troops, disembarked by 
Admiial Russell from his fleet, invested Palanios by land; while the 
Admiral himself bomlarded the town and castle so severely from the sea, 
that they were, in a manner, demolished; having been set on fire in 
several jilaces, and continued burning for a whole night. The enemy, 
liowe\er, had finally to retire, without attaining their object, before the 
iJuke of Vendome. " During the siege," observes the contenqiorai-y 
Paris account, " 150 Irish threw themselves into the place, where they 
distinguished themselves by their valour." 



182 HISTORY OF TIIK IRISH RR:GADKS 

On the side of Italy, nr Piedmont, the Irish of Catinat's army were 
still employed against the Vandois, or Barhets. A French correspondence 
on this head, dated " Pigneiol, Jannary IGth, 1005," stites — "The 
snows have fallen in these quarters this winter in such great abundance, 
that, for several j'ears. we have not witnessed a similar quantity. 
The Barbets have always been repulsed witli loss, by the troops, which 
have been posted in different y>lac('s. Yesterday, -notwitlisd^anding the 
care that is taken to have good intelligence between the several quarters, 
100 Barbets ])laced themselves in ambush between Villar and Dihloii. 
Thev. nevei-theless, did not venture to attack a convoy of meal ])roceed- 
■ing from La I'erouse to Villar; and contented themselves with seizing 
u])on 6 mules, laden with merchandise, that passed 2 hours afterwards, 
;witliout an escort. But the news of this having been bi-ought to Villar, 
where the Irish Regiment of Olancarty was quartered, the enemy were 
pursued so closdy that the booi v was recovered, with a loss, to the 
Barbets, of 7 or 8 killed or woumled, and of 3 prisonei's. We destroyed, 
moreover, 1 of their o^/yw r/« (/^/./vA;." ( )n another occasion, after mention- 
ing the despatch of a. detaelnnent, under a French Captain, from the 
gai'rison of Pignerol, and tlie nairow eseaiie of that officer and his men 
from oOO of the Barbets. aided bv T^OO Germans, who burned a large 
mass of wooil ]>rovided for the fortress, the same correspondence from 
" Pignei-ol, March (ith, IGDo," adds -" An Irish officer, who is quartered 
in the Valley of Pragelas. has made a foray into the mountains of the 
Barbets, where he has burned many houses, made some j)risoners, and 
brought away a (juantitv of cattle." In treating of this mouTitain-war, 
Mr. O' Conor naturally expatiates on the vigour oi' his countrymen, at 
"the pursuit of the Vaudois, in the unknown and lonely defiles of the 
Alpine hills, where ileep chasms, and narrow pathways, tit only to afford 
a footing to the chamois, and the wild-goat, led to the retreats of brave 
and desperate men ; where every rock afforded cover for a deadly aim ; 
where the repercussion and echo of distant discharges of musquetry from 
concealed enemies magnitied their numbei's; where deep caverns and 
]u)llows, concealed by treacherous snows or fi'ail glaciers, swallowed the 
unwary adventurers in fathomless abysses." In such perilous service, 
"they displayed their wonted bravery, agility, perseverance, and endu- 
rance of privations. They scaled the highest rocks, jdunged into the 
inountain streams, evaded the avalanches of stones and trees which the 
Vaudois rolled down, beat them from their intrenchnients, pursued them 
into the wildest re.ce.s.se.s, and carried terror and dismay into the heart of 
the mountains; ])lundered, pillaged, destroyed, and burned what they 
could not carry off, and returned to the camp, driving before them herds 
and flocks, the only wealth of the foe." The intelligence from " Pignerol, 
October 16th, 1695," after a remark, of the campaign having been, to 
all appearance, over, and the enemy only thinking of getting into winter- 
quarters, gives this anecdote, as the most interesting exception to that; 
state of things. "The 12th of this month, 6 Irish soldiers, and 1 of the 
Regiment of Beam, cros.sed the Cliison, without arms, to go in quest of 
some forage. They were surprised by an equal number of Barbets, well 
armed, under a Captain, wdio made them j.'risoners, and conducted them 
to the top of a mountain, in order to striji them of their clothes. For 
this ])urpose, they laid down their arms; but the Irish giving the word 
in /J^eir language, each seized njion 1 of thnm, the soldier of the l'iei,'i- 
nient of Beam killed 2 of them; and the G Irish soldiers treated, in bke 



IN THE SEIIVICE OF FRANCE. 1S3 

manner, the Captain, and the rest, excey)t 1, who asked for quarter, and 
■wl.oni they condncted to tlie cani[) at Dihion; where the Mai-sl)al do 
Catinut caused some money to be distributed amotiij; them." 

On February 19th, tliis year, Brigadier Don Hugh O'Donnell 
addressed, from Turin, to William III., a letter, desci-ibed, iu Tliorpe's 
Catalogue, as "Jong and interesting," with res})ect to the enlistuient of 
Iiish fugitives on the side of the Allies, or that of the League of Augs- 
burg; such refugees to be em])loyed in Catalonia, where William's con- 
fedeiates in that League, tlie S[(auiar>'s, were so pressed by the French. 
l>uring this campaign, O'Donnell, who, since lti!)3, had served as a 
volunteer, obtained a regiment of foot — how far through desertions from 
Ii-ish in the French army, or from other sources, I cannot say — which 
regiment he carried into Catalonia, and continued there to the conclusion 
of the war by the fall of Barcelona, where lie was present. Having, by 
this time, recovered the favour he had lost at the Court of Madrid, by 
having its army, in order to es]»ouse the cause of King James in 
Ireland, O'Donnell, soon after, became a Major-Genei-al in Spain, and 
iis mentioned, in that raidv, with its forces in Flanders, in August, 1701.* 
His Williamire ])ension (if i.'oOO per annum was still payable in 1703, or 
the reign of William's succ<^ssoi-. Queen Anne. It is the 6th on the list 
of those Irish pensions, to the yearly amount of £17,034, 17s. 0|d, voted 
nriUeces-saiy by -*.he colonial Parliament in Dublin, under the Lord 
Lieutenancy of James Butler, '2nd Duke of Ormonde. But, of the 
general i-e)iresentation based upon this vote, a contemporary English 
historian says, that it, " when it was perfected, and ])resented to his 
Grace, met with a cold rece])tion ;" Mr. Secretary Southwell merely 
informing the House, " that the Lord Lieutenant would take such care 
of it, as might most conduce to the service of the nation." How much 
longer O'Doiinell's pension continued to be paid, and consequently when 
he aied. I have not discovered. 

The earliest enterprise of the campaign of 1696 was one for the "resto- 
ration" of King James in EnglanJ, with the aid of a French veteran 
force of about 16,000 men, under the Marquis d'Harcourt as Captain- 
General, and the gallant Richard Hamilton of the War of the Revolution 
in Ireland, as Lieutenant-General. "King James," writes the Duke of 
Berwick, "had privately concerted a rising in England, to which he had 
sent over a number of ofiicers. His friends there had found means to 
raise 20U0 horse well-equipjied, and even rigimented, ready to take the 
held at the earliest notice. Many persons of the first distinction were also 
engaged in the affair. But all liad unanimously resolved, not to throw 
ott ilie mask, until a body of ti-oops should have first landed in the island. 
The Most Christian King," Loi.is XiV., "had readily consented to 
supply these ; but he insisted, that, before they should be embarked, tho 
English should take up arms; as he was not willing to risk his troops, 
without being sure of finding there a party to receive them. Neither side 
being desirous of rela.xing from what it had resolved upon, such fair dis- 
positions could not lead to any thing ; which determined the King of 
lilngland to send me over, as his envoy on the spot, to endeavour to con- 
vince the English of the sincerity of the intentions of the Court of France, 

* vSo far our infdnnatioi; re^'iecting O'Doniiellis brought down by Dr. O'Doimvan, 
ii. his Icnrncd p;;pers, entiliC I " Tiie O'Donnells in Exile ;" but with'UC fieirit; awara 
orthecone.spoiidence, fr.)iii the Cdiitinent, oi Djiiuell with the \HlliamitG gavcrxi- 
uieut, nieutioued. iu Tiior|ie s Catalogue. 



184 HISTORY OF THE IPJSH BRIGADES 

and to engage tlieni to take up ai'ms, withnnt waiting for tlie descent; 
j)i*omising, that, as soon as they should do so, the Marquis d'Harconrt, 
who was nominated General of this exi)edition, would cause the troops to 
embai'k. I then passed over in disguise to England. I proceeded to 
London, where I had several conversations with some of the jirincipal 
Lords. But, it was to no purpose, that I said to them whatever 1 could 
most strongly conceive, and represtrnted to them the necessity of not 
allowing so tine an opportunity to escape. They continued firm to their 
desire, that, previous to their rising, the King of England should land 
with an army. To tell the truth, their reasons were good; for it was 
certain, that, as soon as the Prince of Orange would have witnessed the 
revolt, or would have had information of the project, which could not 
long remain concealed, on account of the ])reparations which it wa^ 
necessary to make for the landing, he would have immediately ordered a 
fleet to sea, and would have blockaded the ports of France; by which 
means, those who might revolt, finding themselves driven, with their 
liastil3^-raised troops, to fight against a good army, composed of veteran 
and disci])lined soldiers, it was certain, that they would have been very 
soon crushed." The Duke, although disguised, could not remain so 
generally unknown, as he necessarily wished to be, while in England. 
" I recollect to have heard him say," observes Montesquieu, " that a man 
had recognized him by a certain family air, and, particularly, by the 
length of his fingers; and that, fortunately, this man was a Jacobite, 
who said to him — ^ May God bless you, in alt your undertakings !^ which 
recovered him from the embari-assment he was in." Unable to accomplish 
the object of the very unpromising commission with which he was 
intrusted — or that of endeavouring to make those to whom he was sent 
act against the dictates of good sense — and being likewise apprised of the 
formation of a conspiracy against William's person with which Ice did not 
wish to be mixed iip, the Duke left London, as soon as possible, hy the 
way he had come, and reached the house, near the coast, where he was 
to hear of his vessel. There, lying down upon a bench, he fell asleep, 
until roused, in a couple of hours, by a loud noise at the door, when, on. 
getting up, he beheld a number of men entering, armed with guns. His 
lii'st natural sur]mse and alarm were soon dissipated, at recognizing, by 
the glimmering light of a lamp, the master of his vessel; who, to be the 
better provided against any accident, had taken the precaution of bring- 
ing with him a trusty guard of 12 well-armed sailors. The D\ike then 
embarked, and reached Calais in 3 hours. The general results of this 
enterprise against William were", that, on the discovery of the Jacobite 
plot, to be supported by an invasion from France, he obtained forces from 
Flanders, in addition to the troops he had already in England, and like- 
wise sent a fleet to sea sufficient to oppose the designed invasion; so that 
the French corps intended for that imdertaking were finally ordered 
elsewhere; King James, after remaining for some time at Calais and 
Boulogne, returned to St. Germain; and the Duke of Berwick, who had 
rejoined his father, went to serve that year's campaign in Flanders, where 
nothing of consequence occurred. According to the Iri.sh Jacobite 
Plunkett, the frustration of the plan, for effecting King James's "restora- 
tion" on this occasion, was owing, among other causes, to the obstruction 
offered by the weather to an invasion of England, at a ]>eriod when a 
landing there might otherwise have been effected, with evei-y prospect of 
subsequent success. "There was," alleges that \\'riter, "• no oiqjosiiion by 



IN THF SFHVICE OK FRANCE. 185 

spa, nor anv, at that uiek of time, on tlie land of England. Yett this 
most excellent opportunity miscarryed also. For the wind remained 
cnntrarij fur (i fortnight, : in whic/t, space 1 of the English fleets came home: 
and so his Maiesty was forced to return to St. Germains." A similar 
observation is made by a contemporary Williamite annalist of this war, 
in reference to the disap|)ointment of the French. '" God," he says, 
" caused the winds to blow directly against them, till the whole was dis- 
corered, and the English and Dutr.lb fleet upon their coasts.'^ 

The Duke of Vendome, in 16;)G, comuianded the French in Catalonia 
against the Spaniards under Prince George of Hesse Darmstadt, who 
had fought for William III. in Ireland. At the beating of the Spanish 
cavalry, June 1st, in the combat near Ostalric, or Hostalrich, the Duko, 
states my authority, "posted so advantageously, n|)on the heights, the 
grenadiers, and the Dismounted Dragoons of the Queen of England, that 
they equally overlooked the |)lain where the combat was to take ])lace, 
and the retrenchments of Ostalric, so that they covered the flanks of our 
troops." On the IGth, having advanced to Tordera, in order to cut off 
the communication of the Spanish army with Barcelona, the Duke, iipon 
the 22nd. desjiatched the " Laeutenant-Colonel of the Regiment of Dillon,* 
with 600 men," add the French accounts, "to fortify himself at Calella, 
a little town on the sea-shore, beyond Pineda. He was attacked there, 
the 23rd, by 2i)00 men of the regular troops, and by 3000 miquelets, or 
peasant.s, who were repulsed with the loss of 2o or 30 men killed, without 
o\ir having had more than 3 soldiers wounded. He was again attacked, 
the 24th; which obliged the Duke de Vendome to send there a detach- 
ment of cavalry, at whose appearance the enemy took to flight; though 
they had some brigantines to second them, with the protectioti of their 
canntm." This Lieutenant-Colonel, by the time the Spaniards assailed 
him, would seem to have been sufficiently ff)rtifl> d or covered in his 
post, fi-om the little he suffered, comjiared with wha,t the very superior 
force of the enemy did. 

The Duke of Savoy, having finally decided on seceding from the League 
of Augsburg, and restoring tranquillity to his own dominions, as well as 
to Italy in general, by a treaty of peace and alliance with Louis XIV., 
\uiited his forces, in 169G, with tho.se of France uTider the Marshal de 
(/atinat, to compel the Allies to consent to the neutrality of Italy. The 
Duke and the Marshal, for this purpose, September 18th, in\'>ested Valenza, 
in the Milanese. It was under an experienced Governor, Don Francisco 
Colmenero, with a garrison of between GOO' I and 7000 men, German.«5, 
Spaniards, and Huguenots in William III.'s )pay. All the prefjarations 
for reducing the ])lace being completed, the trenches were opened, Sep- 
tember 24th, and the operations lasted till October 8th, when the siege 
terminated, in consequence of the submission of the powers confederated 
against France, on the 7th, at Vigevano, to i-atify the terms dictated to 
them for the pacification of Italy. At this siege, the Honourable Briga- 
dier Simon Luttrell of Luttrell's-town, County of Dublin, mounted the 

* The Honourable Arthur Dillou, havincr been so youno;, or not 20, when he 
brou.irlit to France the corps levied in Irehxud by the interest of his family, and of 
which he shoiihl consequently be Colonel, it was necessary, that his inexi)erieiice 
shouhl be C()in])ensateil by the experieuce of a competent Lii^utenant-L'olonel, the 
ollicer referred to in the text, who was a Frenchman. The Lieutenant-Oolonera 
family name, lono- connected with this reuim'n\ was INIanery, or Mauuery, which 
], luoie tiiau ouce, Hud misprinted, aud correct iiccordiu^^ly. 



186 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

trpnclies, September 28tb, and tlie 2 battalions of his corps, the Queen's 
Ilegimeiit of Infantry, as well as the 2 of Sir John Fitz-Gerahl, Baronet, 
of Clonlish, or the infantry Regiment of Limerick, did so, the night 
between September 30th and October 1st. The most considerable affair 
was during the night between the 29th and 30th, when, among several 
regiments upon duty in the trenches, there were 100 of the King of 
England's Dismounted Dragoons, or the corps of Dominick Sarstield, 4tli 
Viscount Kilmallock, and the 3 battalions of the infantry Regiment of 
Charles O'Brien, 5th Viscount Clare.. "About 10 o'clock at night." 
according to the French narratives, "the besieged made a sortie with 200 
grenadiers, sustained by 400 fusileers, who had orders not to fire, but to 
descend into the boyau," a portion of the trenches, "and sword in hand, and 
with ;ixcd bayonets, to sur[)rise, and kill, all that were to be found there.* 
This was to avoid drawing upon them the French cavalty ; from which there 
were, every night, 200 on the right and left of the palisades and trenches. 
The Allies advanced very silently as far as the head of tlie trench, without 
being perceived on our part, until the instant they were upon the work- 
men, who, falling back upon the trench, spread much disorder there. 
The alarm having been given, the Allies, on perceiving they were dis- 
covered, fired a severe volley, inflicting much injury upon the companies 
of Netancourt and of Conde. Bat, as soon as these were reassemWed, 
rallied, and sustained by a detachment of the Irish Regiment of Clare, 
the Allies were obliged to retire, and were pursued even to their palisades. 
In this smart encounter, the besiegers had 25 soldiers, 2 Captains, and 
some other officers killed, with 35 soldiers, and several officers wounded." 
In 1697, Louis XIV., strengthened by his peace with the Duke of 
Savoy, assembled 3 armies in Flanders; the 1st under the Marshal de 
Villeroy; the 2nd, under the Marshal de Boufflers; the 3rd under the 
Marshal de Catinat. The 2 former were to hold the Allies, under 
William III., and the Elector of Bavaria, in check, while the 3rd was 
to attack the important fortress of Ath. Before this town, defended by 
the Comte de Ranix, with above 3800 men, Catinat, aided by the great 
military engineer Vauban, broke ground. May 22nd, with about 40,000 
men, and a powerful artillei-y. It held out till June 5th, when the 
capitulation was regulated, and the garrison marched out, the 7tli. At 
the reduction of this fortress, Cohmel Andrew Lee, or the 3 battalions of 
his regiment, are mentioned, as having, on different niglits, mounted the 
trenches, sometimes accompanied by the illustiious Vauban, and Catinat 
himself. 

In Spain, the great object of France, for 1G97, was the reduction of 
Barcelona. This was a very difficult undertaking — from the strength of 
the fortifications — from the ample supply of artillery, above 240 pieces, 
with munitions of war in proportion — from the amount of the garrison, 
under Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt, consisting of 11,000 regular 
infantry, and 1500 cavalry, besides 4000 civic militia — from the compass 
of the walls, and of the adjacent Foi-t of Montjuich, preventing an entii-e 
investment, and thus facilitating an introduction of external supplies - 
while the Count de Velasco, Viceroy of Catalonia, lay encamped abfuit 
() miles from the town, with a body of 3000 regular cavali-y, forming, 
with militia, irregulars, or guerillas, not less than 20,000 men. to 
inten-upt the ])rogr'ess of a besieging army ! Tliat army, under the Duke 
«)f Vendome, consisted of 42 batialions, and 55 .squadrons, besides marines, 
Irom its attendant fleet under the Comte d'Etrees; the whole, howevci-, 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 187 

reprosonted as considerrtbly under 30,000 men,* and consequently appear- 
injLj ratliev inadequate for the capture of a place, situated, aii.) supplied 
as Barcelona was. The French battering-train of 84 pieces of artillery, 
Of 60 heavy cannon and 24 mortars, with ammunition and provisions, 
being landed from the fleet, June 10th, the troops encamped before the 
town the 12th, and the trenches were opened the night between the 15th 
and 16th. The siege, in the crmrse of which, or July 12th, Velasco was 
ably surprised and routed, at St. Filieu, by Vendome, lasted to August 
5th. or for about 52 days' open trenches; the negociations respecting the 
terms of capitulation occuiiying till the 10th; and the garrison marching 
away the 11th. This very important conquest, which cost the Fi-encli 
above 400 officers, with from 8000 to 9000 soldiers, and the Spaniards iu 
proportion, reflected corresponding honour upon the Duke of Vendome, 
who was duly rewarded by Louis XIV. 

Among the Irish attached to the Duke's army there, was the Hon 
ourable Simon Luttrell of Luttrell's-town, in whose Brigade were the 2 
l).ittaiii)ns of his own cox-ps. or the Queen's Regiment of Infantry, the 
single battalion of the infantry Regiment of Clancarty, or that of Colonel 
Roger Mac Elligot, and a battalion of Vendome's own regiment. The 
Honourable Arthur Dillon likewise served with a battalion of his 
regiment; and Colonel Oliver OGara with his battalion of the Queen's 
Dismounted Dragoons. On the approaches to the town, June 13th, says 
the contemporary French nai-i-ative, "the besieged, having almndoned the 
Convent of tlie Capuchins, 350 toises from the covered way of the ]dace, 
the Duke de Vendome caused it to be occupied, that evening, by Colonel 
Dillon, with 600 men." On the night of June 16th-17th, when, not- 
withstanding " a violent tempest," and " the besieged having lined the 
rampart, fronting the attack, with 40 yjieces of cannon very well served," 
the battalions in the trenches acted so well that their progress was bub 
"little i-etaided," 1 of those corps was the Regiment of Clancarty 
Finally, or August 4th, the enemy, on the side of the LloV)regat, having 
"sent out all their cavalry, to cover the entrance of a convoy into the 
town," while, '■ to cause a diversion, a very large body of infantry, 
j-ustiiined by some cavalry, came down from a mountain to assail the 
French posts, the Regiments of Dillon and of Solre, that were encamped 
conveniently to defend them, flew to arms, and, the Colonels having 
hi aded them, attacked the foes so vigorously, charging amidst them 
sword in hand, that they pu-rsued them even to the tops of their moun- 
tains, after having slain a very great quantity of them." — Which over- 
thrt)w of this very large body of Spaniards, with the routing elsewhere 
f>f the main force of their cavalry, prevented the intended entrance of the 
convoy into Barcelona, and the negociations for a surrender wei"e com- 
menced the following day. To these French statements respecting the 
Iidsh there, tlie Whig writer, Forman, adds — "That, in the siege of 
Barcelona, in the year 1697, the great Vendosme was so charmed with 
their courage, and so amazed at the intrepidity of their behaviour, that the 
pui'ticular esteem and notice with which he distinguish'd them, even to 
the day of his death, is yet very well remembered in France. If what 
I say here," he concludes, " is nob literally true, there are Frenchmen 
enough, still living, to contradict me." — And this assertion, concerning 

* Bellerive saj's of Vendome — " II avoit tout au plus 26,000 hommes, en comptant 
les troupes de la Marine, et les Milices qui hii e'toient venues du Languedoc." See, 
likewise, Quiucy, and the Coutiuental publications of the time, ou this siege. 



188 niSTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

the higl) opinion of tlu^ Irish as soldiers by Vendonie, is corroborated by 
the testimony of the Chevulier de Bellerive, wlio afterwards fonght ntider 
thiit great commander witli the Irish in Spain, and who, noticing their 
galhuitry there, under liiin. in 1710, says — " M. de Vendosme, who luul 
a particular esteem for this warlike nation, at whose head he had 
delivered so many comliat% and gained so many victories, confessed, that 
he was surprised at the terrible ent(!r[irises which those hulchers of the 
army (it is thus that he named them) achi(!ved in his i)resence."*— Among 
the garrison of 10,()()0 men, jilaced in Rarcelot)a by Vendome, was the 
Regiment of Dillon ; in connexion with which, the veteran Peter Drake 
of Drakerath, in the County of Meath, observes—'' And here 1 c-mnot 
omit the mention of a very extraoidinaiv event. The centinels placed 
on the breach contidetitly affirmed, that they saw, in the night, numbers hi 
dreadful aj)j)aritions, who were wont t.i engage one another as in an attack ; 
furiously crying, kill, advance, and such like expnissions, commonly used 
on those occasions; and what added the greater authority to these asser- 
tions was, that several centinels on that )>ost were found dead without 
any visible marks of violence, and so sup))osed to have died of their fears. 
This occasioned ordei's for doubling the centinels and, being sometimes 
of the number, imagined 1 both heard and saw the like." The Wa)- of 
the League of Augsburg against Louis XTV. was soon after terminated 
by the general Treaty of Peace with France, signed at Ryswick by 
Holland, Spain, and England, in September, and by the German Emperor, 
and the Empire, in October following. 

Early in 1698, Louis XIV., after such a long and burthensome war, 
was obliged to relieve France, by lessening, as much as ])Ossible, the vast 
and expensive military establishment he had maintained against the 
Allies; and since his acknowledgment, by the late treaty, of William, 
as King of England, was incompatible with a continuation, in France, 
of the Irish forces, hitherto kept up there as James II. s army, a great 
i-eform was ordered to be made among the Irish troops in general. The 
extent of that reform, or reduction, as already sufficiently shown, in 
connexion with tlu; special histories of the Irish regiments, need only bcj 
referred to here. But the disbanding of so many soldiers, as had belonged 
to the several broken corps, was ])i()(liictive of the very bad consequences, 
that might be expected from the long-accustomed avocation of such a 
number of men being at an end; while it was so very dillieiilt, it not, in 
the great majoiity of cases, so impossible, on their part, to obtain oilier 
regular employment, or means of subsistence, in the strange country 
wjiich France wai^ to them, that th.ey had, on the whole, but too just cause 
to sympathize with the purjiort of tlie noble Moorish veteran's exclamatiou 
in the [ilay — 

" Farewell content! 
Farewell the plnmcd troo]), and the bis vvars, 
That made ambition virtue! 0, farewell! 
Farewell the neiohiiicr steed, and the shrill trani|i, 
The spirit-stirriuo- drum, the ear-j>iercmg tife, 
The royal banner; and all quality, 
Pride, pomp, and cii ciim^tance of glorious war!^ 
And, you mortal engines, whose rude throats 
The immortal Jove's dread clamours counterfeit, 
Fatiewelll Otludlo's occupaiiuii's (jone!'^ — SiiAicsrK.'VRE, 

* F!pe a further comujeudatioa of the lush by Vendome, in Book iv., under battle 
of CabbiLiio m ijOj 



IS THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 180 

Accordingly, " tlie route between St. Germains and PniMS," writes Dr. 
Doran, " was not safe, because of them ; and they added murder to 
robbeiy, when tliey met with resistance. One Irish Jacobite ti-i)o]ier, 
named Francis O'Neil. was bi'oken alive upon the wheel, for the double 
crime of plunder, and as-assination. Two other ex-soldiers in James's 
service, lii/glis/i/nen, lacked nerve to take tlieir chance against stout 
travelleis on the road ; but they practised the double profession above 
named, in a quieter and more cowardly way. On pretence of being ill, 
they sent for a physician, and, when the latter entered tlieir ajjartment, 
tliev fell u|)on, stal)bed, and robbed him. The law was .stringently 
apjVlied to these Jacobite riiiKuis, whose desperate crimes testity at once 
to their own utter destitution, and the fallen condition of their Sovereign." 
In fine, " the t(<wn of St. Germains became almost uninhabitable, through 
the sanguinary violence of the Jacobite bi-igands. No sober citizen dared 
venture abroad at night, even in the summer-time; and, to what extent, 
jullage and nnirder were carried, by the fie)ce and hungry partisans who 
liad followed the standard of James, may be seen in the fact, that, on one 
and the same day, 5 Irish soldiers were ' broken alive,' in St. Germains, 
for the crime of robbery and assassination, by night, in the town, or its 
vicinity." As to the Irish Jacobite otticers, the hardships, which the 
reform in question inflicted u])on the multitude of unfortunate gentlemen 
snlijected to it, a|)pear, from the consequent representation of their case 
to Louis in April. " The IrLsli oflicers, wha have been reformed ia 
France," says my authority, in May, 1698, " have presented, a Petitioa 
to the King, to inform him of the state they are in, and to entreat 
assistance from him. They represented to liim, that they have remained 
silent until now, in ex])ectation of what it might be his Majesty's pleasuro 
to order respecting them ; but that the extreme necessity, to which they 
have been reduced, has constrained them to break that silence, fn order 
to lay before his Majesty the pitiable condition of their aifairs. That 
they had fought, during 10 years, in defence ot their leliijiou and of their 
legitimate Sovereign, with all the zeal, and all the fidelity, that could lie 
required of them, and with a dev()tion, unparalleled, except avnong tlio.se 
of their unliappy nation. That, for this cause, they had made a sacrifico 
of those who were the authoi's of their birth, of their relatives, their 
properties, their country, and their lives. That they had the happiness 
(»f I'endering some impoi-tant services to his Majesty, by a diversion of 3 
years, during which they had sustained, in Ireland, the brunt of the 
choicest troops of his enemies.* That they had subsequently served in 

* The " choicest troops " of Louis XIV. 's enemies, or " the Allies," against which 
tlie Irish Jacobites, though so very inadequately supplied with military necessaries, 
contended for 3 campaigns, were, reckoned by nations, aud without including some 
odd troops, or com])anies, as follows. In l(jS9, 28 British, 9 Hiberno-VVillKiniite, 
4 Huguenot, and 2 Dutch regiments. In 1090, 34 British, 9 Hil)eruo-^VllliaInite, 
4 Huguenot, 11 Danish, and 18 Dutch regiments — I of these last, or WiUiam III. '3 
famous Blue Guards, being counted as 3, since containing 3 battalions, and con- 
siderably inore nien, than 3 British infantry regiments. In 1691, 29 British, 8 
Hiherno-Williamite, 4 Huguenot, 11 Danish, and 15 Dutch regiments. And this 
formidable array of British, Hiberno-Williamite, and Continental rejiulan^, was 
backed by an active colonial mUitia of many thousand men ; the expense of which was, 
or course, an additional drain upon William HI.'s tinanoes. To the diversion, for 
3 years, of such a great amount of men and money from the service of " the Allies ' 
(111 the Continent, the Irish .lacobite officers might well refer, as most beiiehcial for 
France, and as consequently entitling them to the gratitude of LmrU. On this 
" .\llied " formation of William's army in Ireland, see, also, anote, under the battle 
of Lauden, lu luyii. 



190 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

France, with a zeal scarcely differing from that of the Kino;'s natural 
subjects; as his Generals, under whose conimauds they were placed, 
had borne testimony to liis Majesty. That, by the Peace, they not only 
found themselves deprived of the properties to which they had legitimate 
claims, but were likewise j)rohibited returning to their country under 
pain of death.* That ihey could not look for an asylum among the 
other Christian Princes, to whom they could assign no other reason for 
their nnhappiness, but that of having served his Majesty, and their own 
Sovereign, against them. That t lose Princes would have no regai'd for 
them under existing circumstances, since, during the war, they had 
refused to enter their service, when, after the loss of Ireland, they 
decided on passing into France. That neither could tliey any louger 
remain in the service of their Master, since he had not been mentioned 
in the Peacp, and he was not in a condition to help them.f That the^ 
therefore entirely placed their hopes in the goodness and in the compassion 
of his Majestv, fi-om wliom alone they had some right to expect some 
relief. That they would not represent to him, that the Huguenots, who 
had quitted the service of his Majesty, were a!ivant:iL;e(iusly su[i|)ortt>d, 
and piit into jiossession of the inheritances of his sujipliants, because his 
Majesty was in a position, rather to- give, than to receive, examples of 
charity, and of compassion. That they were satisfied with representing 
to him, that they had no way of making out a subsistence, in a toreign 
country, except by casting themselves at the feet of his JNIajesty. That 
such of them, as would be fit for other occupations than those of war, 
liad neither the me:ins, nor the friends, necessarv to enable them so to 
ap])ly themselves. That it had ])lr;ised liis M^ijesty to ]>romise the 
reformed allowance to Captains and Lieutenants who cliose to remain at- 
tached to tlieir regiments ; but that this retormcid allowance was so trifling, 
that srtircely enuld it supply them with inditferent food, without leaving 
them nnything (or eluthnig. Tliat the coiubtion of the SuV)-Lieutenants 
:Mid (if tiie Eesiuiis was nmeli more lamentable still, since they iiad only 
be(^n ]:r<iniiscd the p:iy of eoniinon soldiers; a \ ery small reeom])ense, for 
a service of lU yeur.s, to jier^ons, most of them with a wife ;ind cliildien. 

* Tn the Declaration from the Williamite " Camp, by LyraericA, the 5th of 
OctdUer, li-9l,' to " tliS oificers and soldi rs of the Irisli army," William's Com- 
iiiaiKler-iii-(Jliiff, Barou de (jrinkell. after nistitiitinu; a distinction between sucii as 
" had rather jiroaiote the British and Irish interest, than the designs of France 
a'jiainst both," mentions the Irish military, as " henig at lull and entire liberty to 
clmse what part tliey will take; but, if (nice they go into France, they," he adds, 
"must not ex [lect to return into this kinnilom a<;ain." Of the penalty, on being 
found guilty of doiuLr so, without a sjjccial permission from King William, we have, 
at L'ork, under the date of 1(599-1700, or even afte the termination of the war 
between ^ ranee and England by the Treat\' of Kyswick, an instance, in the Memoira 
of Captain Peter Drake, of Drakerath, in the (bounty Meatb. " There was," he 
says, ''at that time, in the prison, one Captain Barrett, under sentence of death, 
ior returning from France, without the King's sign manual, which the laws thea 
required." 

t Yet, writes Sir David Nairne of .James — "He was very charitable; and, as 
there were a great many of his poor, faithful subjects at St. Cermains. who had lost 
their fortunes to follow him, he was touched with their condition, and retrenched, 
f/.v much as lie could, to assist them. He used to call, from time to tim" into his 
cabinet, some of these bashful, indigent persons, of all ranks; to wlioui he dis- 
tributed, folded up in small pieces of paper, 5, 10, 15, or 20 pistoles, more or less, 
according to the merit, the quality, and the exigency of each." .Sir l)avi<l was 
with the King at St. Germain, and passed " upwards of 40 years " in his stsivice, 
or that of his sou. 



IN THE SEliVICE OF FK tNCE. 191 

That an exclusion from every mode of eaining their bread had been the 
result of the disposal of their own time allowed by his Majesty to the 
Snb-Lientetiants of his troops, whose service had not been so long as 
theirs. That they could not avail themselves of the dismissal which his 
Majesty had ordei-ed to be granted to those who should wish for it, 
imless he might have the goodness to obtain for them the yjermission to 
return to their own country, which they were prohibited doing, under 
pain of death. That they most humbly prayed his Majesty to cause 
some of the effects of his accustomed goodness and charity to be ex- 
j)erienced by men, whose misfortunes had proceeded from their attachment 
to the service of their King, the ally of his Majesty, and to that of hin 
Majesty himself. That they prayed him, to aflbrd them the means of 
contiiniing in his service, with the same attachment which they had 
hitherto displayed. Or, if his Majesty's affairs afforded no occasion for 
7'etaining them in his service, they prayed him most humbly, to "recom- 
mend them to some other Prince, or State, that might employ them." 

This a])peal of the Irish otlicers, which a)»pears to have been drawn up 
for presentation to the King, with the understanding that it would be 
agreeable to his Majesty, was received as it deserved to be. The peti- 
ti(meis obtained their request from Louis, to be formed into a distinct 
cori)s of ofiicers, to serve wherever he might be desirous of em])loving 
them; and the}' are referred to, in connexion with an abstract of their 
subsequent conduct, as "an invincible phalanx, that, if owing much to 
the muniticence of the French Monarch, was, upon all occasions, deserv- 
ing of the honourable treatment experienced from him." Some of those 
oiticers passed into Spain with Louis's grandson, Philip V., in December, 
1700. Others, afcer acting very effectively, under the Marshals de Mou- 
trevel, Villars, and Berwick, against the Huguenots of the Cevennes, 
were attached to the expedition of Prince James Francis Edward Stuart, 
(or, in Jacobite language, King James III.) when he sailed from Dun- 
kirk, in March, 17US, with the Chevalier de Forbin, to endeavour to 
land in Scotland. After retui-ning to France, they were at the famon.s 
defence of Lille, under the Marshal de Bonlflers, at that of Tournay 
in 170D, and at those of Douay, Bathune, and Aire, in 1710. Of such 
as survived those can)paigns, the majority entered the service of Philip 
v., in 1711. After the reduction, also, among the Irish regiments in 
France, in 1715, (on account of the general peace in 1714,) Philip V., 
besides the Regiment of Major-General Walter Bourke, which he took 
altogether into his pay, engaged so many reformed ofiicers, that he raised 
the strengch of 3 of the Irish regiments, which he previously had, from 
3 to 6 battalions. These, we are told, " served at Oran, in Sicily, in 
Italy, in 1733 and 1734, with the highest distinction;" and "4 of them 
had the honour, in 1743, with the Gardes Wallonnes, to repulse the 
enemy at Veletry, and to save Don Philippe, when he was in danger of 
being made prisoner." 

In the course of the measures adopted, in 1698, by the English Parlia- 
ment, for the diminution of their army to but 7000 men for Eno-land, 
and 12,000 for Ireland, against the opinion of King William, (who 
advocated the maintenance of a regular or standing force worthy of Eng- 
land as a nation, in.stead of one below that of several petty Princes of 
Germany,) the supporters of the King, in opposition to the popular 
notions of the sufficiency^ of a Militia for the defence of the country, 
pointed to the danger which might arise from such a regular Irish force 



192 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

as that -which King James hafl in France, and circulated a specificatroil 

of its different corps, to the same effect as already given in this history. 
Tiie |ia[ier thus circulated in England was headed — "yf List of King 
James s Irish and Popisk Forces in France, ready when called fur: in 
Answer to an Argmneat against a Land Force, writ by A, B, C, D, E, F, G, 
or to whaierer has been, or ever shall be, writ ujxm that Sidtject." In Hol- 
land, the like accounts of the Ii'ish army in France were printed, and 
commented upon, in a con-espouding spirit. If, argued an eminent 
])eiiodical at the Hague, King James, with such an army, above 18,0(K) 
in number, were to make another attempt ujwn England, what could 
f<uch a snudl regular force, as the previously-mentioned 7,000 men, avail 
Hgainst him? "They," it adds, "would be cut to pieces, along with all 
tlie Militia of the kingdom, if they came to an engagement." On thin 
reduction of their army by the English Parliament, it may be noteTl, 
(after 'the affecting case of the Irish Jacobite officers reformed in France,) 
that William III. felt particularly aggrieved at the legislation, which 
likewise pressed so hard upon the poor French or Huguenot officers, iu 
the service of Encjlnnd. Writing from Kensington, in January, 169^, 
to his H\iguenot Lord Justice in Ireland, Ruvigny, Earl of "Galway, 
William, after referring to his "vexation of what passed in Parliament," 
affirms^ — " It is not possible to be more sensibly touched than I am, at 
my not being able to do more for the poor refugee officers, who have 
served me with so much zeal and fidelity. I am afraid the good God will 
punish tiie ingratitude of this nation." At the great encam))ment and 
review, iu the ensuing summer, by Louis XIV., of a picked force of 33 
battalions, 132 squadrons, and 70 guns, at Compiegne and Coudun, 
where all the movements of actiial warfare were performed for the 
instruction of the King's grandson, the Duke of Burgundy, then in his 16tli 
year, the Iri.sh Brigade were represented by the vetei-an Colonel and 
Chevalier Andrew Lee, with the surviving battalion of his regiment. 
Atul it was an honour to be a poition of such a force as that then assem- 
bled; since, it was observed, "a finer army, or more beautiful troops, were 
never seen together." The King testified his pleasure at their excellent 
discipline, and magnificent appearance, by giving 100 crowns to every 
Captain of Infantry, 200 crowns to every Captain of Cavalry, &c. 

C)u the death of King James IL, at the Palace of St. Gei'main-en-Laye, 
September 16th, 1701, his only legitimate son, James Francis Edwai'd 
Stuart, born Prince of Wales, at St. James's Palace, London, June 20th, 
l(i88, was considered by the numerous adherents of his family, of tlie 
Pi-otestant as well as Catholic religion, to be the Sovereign de jure, though 
not de ficto, of the British Isles, as James III. of England and Ireland, 
and Ja*nes VIII. of Scotland. This rank he assumed, and was acknow- 
h-dged as such l)y the Kings of France and Spain. Tlie nickname of 
" the Pretender,'' iinder which, as if not the real son of King James IL, 
he was ])roscribed, and excluded from reigning, by the party opposed to 
him. or that of the Revolution, is thus disposed of by a respectable 
English Protestant writer, Mr. Jesse, in his Memoirs of the Court of 
England under the Stuarts. " Besides the necessary attendants, there 
were ])resent, at the Queen's delivery, 42 persons of rank, 18 of the 
Priv}' Council, 4 other noblemen, and 20 ladies, all of whom, as far as 
circumstances and modesty would allow, were witnesses of the birth of 
the Prince of Wales. By the desire of James, the depositions of the.se 
persons were taken down, and may still be seen, with the autographs of 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 1\)'6 

tlie deponents, in the Council OiBce. . . . No person, indeed, who 
was ever introduced to the Pretender, — as he was afterwards invidiously 
styled, — who had previously been acquainted with the features and 
character of his misguided father, ever, f(H' a moment, questioned, that he 
was the genuine offspring of King James.'" Whence, also, the contem- 
porary lines of Dryden, in his Britannia Eediviva, or poem on the 
Prince's nativity — 

"Born in hroad day-li£cht, that th' nncjrateful roiifc 
May tind no room for a.reinaining doulit ; 
Truth, which itself is liyht, does darkness shun, 
And the true eaglet safely dares the sun." 

To the cause of the Ijanished Stuart Prince, as previously to that of his 
uncle and father. Kings Charles II. and James II., the mass of the Irish 
nation as Catholics were naturally devoted, in opposition to the revolu- 
tionary principle, so ruinous to them under Oliver Cromwell and William 
of Orange. And, from the still further ruin of the Irish, as Catholics, 
meditated by Cromwello-Williamitism in its substitution of a shameless 
Penal Code for a fultihnent of the Articles of Limerick, there appeared to 
be no chance oi any escape, except through a "restoration" of the heredi- 
tary representative of that dynasty, who, as a Catholic himself, should, at 
the very least, cause the Articles of Limerick to be observed towards his 
fellow-religionists in Ireland ; if he would not consider him.self bound, as 
he certainly would be, in honour, to do a great deal more for them. The 
late Daniel O'Connell, in noting, how "every right, that hereditary 
descent could give, the royal race of Stuart possessed," and how "all 
the enthusiastic sympathies of the Irish heart were roused for them," 
remarked, " and all the jjowerful motives of personal interest bore in the 
same channel. The restoration of their rights, the ti-iumph of their 
religion, the restitution of their ancient inheritances, would have beea 
the certain consequences of the success of the Stuart family, in their 
pretensions to the throne." Hence, with reference to the disinherited 
Prince, nevertheless designated as " his present Majesty, K. James the 
3rd of England and Ireland, and of Scotland the 8th," we find the Irish, 
in 1705, congratulated by their coinitryman, Dr. Kennedy, in France, 
for '^their loyalfirmity to their true Alonarc/ts interest; to w/iich,'^ he adds, 
^^ they have postponed their bloud, tlueir fortunes, and their country." And, 
concludes the Doctor — " God grant that his Majesty may so^>n reap tJoe 
Jridis of their bloud, and of their labour , and see all the rest of his subjects 
rival, or outdo, if possible, tJie Irish, in fait) fulness and duty I" Of these 
"sul)jects," the most important abi'oad were the Iri.sh Brigade; so that 
a noble Spaniard observed in Paris — " Were it not for the (jreat actions of 
the Irish on the Continent, the cause of King James III. would he quite 
forgotten in Europe f' This high i-eputation of the Irish military abroad 
had a due influence on their enslaved countrymen of the same creed at 
nome; especially those of the ancient Milesian or Gaelic population, who 
longed, in the translated words of 1 of their songs, that 

"The Prince, then an exile, should come for his own, 
The isles of his lather, his rights, and his thi'oue," 



194 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 

*' Oh ! where art thou, Louis ? our eyes are on thee — 
Are thy lofty ships walking in strength o'er the sea ? 
In Freedom s last strife, if you linger, or quail, 
No moru e'er shall break, on the night of the ( jael ! " * 

That *' night," however, was destined to grow darker and darker, and 
"no morn" was to "break" upon its starless gloom of religious and 
political thraldom, till above half a century after the remains of the gi eat 
Louis were deposited, with those of his ancestors, at St. Denis; and till his 
protege, the exiled sou of James II., had found an appropriate sepulchre 
at Rome, for whose religion the Stuax'i family forfeited the trijjle royalty 
of the British Islands. 

* See the "Jacobite relic," commencing, "Osay, my brown Drimin, thou silk 
of the kiue," as versiHed by J. J. Callaxiaa. 



HISTOEY OF THE lElSH BEIGADES 



THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 



BOOK IV. 

Charles II., tlie last King of Si):iin of the Aiistrian line, deceased in 
November, 1700, having, by his will, nominated, as heir to his dominions, 
Philip, Duke of Anjou, giundson of Louis XIV., in order tliat, through 
the aid of France, the Spanish monarchy might be preserved from the 
dismemberment with which it was menaced, Louis, by accepting tiiis 
will, gave rise to the confederacy against him, between the House of 
Austria, England, Holland, and other i>owers, which occasioned the long 
and sanguinary contest, known as the " War of the Spanish Succession." 
The 1st hostilities occurred in Italy, in 17"1, between the Imperialists, 
under the illustrious Pi ince Eugene, and the French, Spanish, and Pied- 
montese forces, undei- Victor Ainadeus II., Duke of Savoy, (then allied 
with Fi-ance) and the Marshal de Catinat. Through the talents of 
Eugene, a considerable disposition of the Italians in his favour, and the 
treachery of the Duke of Savoy, (who corresponded with him) the ;nmie8 
OL the 2 crowns, tlmugh superior in number, were so outmauoiuvred, that 
Louis XL v., annoyed at Catiuat's want of success, sent the Marshal 
Duke de Villeroy to act in his place, and bring the Iniperi;dists to a 
battle. The day after Villt-roy's arrival at the camp of Antignato, or 
August 24:th, he reviewed the united forces there, consisting of 04 bat- 
talions and 73 squadrons. Of these, there were 4 battalions Irish, or 
the Duke of Berwick's, Loid Galmoy's, Colonel Walter Bourke's, 
and the Honourable Colonel Arthur Dillon's, and 2 squadrons, or 
Colonel Dominick Sheldon's. Writing to Louis XIV. next day, 
the Mar.shal represents the Ii-ish battalions as better, or stronger, than 
others. Having specified " the 40 first battalions as from 360 to 400 
men," he says, "except the Irisli, who are numerous, with a great lium- 
ber of reformed (jfhcers." Tlie combined forces marched, September Ist, 
to attack Pi'ince Eugenie, who, duly aware of their design, had made such 
preparations to receive them, at Chiari, that they conlJ not have di.s- 
lodged him, even if their very considerable superiority of numbers had 
been much licyoncl what it actually was. His position was protected by 
the town, l>y fcsscs and rivulets, and by intrenchments ; from behind 
which, his infantiy. with the tops of their hats only visible along the 
j'arapet, might secu'cly direct tlieir musketry, seconded by a raking fire 
from 50 piec^is of canih'U, loaded with c H'tridge-shot ; ami, in advance of 
tho.se foi-midalile obstacles, he had country-houses, and mills, occiipi<',l by 
some of his troops. The approaches to his p!)sit.iou were likewise so 
'iiiUcult, as to |iie\eaL the cuutedciutcs bringing ny more than a few 



196 mSTOliY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

cannon. After a massacre, ratlier than a battle, of between 1 and 2 
hours, Villeroy had consequently to (h;i\v off, with not less, if not inmii/ 
more, than between 1000 and 2(iO0 killed and wounded, ineludinuf 
several eminent otticers, and, among the former, '■ 'J Irish CJolonels" (not 
named) — while Eugene's acknowledged loss was but 117 men in all, or 
oidy 36 killed, and 81 wounded!""" The Irish, who were engaged in 
support of the 2 first French brii;ades wliieh nttacke<l, formed, with 
other regiments, the i-ight of that supporting attack. There were, writes 
Vilieroy to Louis the tollowing day, " Auvergne, Medoc, Dillon, and Gal- 
nioi on the right. They made a new attack, with some pieces of cannon, 
winch we contrived to ))ush forward, anudst extreme difficulties." Then, 
after stating, how "all the biigade of Auvergne advanced, and carried 
some portion of the enemies' retrencliments," or "the 1st entrenchment,", 
the AJaishal adds — '"The Irish and Medoc, who attacked upon the right, 
performed all that could be expected from the bi-avest troops." In 
<iescribing the re|)u]se of the lirst brigades which attacked, and occupied 
for a time, the houses and wind-mills, the Austrian account, indeed, that 
snpf)oses the latter to have been fii-st taken by, and then recovererl from, 
the Irish, says — " Tlie enemy lost 4 .standards of the Regiment of Nor- 
mandy on this occasion, and a musketeer of the Regiment of Gutten- 
steiu captured a st.indard of an Irish, regiment; but, in the hope of 
making a greater booty, he threw it into the water, and has not been 
able to recover it, to the pi-esent time" — namely, to the 2nd day after the 
action, or Septend)er onl. But, besides the improbability of an Austi'ian 
soldier, under the cncumstances, thiowing away a standard for other 
booty, it does not appear hov: he could have gotten an Irish standard 
among the hrst of Yilleroy s brigades that attacked, since the only Irish, 
whom the Marshal describes as engaged, were not with those first 
briirades. but with, as he alleges, " the 2 brigades who sustained the first;" 
and. moreovcT", he makes hd mention to L(mis, of the Irish having lost 
any standard. On the Marshal's breaking up, in NovemVjer, of his 
encampment in front of the Imperialists, to retire into winter-quarters, 
among the 3 select brigades of " the little camp, forming the I'ear- 
gnai'd," to cover his retreat, was the Ijrigade of Lord Galmoy. By 
the hostile cannonading and niu.sketry, connected with this service, 
nuuibers were killed and wounded; and, among the latter, was the illus- 
ti'ions Marshal de Catinat, though slightly, by 2 shots. 

The Comte de Tesse, (afterwards Marshal, and elder brother of the 
Clievalier and Marechal de Camp, who served in the last cami)aign of the 
War of the Revolution in Ireland,) having his head-quarters at Mantua 
in December, marched, on the 10th, from that place towards Borgoforte, 
with 800 horse, including the Regiment of Sheldon, and 400 grenadiers, 
mounted behind. Towards this force. Prince Eugene had detached the 
Baron de Mercy with one more ntimerous, or 1200 horse, and 200 dis- 
mounted dragoons. After stationing 800 men at Fossa Mantucena to 
secure a retreat, Mercy, with the rest, or 600 horse, advanced to within 
3 leagues of Mantua. Tesse, meanwhile, prepared to entrap him. Post- 
ing the g!-eat body of his men in a detile, lie caused only 4 troops to 
march beyond it, for the purpose of presenting themselves before the 

* The ailvantaije, in point of a proteetins; i»osition, under which Euirene fou2:ht 
a;);aiiist Vilieroy at Cliiari, like that of (Jeueral Jackson against the British at New 
Ovioaiis, mill/ account for the ureit ditf'erence observable betweeu the losses of the 
S fci ling and attacking forces, in bo/h cases. 



mh^ml 



ii 1 




•ii •< t. 



IN THE SEIiVICE OF PHANCE. 197 

rnomv, and drawins; hiiu on. Mercy, su))]iosing lie had only to deal wit.li 
the 4 troo|)S who presented theuiiselves, briskly advanced against them. 
Tliese troo]is hastily retired towards the detile, and re-entered it, followed 
by Mercy and his tJOO horse without any apprehension, nntil they all 
found themselves taken between 2 fires. From 100 to 200 of them, 
including 20 officers, were killed upon the spot; tlieir commander, 8 
other officers, and 50 men, were made pi-i<oiis; and the rest 
defeated. As to the conduct of the Irish horse in this affair — "The 
King," says my French manuscript, " to signify to the Regiment of Shel- 
don the satisfactimi that he experienced, from the distinguished manner in 
which it had acted upou tiiis occasion, grant d to the refoi-nied officers, 
"who were attached to this corjis, the same appointments iis tliose of the 
commissioned officers." 

The first great military occurrence in Italy, in 1702, was the celebrated 
onter[)rise against Cremona l>y Prince Eugene, which I notice more 
fully than other events, in proportion to the very high distinction 
acquired there by the Irisli. That ancient city, then behtiiging to the 
Sjianish dominions in nch'thern Italy, and fuviiished with a good citadel, 
ramparts, fosses, etc., was under the government of a loyal, active, and 
g.dlant Spanish officer, Don Diego d(! la Concha. The Marshal de 
Villeroy, as commander of the French and Spanish troops during the 
■winter, had made it his head-quarters. The principal officers of the 
garrison, nnder the Mai-shal, were, the Lieutenants-General Count de 
Revel and Marquis de Crenan, the Marechal de Camj), Count de Mont- 
gon, the Marquis de PrasTin, acting as Commandant of Cavalry, the 
Brigadier d'Arene, acting as Commandant of Infantry and the Etat- 
Major, and M. Desgrigny, [nteudant of the French Forces in Italy. 
The garrison consisted of 12 battalims, and 12 squadrons; all French, 
exce])t the 2 battalions of Colonels Arthur Dillon and Walter Bourke. 
The whole, however, made, acconling to the FreU' h official journal, only 
"about 4000 men." Of these, the 2 Irish battalions are elsewhere 
stated to have fu-med no more than GOO men ; a circumstance lequisite 
to be noted, in order to duly estimate the extent of their merit, at the 
defence of the place. As the capture of such an impoiitant city, with 
its garrison, military stores, and so many of the principal officers of the 
confederate forces, would enable Prince Eugene to drive the French and 
S[)aniards out of Italy, by putting him in a ])osition to fall upon and 
conquer their various detachments in detail, he directed his particular 
attention, during the winter, to the surprise of the town; and the intel- 
ligence he reci'ived, respecting the state of things there, inspired him with 
the liveliest hopes of accomplishing his design. The Marshal de Villeroy, 
indeed, was most attentive to his military duties; but his subordinate 
officers, npon whom the maintenance of projier discipline among the. 
garrison devolved, allowed a shameful neglect of the details of the ser- 
vice to jirevail. The guards, stationed at the gates and upon the works, 
had no communications with each other at night, by rounds. No 
sentinels were [)laced on the ram])arts, over the gates, to give notice of 
any approaches that might be made tov\^ards the town. No out])osts 
were obliged to traverse or scour the different roads, leading from the 
surrounding country towards those gate-*. No jiatrols of horse or foot 
were ordered to parade the strt'ets. In short, the heedlessness was such, 
as to be most favourable for Eugene's des gn. 

At this time, there was iu his army a native of Cremona, Antoaio 



l-'S HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

OozzoH, wild liad been obliged to leave it for debt. He was brother of 
the Rev'.' (iianantonio Cozzoli, Rector of the Parish of Santa Maria 
Niieva ; whose chuich and ))rivate residence, hut ])articulai-ly the lattei-, 
stood near a sewer for cairying off tlie foul water and other imfniritie.s 
of the city into the trenches surrounding the walls. At the entrance of 
the sewer was an iron gmting. If tliis wei'e removed, and other rneasure.s 
taken, troops might l)e introduced, by the subterraneous passage, into 
the Priest's wine-cellai-, and might thence ascend into the town. The 
(■ozzoli were j)artizans of the house of Austria; and in consideration, it is 
said, of a sum in hand to the Priest, and a promise of his being suitably 
jn'omoted in the Church, by the Imperial interest, he agreed to support 
Eugene's project. He accordingly applied to the (governor, Don Diego 
de la Concha, to have the grating removed, and the sewer cleaned 
out, as being, he alleged, so choked with tilth, that it was a great* 
i)nii.sance, particularly to himself, since his win(i-cellar was injured V)y the 
water, that could not tind a due vent elsewhere. The Spaniaixl, little 
suspecting the ti'eacherous olijecj; of this modern Sinon, ordered some 
soldiers to do what the Priest desired. A ]iassage from the sewer into 
the Priest's cellar next remained to be opened ; fur which purpcjse Eugetu; 
despatched to his reverend friend 8 al)le miners; who, being intro- 
duced into the celhir, completed their task, covering the aperture which 
was required, merely with such a thin coat of masonry as could be easily 
removed. Eugene then, or from January 20th, commenced slipping 
V)y degrees into the town, in different disguises, several experienced 
officers, and, as variously stated, from 300 to 60U picked men or 
grenadiers, who, till the time for action, were to i-emain concealed 
with Father Cozzoli, and otlier partizans of the Emperor. The Prince 
likewise ol)tained fiom ( Vemona a jjlan of the town representing eveiy- 
thing necessiiry to be known, esuecially with I'espect to the fortifications 
and barracks, the nmnher and disposition of the troops of the garrison, 
th(! particular quarters intrusted to, and the lodgings occupied by, the 
])rincipal otiicers, Sic. Afte)- these arrangements for the surpri.se of the 
y)lace, Eugene formed 2 bodies of his best troops. The 1st body was to 
march from Ostiano on the Oglio to Cremona, in order to enter it ou 
tliat side of the river Po, where the measures for doing so had been 
specially concerted with Father Cozzoli. The 2ud body was to proceed 
through the Parmesan territory, on the other side of the Po ; to profit by 
the admission of the 1st body into the place, so as to master a redoubt 
wiiich guarded a bi-idge of boats, leading over the river to that gate of 
Cremona, hence called the Po gate, and then, getting by it into the town, 
was to effect a junction there with the other body of troops from Ostiano. 
Against such a junction within the ])lace, i-esistance by the garrison would 
have been unavailing. The 1st body of ti-oops drafted from the infantry 
Regiments of (jfeschwind, Herberstein, Bagni, and Lorrain, and the 
cavalry Regiments of Neuburgh, Taaffe, Lorrain, and Diak, was to be 
under Eugene himself The infantry amounted to 3000 j)icked men, 
or grenadiers, and the cavalry to 1500 men; or 1395 cuirassiers, and 
105 hussars. Thus, on entering Cremona, Eugene would have 4500 
men ; and, according to his being reinforced by 300 or 600 more in 
waiting for him there, he would be at the head of from 4800 to 5100 
Ti;eu. The 2nd body of his troo[)s, or that intended to proceed through 
tiie Parnipsan territory against Cremona, was to be under the yoMtig 
l*ri"ce de Vaudemout. Its infantry, selected from the Regiments of 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 199 

Stahremberg and Daun, consisted of 2000 men ; its cavalry, composed 
of the young Priijce's own regiment, with those of Darmstadt and Deid- 
richstein, made 3000 men; and lioth consequently 5000 men. The 
united forces of Eugene and Vaudemont, (according to the foregoing 
particulars, deduced from German, as well as French, sources of infor- 
mation.) would form from 9800 to 10,100 men; or more than sufficient, 
within Cremona, to overpower a surprised gai-ri.son of only about 4000 
men — if there was not even reason to believe, that garrison would be 
much diminished by the absence of a considerable detachment, designed 
for service elsewhere.* 

Eugene commenced his march January 31st, at an hour before mid- 
night, from Ostiano. Having to travel about 6 leagues, or 18 mile.s, 
over roads in bad order from heavy rains, and being accompanied by a 
number of carpenters, masons, smiths, &c., with everything necessary for 
passing over ditches, breaking through walls, and opening gates, he coidd 
not collect all his troops before Cremona, till it was nearer morning than 
he wished. The Germans, however, loorJ.erl, and the French slept, so 
well, that not only the gate of All Saints, nearest to Father Cozzoli'.s 
■wine-cellar and to the passage into it from the sewer, was surprised, but 
the gate of St. Margaret, which had been walled up, was reopened iu 
good time. The one served for the entrance of the Imperial foot, the 
other for that of the horse ; and the Prince himself was by day-light in 
the town, with from 3,000 to 3, GOO grenadiers, and 3 divisions of heavy 
cavalry, or 1016 cuii-assiers ; leaving about the gate of St. Margaret, and 
to patrol the roads by which aid might come to, or fugitives escape from, 
the place, a reserve of 379 of Dnpre's cuirassiers, and 105 of Diak's 
hussars.t Before any alai'm of consequence occurred, the Germans, 
besides the 2 gates of All Saints and St. Margaret, and the Priest'.s 
house and Church of Santa Maria Nueva, were masters of the leading 
squares, and the adjacent streets, tlie great street which separated half 
the garrison of the town fi'om the other half, the Podesta, or Hotel de 
Ville, the Cathedral, the Round Chapel, and, in short, the principal 
portion of Cremona ! Eugene established himself, with the Prince de 
Commercy and General Stahremberg, at the Podesta, or Hotel de Ville; 
many officers were cajitured in their lodgings, pointed out to the Ger- 
mans by a native of Cremona who had come from Ostiano, and by Father 
Cozzoli ; and, as the consternation spread, several of the garrison whose 
quarters were so .situated towards the gates, or ramparts, that an escai)e 
seemed possible by getting out of the town, attempted to do so ; but 
there, too, they were intercepted by Du pro's cuiraSsiers and Diak's 
hus.sars. In the words of my Italian historian — "Confusion, terror, 
violence, rage, flight and .slaugnter were everywhere ! Dreadful for all 
was the awakening ! Still more dreadful what they saw when awake ! 
The citizens believed, that their last hour was come ! The French, 
between fury and surprise, arming tliemselves hastily and irregularly, 
seized their muskets, sabres, and bayonets, and sallied out from their 

* It had been inteuded, that 800 foot and 500 horse should be detached from the 
garrison of Cretnnna ; an intention fortunately not acted on; yet attended with 
preparations, of which the Anstrian partizans and spies did not fail to take note 
there, and transmit information to the Prince. 

t These and the previous calculations of Eugene's and Vaudemonfs forces are 
given, as the closest estimates I could form, from a minute comparison and analy.sia 
of the various statements on the subject, in the writings on botit, sides. 



JJUU HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

lodgings or posts, naked and bare-footed, or covered only witli a sliirt, 
ignorant of where they were rushing, what enemy they were going to 
engage, or what had reduced ill-fated Cremona to such extremities, during 
that horrible night. The Austrians believed," adds the historian, " that 
victory was already within their grasp I " Like the Greeks of old, under 
similar circumstances, 

"To sev'ral posts, their parties tliey divide; 
Some block the narrow streets, some scoin- the wide; 
The bold they kill, th' unwai-y they surprise; 
Who titrhts finds death, aurl death finds him who flies!" 
Dkvden's Virgil, .Eueis ii., 447-450. 

Meantime, the Marshal de Villei-oy, whose quarters lay in that part 
of the city towards the gate of St. Mai-garet, was aroused. As watchful,* 
as others were careless, he had inquired several times, during the night, 
"Was there any news from the enemy?" and was ah\ays answered, 
"iVone.'"* It was about 7 o'clock when he was awoken by 3 or 4 
inusket-.shots to the left of his residence, followed by his valet's running 
into his chamber, crying — " The Germans are in the town !" The Mar- 
shal huiried out of bed, had his hoi-.se saddled and bridled, dressed himself 
as rapidly as possible, and, I'rom the continuing increase and ap))roach of 
the musketry no longer doubting that he was betrayed, and would soon 
be visited by the enemy, he directed his papers and cypher of correspon- 
dence to be burned, flung on his military cloak, mounted, and galloped 
otf alone for the principal square, in order to head some ti'oops there, and 
fii'st endeavour, with them, to set matters to rights. His situation on 
this occasion, at Cremona, reminds us of that of ^neas at Troy, as also 
betrayed and surprised. 

" Now peals of shouts came thiind'rino; from afar, 
t.'ries, threats, and loTid laments, and mingled war ! 
The noise approaches ; * * * « 

Louder, and j'et more loud, I hear th' alarms 
Of human cries distinct, and clashing arms ! 
Fear broke m}* slumbers ; I no longer stay — 

New clamours, and new clangors, now arise, 
The sound of trumpets, mix'd with fighting cries! 
With frenzy seiz'd, I run to meet th' alarms, 
Resolv'd on death, resolv'd to die in arms ; 
But first to gather friends, with them t' opjjose, 
(If Fortune favour d) and repel the foes.' 

Dryden's Vn-gil, zEueis ii., 397-426. 

"When about 30*) paces from his house, the Marshal was fired at by a 
hostile detachment, but esca])ed uninjured, took a round to avoid being 
intercepted, reached the square, and was doing all he could to encourage 
his men assailed there by the Germans, when more of their horse and 
foot, rushing from 2 neighbouring streets, surrounded all attem])ting to 
resist. In the jnP.lce, 12 gi-enadiers fell upon the Marshal, seized the 
bridle of his horse, pulled himself to the ground, wounded him (though 
but sliglitly) in the «ide and hand, were dragging hat, peruke, cloak, coat, 

Eugene's surjirise of Cremona would have been rendered impossible, had but 
1 order of the Marshal been executed— that 50 horse of the garrison should patrol 
all that night, and until the evening of the follow ing day, on the road to Ostiano, 
in quest of intelligence respecting the euemy. What a heavy penalty was the 
result of this ueglectj 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 201 

cravat, &c., from luni, and would probably have killed him, when, for- 
tunately, an Imperial officer, iu a red uniform, and armed with a halbert, 
hastened up to rescue him, and did so, though not without much diffi- 
culty. This officer, an Irishman, Francis Mac Donnell, belonged to a 
name, of which he was not the last who attained distinction in the service 
of Austria.* He appears to have been of the old gaUoylass, or heavy- 
infantry, sept of the Clan Donnells, subsequently Mac Donnells. of Mayo ; 
whom the English Lord Dejnity, Sir Henry Sydney, in 1576, refers to 
as so powerful, in mentioning the reduction of the great Mayo Cliief, 
Sir Richard Fitz-David Bourke, or the Mac William Fighter. ''Out of 
the Countye of Maio," writes Sir Henry, "came to me to Gal way, first 7 
[irincipall men of the Clandonells, for everye of theire 7 linagies 1 of 
that surname, and enhabiting that Countye, all, by profession, mercenarie 
soldiers, by the name of GaUoglas ; they are verie stronge, and moche of 
the wealth of the countrie is under theim," &c. Then Sir Henry adds 
of Mac William Fighter, — "I wan his chiefe force from hym, in getting 
theise Clandonells." f Francis Mac Donnell himself was connected with 
the best of the old native races of Connaught— with the O'Rourkes, 
whose heads were Princes or Chiefs of Brefny-O'Rourke, or Leitrim. 
from the 10th to the 17th century, some of them anciently Kings of 
Connaught, several of them distinguished officers in vai'ious Continental 
services, their name being represented, to our days, among the nobility of 
the ranks of Prince and of Count in Russia — with the O' Conors, so long 
Kings of Connaught, in some instances, Monarchs of Ireland, in modern 
times, among the leading gentry of their province, and still more respec- 
table for theirs ervices to the litei-ature of their countiy. His uncle, 
Captain Tiernan O'Rourke, who had accompanied the Irish army from 
Limerick in 1691, and had signalized himself upon various occasions, was 
then in the French service. His hrst-cousin, the Captain's son. Doctor 
O'Rourke, had been Chaplain and Domestic Secretary to Prince Eugene, 
till invited by his countrymen to become Bishoj) of Killala, and thereby 
doomed to a miserable end, in those intolerant days. His second-cousin 
was the venerable Charles O' Conor of Belanagare, the eminent anti- 
quarian and ])atriot. Mac Donnell, who had long been in the Inqieiial 
service, was then a Captain in the infantry Regiment of Bagni, and had an 
important part assigned him in effecting the passage into the town. 
Without knowing the rank of his captive, the Marshal, he conveyed him 

* James Mac Donnell, of the Mayo race, died in the Austrian service, Octolter 
4th, 176(>, a Coiuit, a General, Imperial (Jhamberlain, and Inspector-General of the 
Ciuard in Cam]); and was sncceeded, from Ireland, in his Conntship, by his nephew, 
F'-ancis MacDonnell. This Conut James was very generous to his relatives in 
. Ireland, daring his life ; and their descendants derived pecuniary advantages from 
Vienna, under his will, as late as lS-il-2. 

t Cox, in noticing this submission, introduces a circumstance, indicative of the 
education of an Irish Chief, or gentleman, of those times. " To Gal way came 7 of 
the famil}' of the Clandonells, and, after them came Mac William Eighter, who 
could S[ieak Latin, though he could not speak English. He submitted, by oath and 
indenture, and agreed to pay 250 marks per annum for liis country, besides contri- 
bution of men, on risings out, and consented the Clandonells should hold their 
lands of the Queen," &c. Sir William Betham, too, observes — " The Irish Chiefs, 
not understanding the English language, their correspondence with the Eni;]isli 
was carried on in I^atiu." During the great civil war under (.'iiailes I., we hud the 
stout Catholic Bishop of Clogher, Rober Mac Mahon, in the (Jeneral Assembly of 
the Confederates at Kilkenny, v hil ■ he "addressed them in Latin,' admit- 
ting his equal "ignorance of the iixujh and >S<jUisaiag i languages." 



202 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

to a guard-house in the square, showed him into an up])er room, helped 
him as far as possible to ai-raiige his dress, and treated him with every 
attention. Soon after the Germans in the square were so warmly assailed 
by some of the Regiment des Vaisseanx, that, at one time, the Marshal 
thought he would be released. Meanwhile, he made different attempts to 
j)rocure his liberty by tampering with Mac Donnell ; offering, upon con- 
dition of being aUowed to escape, a cavalry regiment in the French 
service, along with a Lirge pension ; and, in tine, as he himself relates, 
Hioi'e than Mac Donnell could liope to r alize by tlie military profession, 
or, in other woi-ds, to make that officer's fortune. But, to these efforts 
to corrupt liim, Mac Donnell replied — " He had, for a long time, served 
the Emperor with fidelity. It had not yet fallen to ]]is lot to commit an 
act of perfidy to the prejudice of thats ervice, and he tlierefore tliought, 
he ought not to commence with one. He preferred his honour to making 
his fortune ; and it was useless to endeavour -to tempt him by the pi'o.s- 
pect of a post, a little higher than what he already possessed ; since he 
felt himself assured of attaining, among the Imperial forces, V)y his ser- 
vices, what it was thought to .induce him to purchase, among those of 
France, by an act of treachery or treason." Then suspecting, i'roin the 
magnitude of Villeroy's offers, vjJio he was, he questirmed him to that 
effect. Villeroy would not admit his rank, being desirous of remaining 
incognito, lest the Germans, on learning it, should place him beyond the 
possibility of being recaptured; and, if they delayed doing so, he enter- 
tained hopes of being liberated, on account of the increasing resistance 
made by his ti'00])s to the enemy. This state of things, on the other 
hand, rendered Mac Donnell propoi'tionably solicitous to secure such an 
evidently important prize ; the more especially as he had been promised 
some thing by the Marshal, (apparently for having rescued, and been so 
kind to him,) which might be lost, should he be released. Mac Donnell 
accordingly informed an officer of superior rank then in the square, of the 
prisoner of distinction who was in the adjoining guard-house. The officer 
galloped off to the Count de Stahremberg, with whom he soon returned; 
upon which, Villeroy, finding any hope of saving himself, by a further 
attempt at concealment, to be useless, confessed who he was to Mac Don- 
nell. The Irish officer then introduced the Count by name to the 
Marshal, who was effectually secured, consistent with the respect due to 
his rank. 

The reverses of the garrison did not cease with the taking of the 
Mar.shal. I'he Count de Montgon, Marechal de Camp, who attempted, 
Avith some horse and foot, to join the Marshal, was defeated, dismounted, 
and made |)risoner. The Chevalier d'Entragues, Colonel of the Regi- 
ment des Vaisseaux, who, having assembled a battalion of his regiment 
for review by day-break near the Po gate, was the 1st French officer 
ready, with any considerable body of men, to meet the enemy, was, after 
a temporary success against them in the great square, overi>owered and 
slain there. The Marquis de Crenan, Lieutenant-General, with another 
party of troops, after a similar success in the little square, was mortally 
wounded, made prisoner, and his men also driven out of that square. 
The brave Sjianish Governor, Don Diego de la Concha, heading a detach- 
ment, was likewise mortally wounded. Desgrigny, too, the Intendant of 
the French Forces in Italy, was captured, with several more officers and 
soldiers\ In sliort, by this time, the comuiunications between the 
different portions of the garrison became so intercepted, that of lis 12 



ly THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 203 

batt;"ilions only 6 and a few fragments of the others could assemUe ; ami 
of its 12 squadrons only 5 could be extricated for action. 

The Irish presented the 1st insurmountable obstacle to the enemy's 
success. Though tlie bavi-acks of the 2 battalions of Bonrke and Dillon 
were situated in streets not far from the Po gate, and Major Daniel 
O'Mahony, who commanded the latter battalion in the absence of 
Colouel Lally, had directed it to be up for reviewing near that gate, 
at the same early hour that the Chevalier d'Entragues had ordered his 
men to be i-eady, none of the Irish were prejiai-ed for action when the 
Austriaus surprised the town, except a Captain and -^.5 men, who were sta- 
tioned at a barrier before the Po gate. Upon the 1st alarm of the Germans 
being in the city, Entragu&s, as having had the only considerable corps 
(or one of about 200 men) equipyied for action, hastened, from the scene 
of his intended review, towards the principal square, to meet the enemy ; 
thus leaving the 36 Irish at the barrier to themselves. The Baron de 
Mercy, on the ojiening of St. Margaret's gate for the admission of his 
cavalry, lost no time in attending to the special order he had received 
fioui Prince Eun'pne to master the Po gate ; since, without the possession 
of it, for the introduction of the Prince de Vaudemont's corps, the fall of 
Cremona could not be looked upon as certain. With above 2-50 cuiras- 
8 ei-s, sword in hand, the Baron galloped towards that gate. But the Iiish 
Captain there (whose name I i-egret not to find mentioned) was too quick 
for the cuirassiei-s; ordering the barrier to be shut in time — by which he 
was the 1st saviour of the pltice. Mercy, foiled in his attempt to carry 
that Irish post by a dash, was brought to a stand before it, and had still 
further to defer assailing it, owing to the non-arrival of Lieutenant- 
Colonel Baron de Scherzer with 400 infantry designed to aid in the 
attack, but whose advance was delayed through the death of his guide, 
by a shot from a window. These infantry coming up after some time, 
and the cavalry under Mercy's orders being increased to 800 cuirassi rs, 
he blocked up, with his horse and foot, all the space between'' the Po 
gate and the gate of Mo.s.sa or Mantua to his left, and to the i-ight of the 
Sli Irish at the barrier ;. thereby confining to their barracks, between liis 
own and another Austrian force to his rear and left, the greater portion 
of the French cavalry, whose quarters lay towards the gate of JMossa; 
but omitting to shut up the passages from those streets towards his 
right, iu which were the barracks of Bourke's and Dillon's battalions. 
However, no aid from those battalions having yet reached the Iiisli 
Captain and his 35 men a.t the barrier before the Po gate, Meii-y 
ordered that j^ost to be assailed Vjy a body of his best infantry or grena- 
diers. The bai-rier was constructed in the form of a palisade, and the 
German grenadiers had orders to march up, and, thrusting their bayonets 
through the openings, to ovei-power the Irish, by the combined supeii- 
oiity of fire and numbers. The Irish Captain, causing his men to 
remain as much as po.ssible out of bullet-reach, made them keep their 
muskets and bayonets steadily fixed between the intervals of the pali- 
sades, and not give out theii- fire till they could give it in with the best 
effect. The Austrian grenadiers, directing a tempest of musketry against 
the barrier, were accordingly allowed to come so near, as about a halbert's 
length of it. But they then found the openings a.ssigned for fJiea^ 
weapons to be most fatally preoccupied; being saluted with such a 
destructive volley, that they had to fall back amidst loss and disorder, 
^lei-cy again endeavoured to make his grenadiers close upon the barrier 



::«)4: iiisTor.Y of the irish b?x1Gades 

and cany it liy the bayonet. Bnt the Irish availed themselves so well 
of the protection afforded by their ]>ost, tliat. even without being seen 
by their enemies, they marked them (nit, and picked them down, at 
])leasure; so that the German infantry couhl effect iiothiug against the 
"line of bayonets, and of musket-months vomiting fire and death." The 
enemy were only able to take possession of an adjacent battery of 8 
twenty-four pounders, called the battery of St. Peter, wdiich had been 
left without a gviard. 

By this time, the 2 Irish battalions of Boui'ke and Dillon, at their 
bariacks in tlie streets not far from the Po gate, wei-e alarmed at the 
noise of the attack u](on their countrymen at the barrier. The greater 
jiart of the officers of tho.se l)attalions wire eitlu-r away on leave from 
their reginu^nts, oi- were lodged in various pai-ts of the city, more or less 
remote from their men. Nevertheless, the sdldiers, with such o^hcers as 
they had, pre|)ared to rush, in their shirts, from their barracks, to the aid 
of their countrymen against the Germans. Among those officers quar- 
tered away from their men in the town, was Major Daniel U'Mahnny. 
He was of a respectable branch f)f one of the best Milesian names of 
Desmond, or South Mini.ster, as derix ing its origin Imtli from the blood 
of the old Princes of Desmond, and that of the Princes of Thomond, or 
North Munster; the immediate founder of the race Mahoon or JNIahon 
— wdience the name, in its modern or general form, of O'Mahouy — having 
been the son of Cian, Prince of Desmond, and of Sabia, daughter of the 
illustrious Brian •'Born." head of the line of Thomond, oi- North 
Munster. This ('ian was famous for his gi'ticnisii v to the Bards, as well 
as his statiire and liea\ity; for which, at the hattle of Clontarf, where he 
had a high command in the army of his renowni'il fatli»'r-in-law. he is noted 
as excelling all the other men of Erin, or as '• altissiums et ptilcherrimus 
Hibernorum." The O'Mahonys survived the convulsions of the middle 
ages with various lands and castles, belnngitn;- to representatives of the 
nam.e, in those districts comprised within the ancient Kingdom of Des- 
mond, or the Gounties of Cork and Kerry. Among tin- officers of King 
James, during the War of the Revolution in Iivland. were several gentle- 
men of the O'Mahonys, including '1 brothers, Dermod an<l DanieL 
Dermod, as a Colonel, was distinguished at the Boyne, Aughrim, and 
Limerick. Daniel, having attained the rank of Captain in the Royal 
Irish Foot Guards, accompanied the national army to the Continent; 
where, after being Major in the Regiment of Limerick, he obtained the 
like post, as a reformed officer, in the Regiment of Dillon. He was 
lumourably connected in England, as well as in Ireland. — being 1st 
niairied to Cecilia Weld, daughter of George Weld, E.sq., of the ancient 
Catholic family of Weld, represented in chief at jiresent by the Welds of 
Lul worth Castle. Dorsetshire, of whom was the late Cardinal Weld — • 
being 2d]y married to the eldest daughter of the Honourable Henry 
Bulkeley, 04- Charhjtte, widow of Charles O'Brien, 5th Vi.scount 
Clare, and thus brother-in-law of the INIar.shal Duke of Berwick. 
Appointed, for his very distinguished conduct at this affair of Cremona, 
to convey the intelligence of it to Paris, Daniel received the rank of 
Colonel from Louis XIV., next that of Brigadier, and was subsequently 
recommended by Louis to his grandson, Philip V. of Spain ; where he 
was granted a Regiment of Irish Dragoons, and, at his decease, at Ocana, 
in January, 1714, was a Lieutenant-General, Count of Castile, and 
Commander of the Military Order of St. Jago. He liad, by liia 1st 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 205 

marriage, 2 sons, neither of whom left male descendants. 1. James, a 
Lieutenant-Geneval, Governor of Fort St. Elmo, Commander of the 
Older of St. Januarius, and Inspector-General of Cavalry in the service 
of Naples. 2. Demetrius, (or Dermod) Lieutenant-General, Count, 
Commander of several Orders, and Ambassador from Spain to Austria, 
where he died at Vienna, in 1776. Of the "fameux Mahoni," as Daniel 
was styled in France, — where the name of O'Mahony has been eminent 
in military service to our own times,* — his contemporary and acquaintance, 
the Chevalier de Bellerive, has observed — " He has always been not only 
brave, but indefatigable, and very pains-taking; his life is, as it were, a 
continued chain of dangerous combats, of bold attacks, of honourable 
i-etreats. ... If he has mounted to the first dignities of th army, 
he has raised himself to them by degrees ; he has ]:)assed through all the 
military grades so as to make himself master of their respective duties; 
he has learned to obey before commanding, without having been precipi- 
tately elevated to these glorious employments, which he has exercised, 
during this war, with so much applause." This gallant officer, as Major 
in command of Dillon's battalion, having ordered that it should be up 
early for exercise near the Po gate like the battalion of the Regiment des 
Vaisseaux, before he threw himself upon his bed for the night, charged 
his valet and landlord to call him next morning, as soon as day sliould 
appear. He, howevei", was first aroused from his slumbers neither by his 
valet nor by his landlord, but by the galloping of heavy cavalry under 
liis windows, when it was full day-light; or so much later than the time 
when he should have been called. This caixsed him to I'ise immediately, 
and bring his landlord to an account for such neglect; upon which, the 
latter informed him — " The cuirassiers of the Emperor wer« in the 
streets, as the enemy had surprised the place !" The Major, consequently 
perceiving that it was more necessary for him to attend to the Germans 
than to his landlord, seized his arms, kept a sharp look-out, for some 
time, at what was going on in the street, and chose such a good oppor- 
tunity for endeavouring to reach his men, that he luckily effected his 
purpose. Then heading his own, or Dillon's battalion, while Lieutenant- 
Colonel Fi'ancis Wauchop led on that of Bourke, those 2 Irish corps 
advanced towards the Po gate. 

Tlie Baron de Mercy had just gained the battery of St. Peter, and 
the adjacent parts of the rampart on the left of the 36 Irish guarding 
the barrier to the gate, and had stationed a troop of his cuirassiers near 
the battery, when the 2 Irish battalions, under the command of Wauchop, 
suddenly presented themselves u]>on the flank of the Germans, in the 
direction of the rampart and the streets Vjordering upon the Po gate. 
The Baron, on recovering from his first surprise, commanded his infantry 
to advance against the Irish; causing a detachment of his cuirassiers, at 
the same time, to su{)port the attack of the infantry. But Bourke's and 
Dillon's battalions received tho.se infantry and cuirassiers with such a 
galling fire, and charged them with such fury, that they were defeated; 

* Of the several O'Mahonys who were officers in France, may be mentioned 2 of 
distinctiou w'd/iin the present century. 1. Barthelemy O'Mahony, Chevalier of 
St. Louis in 1781 ; Colonel en Secoude to Regiment of Berwick from 178S to 1791 ; 
Count, Lieutenant-General, Commander of the Order of St. liouis, after restoration 
of the Bourbons in 1814; and living in 1819. 2. The Chevalier Jean Francois 
O'Mahony, Colonel of the .3rd Regiment Etranger in 181.'3; Colonel of the 41sb 
Regiment of the Line iu 1S19 ; Marechal de Camp from 1823 to 1833; and a Com- 
inanduut of the Le'fiou uf Honour. 



206 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIOADES 

the Baron himself, in atteinitting to rally liis men, ht-ing wounded. The 
To gate, the adjoining rampMrt, battery, and Phice of St. Peter were thus 
freed from tlie enemy, except such of tlieir infantry as availed themselves 
of the protection of the oppo.site houses ; and, in addition to the good 
•service done by the preservation of the contested gate, the recovery of 
the battery &c., such of the French cavalry, as Mercy had pi'eviously 
blocked up in their bariacks. weie enabled to get out to the assistance of 
their infantry. The Austrians kept up a fire fcom the houses where they 
had sheltered them.selves; but it was answered so effectively from St. 
Peter's battery by tlie Irish, that they were able, at the same time, to 
iiet about barricading themselves with barrels, carts, ikc. in the position 
they had won. Brigadier d' Arene, who joined the Irish just as they had 
chased the ctiirassiers from the battery, stationed the 2 battalions at the 
different posts about the Po gate in which they were to intrench them- 
selves; then directed the battalion of Beaujolois, which happened to come 
up, to place themselves beside the battery; also caused the Church of 
St. Salvador, on the left of it, to l»e occupied; and next sent to the 
Citadel for ammunition, which was beginning to be wanted, and at a mo.st 
critical juncture. F(»r the young Prince de Vaudemont's corps of 5()0O 
men — whose arrival, too late by several hours, should have been simul- 
taneous with that of Eugene's force — was now to be seen advancing, on 
the opposite side of the river, towards the redoubt and bridge of boats, 
conducting to the Po gate; so that the artilierj^ had to be turned round, 
fi-om playing upon the Austrians 'within the ])lace, in order to be fired 
upon those approaching it from vnthtmt. The Irish, in this emergency, 
jierceived what was best to be done would be, to withdraw, at once, the 
small number of men, or only about 50, who were in the redoubt on the 
other side of the river; and to bi'eak the bridge, by removing every boat 
of which it consisted to their own side; through which simple remedy 
any danger from Vandemont would be obviated, .since he could not then 
cross the stream; while the garrison, so far from being weakened, by 
having to detach men from itself to o]ipose him, might be strengthened 
by the ])arty withdrawn from the redoubt. Such a suggestion i-especting 
the bridge was accordingly made to D' Arene by tlie Irish. But he, not 
venturing to adoJ)t it, withovit y)eimi.ss on from his superior officer the 
Count de Revel, preferred, meantime, to endeavour to defend the redoubt; 
dispatching 100 of the battalion of Beaujcdois. U^ strengthen the little 
outpost there, of about 50 men, under Captain Stuart of Dillon's 
battalion. And this arrangement of D'Aretie, aided bv the miscon- 
ception under which the ap|)roaching enemy a]»pear to have laboured as 
to the obstacles they would have to deal with at the ied(»ubt, answered 
the temporary object for which it was intended. For Vandemont, to 
whom a fi-iendly signal was to have been made from the ramparts of the 
town, finding from the very different .salute, or tlie tire of hostile artillery, 
with which he was hailed, that the garri.son had the superiority there, 
and the 100 men being seen passing over the bridge of boats to the 
redoubt, the Austrian troops were ordered to halt, preparatory to a di.s- 
tribution of fascines among them for a regular attack upon that outpost, 
as if it had been much stronger than it reall}^ was, or not to be 
carried \)y a coup-de-riumi,. Such was D'Arene's conduct on this point, 
answering, indeed, his purpose, on account of the ignorance, and conse- 
quent timidity, of the Austrians. But, as to owe our .safety to our own 
loresight is better, than to be indebted for that safety merely to the 



IN TUK SKRVICK OK FKAN-CE. 207 

incapacity or error of an eneniy, the advice oi' th° Iri.sh was far the better 
comisel to have acted on, even were it not eventiuilSy found necessary to 
lie followed, as the 07i/i/ mole of preserving the place — for, had Yaude- 
inont's Austrians been better inforine<l or more ad\en nrmis than they 
were, they could not, as 5000 in number, have been long prevented 
crossing the river by a force so inadequate to oppose tliem as the 150 
men in the redoubt, and, the river once ci-ossed, Cremona should fall. 

While these events were occurring about the Po gate, Prince Eugene 
was informed of the defeat of his troo])S there by the Irish. He w;is 
greatly mortified at this, and, knowing iiow indispensable it was for him 
to gain that gate, if he would not be di-iven Irom the town, he directed 
the Prince de Commercy to go and insjiect the Irish position, in order to 
judge how it was most likely to be mastei-ed ; an object the more necessary 
to accomplish, on account of the ap)>ioach of Vaudemont's corps. Com- 
mercy, on returning, stated, that he thought the Irisli were too well ])Osted 
at the gate to be forced fi-om it. Then Eugene, says tiie Italian historian, 
" took it into his head, to try, if the Irish were ;is juoof against gold, as 
against steel." He accordingly desiMtched to them, as his best deputy 
for a proposal of that nature. Captain Francis MacDonnell, both as their 
countryman, and as the very otiicer who had captured the Marslial de 
Villeroy. Mac Doniiell, on arriving oppo ite the Po gate, where he 
found his 400 countrymen obstinately defending their ])ost against 1200 
Germans, advanced from the i-anks of the lattei- towards the former, with 
a white handkerchief in his hand as a sign of truce, and demanded, if he 
might make them some propositions? The Irish replying, that he was 
welcome to do so, and the combat ceasing. Mac Doiinell thus addressed 
himself to the Irish officers. "My fellow-countrymen, his Serene 
Highness, Monsieur, the Prince Eugene of Savoy, semis me here to tell 
you, that, if you wish to change sides, and to pass over to that of the 
Emjjeror, he pi-omises you higher j)ay, and I'ewards more considerable, 
than you have in France. The affection which I have for all persons of 
my nation in general, and for you besides, gentlemen, in particular, com- 
pels me to exhort you, to accept the offers which the General of the 
Emperor makes to you ; for-, should you reject them, I do not see how you 
can escape inevitable destruction. We are masters of the city, with the 
exception of your ])Ost. It is, on this account, his Highness only waits 
for my return, to attack yon witii the gr(;atest part of his forces, and to 
cut you to pieces, should ycm not acce|>t of his offers." Mac Doanell 
added, as an instance, among others, of the bnd situation in which the 
garrison were, that he himself had made the Marshal de Villeroy prisoner; 
he likewise specified, that the ])ay which the Iiish should receive from 
the Emperor Leopold would be equal to the highest in France, or that 
of the Swiss regiments, besides a s])ecial giatuity in money, proportioned 
to the service rendered his Imperial Majesty, by joining him on this 
occasion; and finally stated, that such as acce])ted of those terms might 
also have their peace made with the King of England, (Wi liam III.) 
through the influence of Prince Eugene — this last proviso referring to 
tlie })enal regulations, by which such Irish as entered the service of France 
after the Treaty of Limerick were capitally interdicted ever to revisit 
their native soil, unless with an expiess or written permission from tlie 
revolutionary Sovereign of Great Britain and Ireland. To these offers 
of Mac Donnell, O'Mahony, as the Commandant of Dillon'.s battalion, 
acutely replied — " Prince Eugene seems to fear us more than he esteems 



2^)8 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

lis, since lie causes such propositions to be made to us." A Lientenant 
of Grenadiei-s bluntly added — " Though your Prince Eugene should send 
us all the Eni])eroi's cuirassiers, I would not believe that he could drive 
us out of this." Then, addressing himself to O'Mahony, he observed — 
" Let us send back that man, /to convey our answer." Upon which, 
O'Mahony, resuming the conversation, said to Mac Donnell — " Monsieur, 
if his Higliness oidy waits for your return to attack us and cut us to 
pieces, there is a likeliliood, that it will be long beft)re he will do so; for 
we are going to take measures against your returning in sufficient time. 
With this view," continued the Major, " I arrest you as a prisoner, not 
looking upon you any longer as the envoy of a great General, but as a 
suborner; and it is by such conduct we wish to earn the esteem of the 
Prince who has sent you hei-e, and not by an act of cowardice and treason, 
unworthy of men of honour."* O'Mahony then had Mac Donnell 
arrested, amidst the exclamations of the Iri.sh officers, that " they would 
die to a man, in the service of tlie King of France, and never serve any 
other Prince but him " — whilst tiie Irish soldiers, if not prevented, 
would, in a rage of fidelity, have killed the prisoner on the spot. Mac 
Donnell was next transferred to the commander of the 2 Irish battalions, 
Lieutenant-Colonel Wauchop of the Regiment of Bourke. By this officer, 
and 2 or 3 others of that battalion, he wns conducted and presented to 
Brigadier d'Arene. then occu[)ied with the arrangement of the battalion 
of Beaujolois. The Biigadier, on hearing from Mac Donnell, and from 
the officers who accompanied him, the circumstances of his detention, 
told him, that "he deserved rather to be treated as a suborner, than a 
hostage;" and, after causing him to be disarmed by the Irish themselves, 
had him conveyed to the Citadel, along with other prisoners whom they 
had taken. Carried away by the force of this last accusation against 
Mac Donnell — and one, natural enough, indeed, on the part of those who 
made it — the Italian historian, Botta, has joined in aspersing that officer, 
on the ground of his having engaged to corrupt others, although incor- 
ruptible himself. But, in thus censuring Mac Donnell, has Botta duly 
considered, that the Irish Ca})tain, in making the proposals he did to his 
countrymen, was acting in obedience to his General, and tliis not in any 
uiiderhand manner, (like the British Adjutant-General John Andre, with 
the American traitor Major-General Benedict Arnold,) but openly and 
fairly, or in presence of the forces of botli, parties — from which circum- 
stances, it does not ap])ear why any stigma sliould be attached to Mac 
Donnell's chai-acter. That his conduct, in refusing the tempting offiirs 
made him, was approved of in Austria, and admired throughout Europe 
at the time, and long after, is certain. Being soon exchanged as a 
prisoner, he was made a Major by the Emperor; but fell, the following 
August, at the battle of Luzzara. And an English periodical, under the 
date of October, 1772, in noting how "old Macdonnel, the Irish officer, 
who lately died, at the age of 118, at Madrutz, in Croatia," or the 
Austi'ian dominions, " was father to the brave officer of that name, who, 
in 1702, in the war about the Spanish Succession, made prisoner the 

* The liveliest or most dramatic accounts of the interview between Mac Donnell 
and his countrymen at the Po gate ai-e given in the Histoire du Pi'iuce Eugene de 
Savoye, and the valuable French Letter from Milan, or " Kelation exacte de 
I'Entreprise faite sur Cremoue par le Prince Eugfene. Copie d'nne Lettre ecrite de 
Miliui, le Vl Ffevrier, 170'2." To what I have selected from those accounts,|I have 
made suitable additions from the currespoudeuce of the Depot de la Guerre, &c. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 209 

MMi-shal de Villeroi," and slinwed such integrity tliere, adds — '• Snch 
gmitness of sonl so well estalilished Ids r putation, that ids father, 
iiiteri'ognted by his friends, ' Row lie niauiiged to look so fresh and well, 
in his old age?' usefl commonly to re])ly — 'That the remenda-ance of thv. 
disinterestedness and fidelity of his son contr-ihnted greatly to prolonjif 
Ins days!'"'^ Upon Mac Dontiell's arrest, the liring recommeneed. and 
the ])reservation of the place became even inore attributable thim befoi-e 
to the Irish. For the cannonade from St. Peter's battery, which thej/ 
liad wrested fi-om the enemy, among others of Vaudemont's troops 
mortally wounded Count de Deidi-iclistein, tlie officer intrusted with the 
anangements for attacking the redoubt; owing to which fortunate shot, 
the attack that, if made as proposed, imist have succeeded, was post- 
})(med, until time was given, by the delay, to evacuate the redoubt, and 
remove the bridge of boats, at last, according to the suggestion of tiio 
Irisli, at tirst. 

Prince Eugene, now suspecting, from seeing no more of Mac Donnell, 
that he was detained by those to whom he was sent, resorted to another 
sti-atagem, to make the Irish lay down their arras. He proceeded with 
the Prince de Commercy, to the captive Marshal de Villeroy, to induce 
him, if possible, to issue such an order as would cause the resistance of 
the Irish to cease. " You have. Monsieur," said the Prince to the 
Marshal, " travers(ed the entire city, and you must have observed that 
we are masters of it. Ycni have still some musketeers upon the rampart. 
If they continue there, they will at last oblige me to ]mt them all to the 
sword." But the Marshal, comprehending surhciently, that those very 
Irish musketeers, whom the Prince aifected to despise, weie the special 
cause of his embarrassment, replied — " Having the mistortune to be your 
jirisoner, I have no longer any orders to give in the town, and those wlio 
are uj)on the i-ampart must be left to act as they have done." Eugene, 
baffled in this attempt upon Villeroy, bet?»)Ught himself of anotiier 
expedient for effecting his object. This was to procure ihe municipality 
of Cremona to embrace his ])arty, and to excite l«iieir fellow-citizens to 
aid his forces against the garrison, which, in that case, would undoubtedly 
be overpowered. He accordingly summoned those magistrates, by the 
sound of the tocsin or alarm bell, to meet him at the Hotel de Ville, 
where he was with the Prince d^ Commercy. There he addrosed them 
with gi-eat ability, omitting nothing that could be nio.st likely to persuade 
or terrify them into the course he wished them to adopt. Those wise 
Italians, however, very pi-o[.erly resolving to incur no additional danger 
for the sake of a mere change of masters, could not l)e gotten to make 
Eugene any more satisfactory answer than this—" That they were not in 
a condition, under existing circumstances, to act in the manner he required 
them ; but that the Imperialists, when entirely masters of the city, should 
meet with such a reception as had been granted to the French." Eugene, 
in fine, co\dd obtain nothing more from the meeting, than what, to avoid 
the imprudence of refusing him all he demanded, was granted, a suj)[)ly 

* To this interesting notice of the Annual Register maj' be joined another fron 
Collet's Relics of Literature, under the year 1112. " Died, at Madiutz, in Croatia, 
in the 118th j-ear of his age, Henry MagdoneL To that place he had retired, wit'i 
a property sufficient to support hiin decently. He had been in the service of dif- 
ferent Sovereigns. He was father to the brave officer of that name, who, in I702, 
in the War aluait the Spanish Succession, made prisoner, at Cremona, theMar.shal 
de Villeroi," &c. 

P 



210 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

of bread for his troops; which. pvithMitly for the ;^nrpose of makins; those 
troops be thought many uiure than tiu-y i-eully were, he dxed at twetca 
thonamtd rations! 

Meanwhile, the Count de Revel, by the cry of "Frenchmen to the 
ramparts !" got together a considerable luimber of infantry, and arrayed 
them near the Citadel ; the Marquis de Praslin likewise collecting as many 
cavalry there, as, tlirough the facilities afforded by the success of the 
Irish against Mercy, or other ()[)portnnities, had been able to escape from 
the blockade of tlie Austrians. T,.e plan adopted by the Count de Revel 
for the expulsion of the enemy was, after securing a connexion with the 
Marquis de Praslin at the Citadel, to march, by the ram|)arts on his left, 
to recover the gates of Milan, All Saints, and St. Margaret. Having 
reached the 1st, he found it possessed by some of his own men; bui, 
before advancing against the 2nd, it was requisite to guard his rear at an 
avenue, through which it was assinlal)le by the enemy's horse and foot. 
For this service, 40 French infantry were placed under Captain Mac 
Donough of Dilhm's battalion, who, like so many of his brother-officers, 
was separated from his own corps. And, scarcely had Mac Donough 
causi'd his little guard to barricade or intrench themselves, when tiie 
Austrian infantry and cavalry came down upon him. But he obliged 
them to retire; and, though they renewed their attempts upon his posi- 
tion throughout the day, they could not force it* Thus covered by Mac 
Donough, the Cotmt recovered from the enemy the Church of Santa 
Maria Nueva, or that of Father Cozzoli, as well as his residence, through 
•which they had surprised' the town; the reverend traitor, however, escap- 
ing, by the sewer, to his Austrian friends beyond the walls, in time to 
avoid the gallows, which awaited him, if he were caught, t An intrench- 
snent, and bastion, on the way to the gate of All Saints, were likewise 
regained by the Count de Revel. Nevertheless, before the Count pro- 
ceeded to attack that gate, he sent word to the Irish at the Po gate, that, 
while he advanced on his left, tliAu, after leaving 100 men at their intrench- 
nieut, or barricade, and St. Peter's battery, should endeavour to push 
forward to the gate of Mantua, or Mossa, upon their right ; on arriving 
at which, the}^ should get fresh orders. 

When Major O'Mahony received these commands, (for Lieutenant- 
Colonel Wauchop now appeai-s to have been prevented acting in chief as 
wounded,) the IMajor manned the intrenchinent and batteiy as directed, 
and marched into the open ground, towards the gate of Mantua, with the 
rest of the Irish. They first encountered, and drove before them, 200 
Austrian grenadiers, as tar as a guard-house, where there were above 200 
more. From this post, the Austrians "poured a fire so terrible," says 
my French axithority, " that it was capable of disheartening any troops, 
except such as resolved to conquer, or to die." Nevertheless, this superior 
force was beaten out of the guard-house, and put to flight. In the mean- 
time, Prince Eugene, finding that nothing was to be gained by negocia- 
tion, determined to avail himself of the advance of the Irish from the 

• Besides the above Captain, there were, of the old Sliojo sept, in the Regiment of 
Dillon, at Cremona, 3 brothers, of whom Andrew, the youngest, was a])pointed 
Lieutenant-Colonel to that corps in 17.>5, and died, with the rank of Colonel, ia 
1745. Other noted oflicers of the name are mentioned elsewhere, or in connexion 
with the E-egiment of Walsh, and the battle of Fontenoy. 

t His house was levelled with the ground, as that of a traitor. He is reported to 
have been, concerned, in 1705, iu a 2nd Austi'ian desigu to surprise Cremona. Jiut 
it came to nothing. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 2 ! 1 

protection of tlieir iiifcrenchraent, as well as of their lessened nnrl harassed 
state, to overpower them, and so reach the Po gate. For this service, 
he appointed, as successor to Baron de Mercy, tlie Baron de Freil)etg, 
Lieutenant-Colonel of the Regiment of Taaffe. * Freiberg was furnished 
with such a body of cuii-assiers, as, with the infantiy and other cuirassiei a 
l)y whom he was to be joined, were supposed capalile of overcoming any 
opposition they could meet with. The ground occupied by the Trisli wai^ 
so open, owing to the distance of any houses from the rampai-ts, tli.it 
cavalry could march in squadrons. The Baron de Freiberg, on surviyini^ 
how very favourable the place was for the design he meditated, com- 
manded his men to advance — in order, as he supposed, to trample to tlie 
earth such a comparatively small and feeble force as that of the Irish — • 
and. by way of shortening the work, he caused them to be charged at 
once, with the greatest fury, in front, flank, and rear. But 0'Mahi)ny, 
arraying the Irish so as to face their assailants on every side, i-eceivcd 
the onset of the Imjierialists with an intrepidity that astonished them. 
The fire of the Irish battalions strewed tlie gmund with men and horses- 
compelling the cuirassiers to fly with such precipitation, that the infantry, 
advancing to suj)port them, was obliged to ojien. in order to give them a 
passage through its ranks. It was in vain that the officers of those jjanic- 
struck horsemen attempted to rally them for anothei- effort. They con- 
tinued their flight to the main body of cavalry in the Sabatine square. 
Another coi-ps of cuirassiers, however, came to the aid of Freiberg, who, 
enraged at this reverse, put himself at their head, and, with the assistance 
of the infantry, resolved, "to perish, or to crush the Irish." And he 
accordingly brokethrough, and penetrated even into tlie midst of, Dillon's 
battalion. O'Mahony, rushing up to arrest the Baron's career, seized the 
bi'idle of his horse, and desirous to preserve, if possible, the life of such a 
gallant young man, exclaimed—" Good quarter for Monsieur de Frei- 
berg!" But the Baron fiercely replying — "This is no day for clemency, 
only do your duty, I'll do mine !" — and endeavouring to ])ush forward, 
was fired at. and killed ; to the regret of his enemies, as well as hi.s 
friends, and j)articularly of Prince Eugene. The cuirassiers, dismayed at 
their brave leader's fall, wavered, and suffered so much by the bullet and 
bayonet, that they were routed by the Irish, who took a ])air of their 
kettle-drums, and made a number of their officers prisoners. The remains 
of those beaten cuirassiers (whose fate their infantry appears to have 
shared) fled towards that body of their troops engaged in blocking up the 
French about the gate of Mantua, or Mossa. t Tne slaughter of the 

*Tliis corp.s, previously the Duke of Lorrain's Regiment of Cuirassiers, and at ita 
full complement lOtlO strong, was called that of Taaflf'e, from its Colonel, the cele- 
bi-ated Francis, 4th Viscount Taaife, and 3r(l Earl of Carlingford in Ireland, Count, 
Im]ierial Chamberlain, Counsellor of State and Caliinet, Lieutenant-General of the 
Horse, and Veldt-Marslial in Austria, and Kiiight of the (iidden Fleece in Spain, 
deceased in ITU-i. Among the Imperial otticers who fell at Cremona was a nephew 
of thatilistinguished nobleman, or the Hnnourahle Lam bar t Taaffe, son of the Honour- 
able Major John Taafte, siain in King James If.'s army hefore Uerry in 1689, and 
whose other son, Thev>l)ald, succeeded to the family titles. The name of Taaffe ha3 
continued to our times connected vr-ith Irish and Austrian nohility. 

+ The Abbe de Vairac, in bis " History of the Kevolu'ions in Spain," (as trana- 
lated and printed at London in 17'2i, ) observes — " It must be said, to the honour of 
the Irish, that this day was appointeil hy Fi'ovidence to signalize their tidelily and 
undauntedness. The '2 regiments of that nati(ui. which were in giirrison, at Cremona, 
made a most tenible fire ujion those who otfcr'il to aiipru.nch near the post they 
Lad taken; and what is most singular in it is, that the oflicer, who had lakcii tlia 



212 HISTOKY OF TIIR IRISH BRIGADES 

Germans, in this attack, was great; Imt, as the Trisli likewise snfTered 
Koverely ; as, in tJiP-ir fatigued and diminished condition, tliey would 
have to enconnter new and increased opposition, should they contimm 
their march towards the iasfc-mentioned gate; and, as tlie battery of St. 
Peter would be infallibly retaken dni-ing their absence, O'Mahony judged 
it better, for the present, to return to his inti-enchuient, at the Po gate. 
And he judged correctly. For, as he returned, his retreat was harassed 
by the musketry of fresh troops sent against him ; and, on his lesmning 
liis post at the gate, the enemy likewise opened lire upon it, i'rom a housa 
■which they had seized for the pnrf)ose. But O'Mahony, stationing hiui- 
eelf near the batteiy, drove tlie Austrinns out of the house by ])]aying the 
artillery upon it; and, with cai-tridge-shot, swept the enemy's troopa 
away, wherever they attempted to show themselves. The Austria ns, on 
the other hand, did not cease to answer tliis tire from such eminences, 
«ngles of bastions, or other places, as they could do so, under cover. So 
various were the conllicts now raging thi'ouuli the city, that the most 
voluminous French historian of Louis XIV.'s wars observes on this 
occasion — " I do not. ])retend to enter into a (h'tail of each jiarticular 
action, or to report in full all that happene 1 there, since tliose actions 
would be sufficient to till an entire volume." And the biographer of 
Prince Eugene, after expressing his inability to record so many combats, 
adds — "Notliing was to be seen u])on the paveuient but blood, and 
filaughtered men and horses, in every direction. The cries of the 
weunded, and of the dying, joined with the lamentations of the towns- 
})eople who witnessed this frightful s[)ectacle, increased lIic horrois of 
the struggle." 

During the stubborn contest of the Irish with the enemy about the Po 
gate, the Count de Kevel, whose force was augmented by ditferent ])arties 
of his countrymen, stormed the gate of All Saints, and other |iosts beyond 
it, or in the direction of St. Margaret's gate. Tlicn ])re[iaring to clear 
his way towards, and attack, the latter gate, — which l^rince Eugene had 
.particularly strengthened to retreat by in case <jf necessity, -- the Count 
despatched a distinguished cavalry officer, Captain de Langeais, to the 
Irish, with orders, to secui'e their intrenchnient, as before, at the Po 
gate, and renew the attempt to ])enetrat(5 to the gate of Mantua, or 
ilossa. And, as the Irish, by this time, had suti'ered extremely, and no 
cavaliy were to support them in such a discouragitig enterprise against 
infantry and cavalry,* the Caj)tain brought some money to distribute 
Hnunig the wearied soldiery. Leaving 100 men in the intrenchnient. 
Captain Dillon of the grenadiers of that battalion marched out at the 
head of the rest of his countrymen ; and they advanced at first with 
success, driving the Austrians from several houses to the left, aud from 

■Marshal de Villeroy, going to them, from Prince Enoene, to persuade them to siir- 
•rtridcv, they secur'd him ; whicli so exa-^perated the Prince, that he sent Baroa 
'Frieherg, at the head <if a great body of Cuirassiers, with onlers to jmt thern all to 
•the sword, if tliey did nut inmiediately surrender. That officer, havino; beheld 
luauy of his men kill'd about him, rcsolvVl rather to lose his omii life in a fresli 
attack, than to yield hiuiself up to the Irish. Ills death dauiiteil the CuirassicPd, 
V ho instantly iiirn d tl eir l)acks and Hed ; and their defeat snatch'd the victory 
«nt of the hands of the Imi.erialists." 

" 'ike latest and fullest account, or "llelation de ce qui s'est jia'??*!' a Ci'Cinone le 
]'■'" Ftvi"ier, envoyee jar M. le 1>;]C de Veaddme le .3 JNlars, 1 /(>:?," reports —"' Lc3 
Irliuidais, apres avoir laisse ''>U hoiiiiiies dans lear retranchement, marcherent auX 
fciiLiCUiis, 6uab avoir de cavale:ij pour les soutei.ir." 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 213 

several posts upon the rampsivts to the riglit. But, on reaching a s[)ot of 
ground very open, and where the streets, bcixlering upon the rampart, 
were very wide, the Irish were attacked, in front, flank, and rear, by the 
enemy's horse and foot. A most obstinate combat ensued ; both parties 
heing, for a very long time, mixed up in close conflict. Finding, how- 
ever, from the superior force opfiosed to tliem, that it wovdd be imfiossible 
either to maintain themselves where they were, or to advance any farther, 
the overpowered remains of the 2 battalions retired to and re-cutered 
their retrenchment, through the aid of the 100 men left to guard ifc. In 
this a,ttack, the Count de Leiniugen, 1 of the enemy's chief and bra\e.-t 
officers, was killed, and the Banni de Mercy was wounded a 2nd time, and; 
made prisoner. The Connnandant, and Caj)tain of Grenadiers, Dillon, 
although wounded on this occasicni, would not withdraw till he had jilaced 
Lis regiment within the intrenchment, and had caused that position to 
be so additionally fortified, as to prevent a recapture of the cannon by the 
enemy, which there was reason to apprehend. 

It was not till this late [leriod of the day, or till the attack of the posts 
lea'ding to the enemy's last gate, of St. Margaret, that the long and 
dangerous delay which occurred between Brigadier d'Arene, the Count 
de Revel, and the Marquis de Praslin, with respect to the affair of the 
redoubt and bridge of boats, was tenniuated. The Marquis then pro- 
ceeding to the bridge, sent orders to the officers that defended the approacli 
to it on the other side of the Po, or Captain Stuart of Dillon's battalion, 
and Cajttains de Cliateauperrs and Caussade of the battalion of Beaujoloifij 
to retire with their men, after destroying the redoubt and works coa- 
nected with it. This was efl'ected,' notwithstanding the superior nunibei-s 
and fire of Vaudemont's corps; and a lirave Serjeant, with a paity of 
soldiers, completed the removal of the bi-idge, b\ bui-ning some of the 
boats, and by pulling away the i-emainder, to the Ciemona side of the 
river. The 150 men withdrawn, of wlioui Captain Stuart's proportion, 
or 50, appear to have been Irish, were placed under Major O'Maliouy, 
to reinforce the posts about the Po gate. Thus, towards 3 o'clock, wa* 
Cremona finally secured on this side, after its safety had been too long; 
endangered, by not ado])ting the counsel of the Irish. And now tlnxse 
biidies of Eugene's infantry and cuirassiers that had hitherto occupied tiie 
ram[)arts and streets towards the Po gate, seeing any further attempt 
npon it to be hopeless, and beiug affected by che successes of the garrisou 
elsewhere, fell back towards the gate of Mantua, or Mossa. 

In the division of the city called "the New Town," and to which that 
gate belonged, a noble resistance had been made to the enemy, since 
morning. That quarter of the town had been so filled by the Imperial- 
ists, that the greater portion of the French cavalry were at first block*;(l 
np in it; afterwards, the 2 Irish battalions, ordered to force their way 
to the gate there, were tioice obliged to desist ; and, in fine, so completely 
occupied by the enemy was the district su|)pose:l to be, that the gate.s 
of All Saints and St. Margaret were not believed to have been more 
certainly gained by the Germans, than that (jf Mantua, or Mossa. Such, 
however, was not the case. For, when the Austrians poured into this 
]iart of the city. Captain Lynch, of Dillon's battalion, was stationed afc 
tiiat gate. Like his countryman, the Captain, with the 35 men at the 
Po gate, Lynch was not to be surprised. Collecting what men he could 
from the vicinity, and being lucky enough to find ])Ovvder and ball at the 
guard-house to his gate, he intrenched himself there; maintaining it the 



214 



HISTORY OF THE IRISH ERIOAOES 



wliole dav agMi'vist tlip rnipei-ialists, whose commander, Count de KufTstein, 
Lieutenant-rolouel of the ileifJuient, of Herbeistein, was wounded at the 
attack. Lynch did more. For, the Germans ()ccu])ying tlie adjacent 
Church of St. Mary of Bethlehem, and placing musketeers in the steeplo 
«s a post from which tJieir fire wouhl completely command his inti'encli- 
rnent at the gate, he dislodged the enemy from the Church, and ktM)t 
possession of it, as well as the gate. The achievements of the Irish this 
memorable day, on wi;ich, in the words of a French General Officer, tliey 
'' [)erformed incomprehensible things," * wei-e concluded, by the remains 
of the troops at the Po gate at last fulfilling the orders they had reeeived, 
to ]ieneti-ate to the gate of Mantua, or Mossa. Although so much weak- 
ened by fatigue, cold, fasting, and wounds, as well as diminished by thosg 
killed or taken in such a long struggle against superior numbers, thw 
comparatively few effective survivors of Boinke's and Dillon's battalions 
did not allow the enemy to "depart in ])eaee," but followed his retiring 
infantry and cuirassiei-s bej/ond the gate last-mentioned, chaiging both 
with great eflect, especially the cnii-assier.s, from whom they wrested a 
2nd pair of kettle-drums, and some standards. 

Eugene's contest with the French, at St. Margaret's gate, was well 
maintained, his assailants being repentedly repulsed, and succes.sfuUy kept 
at bay tliei'e, until it was late, or dark; when, after a conflict of about 11 
liouijs, (or irom 7 in the morning, to a little before 6 in the evening.) 
the fate of Cremona was decided, by his having to abandon that city, 
"taken by a miracle," as was said, "and lost by a still greater one!" 
He retired in good order, bi-inging away, as companions for the Marshal 
de Villei'oy. who h;id been sent off to Ostiano, 8U or 9U officers, of whom 
38 were Iri.sh, besides about 400 soldiers, including 29 Irish, and above 
50'' hoises captured from the garrison. According to the most probable 
accounts on the Pi-ince's side, liis loss was from 1500 to 1600 men, of 
whom about 12i)() we-re killed or wounded, and the rest prisoners. 
j'he oliiciiil table of the killed, wounded, and prisoners of the French 
and Irish ■nij'antry — lor 1 have seen no such return of the cavalry of the 
garrison — ]>r('sents a total of 1421) men and officers; of whom the French 
were 1079, and the Irish 350 ; the last number a large proportion out of 
(100 men ! The details of the loss of the 2 Irish battalions, counting 
Serjeants among the privates, were thus : — 



Killed. 
Officers, .... 1 
Soldiers, .... 53 



BOURKE'S. 

Wounded. 

. . . 13 . 

. . . 78 . 



Taken. 
. 2 . 
. 3 . 



Total. 

16 

134 



54 



91 



150 







DILLON'S. 








. Killed. 


Wounded. 


Taken. 


TotaL 


Officers, . • 


. . 6 . 


. . . 29 . . 


. . 36 . . 


. . 71 


Soldiers, . . 


, . . 37 . 


. . . 06 . . 


. . 26 . . 


. . 129 



43 



95 



62 



200 



• The "Bricndier Count de Vandrey, above alluded to, wiites thus — "Les Irlao- 
(^ais, (jui avuicnt fattaqiie de la droite, dn cote dii P6, tvt fait de.s c/ioxrs inn>ni/>i-A. 
hi'ii^ihlrn. ... lis out avraclic les, etendards des cuii'assiers do rEiiipereur, e« 
ee soiit emi/ures de 2 paites de timbales qu'ils avaient a leur t6te." 



IN THE SERVICE OP FRANCK. 215 

Tlie officers clistingnishecl in Bourke's battalion were Liputenaiit-Colonel 
Wauchop, PluDkett, Captain of Grenadiers, Ca])taiiis Donnellan and 
Mac Auliffe, and tlie Lieutenant of Grvenadiers, Mac AiilitFe, besides the 
reformed officers, Lieutenant-Colonel Connock, and the Lieuter)ant^ 
Corrin, Power, Nugent, and Ivers.* Those distinguished in Dillon's 
battalion were its 2 successive Commandants, Major O'Mahony and 
Dillon, Captain .of Grenadiers, Captains Lynch, Mac Donough, and 
Macgee, Lieutenants. Dillon and Gibbons, and 2 gentlemen, mentioned, 
without any rank attached, as John Bourke and Thomas Dillon. Tho 
Count de Revel, who, thongh his countrymen, the French, did wonders 
where they fought, yet acknowledged (as well as the enemy) that it was 
to the obstinate courage of the Irish in defence of the Po gate the 
j)reservati(>n of Cremona was principally owing,+ apiiointed, as the'ir 
most distinguished representative, Major O'Alahony, to carry the 
despatch to Paris. The Major, for his excellent character in the service, 
previously known to Louis, was, on the day of his reaching Versailles, 
received by his Majesty, according to the Duke de Saint Simon, in a 
manner proportioned to the importance of the intelligence from Italy. 
The King, on rising from dinner, proceeded to his private cabinet accom- 
])anied by the Irish officer only, and continued there, with shut doons, 
for about an hour; while the numerous courtiers, including, U the general 
surprise, Chamillart, the Minister of War himself, had to remain in the 
apartment outside, where the deliverance of Cremona was the topic of 
universal curiosity; as Chamillart sufficiently experienced, from the inces- 
sant questions to which he was exposed respecting such a remarkable 
event. After quitting his cabinet, the King, while changing his dress 
in order to walk in the palace garden, expressed himself with great 
approbation on the affiiir of Cremona, and especially on the conduct of 
his principal officers there; at the same time evincing how gratified he 
was with O'Mahony in particular, by the length at which he spoke of 
him ; alleging that he had never heard anybody give so good an account 
of everything that occurred; or a narrative displaying such clearness of 
|)erception and exactness, united with an agreeable manner of communi- 
cation. From another contemporary, the Chevalier de Bellerive, we are 
informed of Louis and the Major on this occasion, how his Majesty, 
having listened to the description of what happened at Cremona with 
pleasure, intimated that he was only dissatisfied with the deficiency of 
the narrator's details respecting the acts of his own countrymen. Tho 
King observed, on that point, to the Major — " Vovs ne me paries que 

* Printed, in French, " Yvert." The old name of O'Hiorahair, famous for valour 
in the wars of Tliomond, was anglicized into " Ivers." 

+ The historian of Prince Eugene observes of the garrison of Cremona — " II faufc 
rendre justice aux Franyois ; ils y fireiit des merveilles. Les Irlandois s'y distin- 
guerent aussi beaucoup ; et leur obstination a la defenne aauva la place.''' In 
fact, of the 4 gates fought for, or those of the Po, Mantua, All Saints, and St. 
Margaret, the Irish, though but GOO men, preserved the 1st, and, throiigh it, tho 
town, as their countryman, Lynch, held the 2nd, till they forced their way to, and 
drove the Imperialists from, it; while the French, though 3400 men, only regained 
the 2 remaining gates. It was, likewise, in connexion with the contests for the 
Po and Mantua gates, that the chief Imjjerial officers were put /lor.s de comhnt, or 
Mercy, Deidrichstein, Freiberg, Leiningen, and Kuffstein. The illustrious Lieu- 
tenant-General Pelefc, Directeur Ge'neral du Bureau de la Guerre, writing how 
"chacun fit des prodiges de valeur," adds, " surtout les 2 regiments Irlaudais." 
lii (jther words, they were, 

" Where all were brave, the bravest of the brava!" 



216 niSToRY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

des Franqois, lie! qiC auront done fa't mes braves Irlandois?" — "Sire," 
I'ejoined tlie Major, merely paying bjick as an Irishman, to the French, 
the couipliment which Louis, as a Frenchman, had ]>aid to the Trisli — 
"Nons avons siiivi leiir rapidite gueiiieie." A reply, presenting, says 
Mr. O'Conor, "a meniorahlc instance of the modesty of merit, or of 
pride, conscious of merit, and disdjiiuful of vain-glory." Louis rewarded 
the Major with a Invvet as Colonel, and a pension of 1000 livres, 
"besides a pi'e.sent of 1000 louis d'ors, by way (as it were) of defraying 
the expense of his journey.* Lieutenants-Colonel Waucliop and Con- 
nock were likewise brevetted as Colonels. And, as a general testimony 
of the French Monarch's satisfaction at the conduct of the Irish on thi.s 
occasion, not merely Bourke's, but the other 4 Irish Infantry Eegiments 
of Doi-iington, Albemarle, Berwick, and Galmoy, like it only on Fi-encti 
pay, all had their pay raised to the higlun- scale of the 3 corps originally 
comprised in the Brigade of Mountc.ishel, and, at this period, or 1702, 
consisting of the Regiments of Lee, Clare, and Dillon. The last, as 1 of 
those already enjoying that pay, only received a special gratuity in 
money, for its bra\ery at Cremona. After his interview with Louis 
XIV., "Coll. Mahoni," notes the contemporary Irish 'Jacobite loyalist, 
Plnnkett, " went from Versaills to St. Getniaius, for to pay his res[)ects 
to his own King : who knighted him for his late service, reputeing what 
was don to his great friend to be dou to himself. And 'tis so in the 
event. For the greater jjrogress is made by France and her Allyes in 
the warr, the sooner will tlte Restoration of James III. be effected." 

The Whig writer, Forman,' reiiuu-king of the affair of Cremona, "that 
the Irish perform'd there the most iuiportant piece of service for Louis 
XIV., that, perhaps, any King of France ever received, from so small a 
body of men, since the foundation of that monarchy," adds — " This action 
of the Irish, by an impartial way of reasoning, saved the whole French 
army in Italy; the destruction of which, according to the account itself, 
as well as the o](inion of all military men, niust have been the itifallible 
consequence of the loss of Cremona. It was also thought, in England, 
to have so much influence over the affairs of Europe, as they stood at 
that time, that, as I have been infoi'uied, a MeniV)er of the House of 
Commons, upon the arrival of the news, said, in Parliament, that those 
2 regiments had done more mischief to the High Allies, than all the 
Irish abroad could have done, had they been kei>t at home, and left in 
the entire possession of their estates. . . . Had they done nothing, 
else," concludes Forman, " this 1 action wotild alone be .sufficient to 
eternize them." In Ireland, the older natives, though groaning under 
the many o[)pressions of the Orange revolution, t might naturally exult, 

" " Mahoni, an Irish gentleman, a reform'd Major in a regiment of hi.s nation," 
says the Abbe de Vairac, " was apjioiuted to carry to liis Most Ciiiistiau Majesty 
an account of tliat memorable transaction, and ]>erform\l that commission so much 
to liis JMajesty's satisfaction, that he gi-anted him a breviate for Colonel, and gave 
him a pension of lUOO livres, besides lOUO louis-d'ors to defray the expenses of liis 
journej' to the ('ourt." 

t M. Picot d'Orleans, in his Memoirs for tlie Ecclesiastical History of the 18th 
Century, (or from 17U() to 180l), ) after observing, that "all the documents of the 
times jirescnt a deiilorable picture of how religion was situated in Ireland " previous 
to and lit the connneucement of that century, says — "The Catholics were markeil 
out for ail sorts of vexations, and the Trotestniits, although inferior in number, or 
because they were inferior in number, made their yolce press most severely upon 
them." 1 bus, in the Dutch Lett.'-ea Histoiiques foi- January, 1702, we read, under 
head of Ireiaiid, an exact search piaclaimed for ail Priests, Monks, and Jesuits, 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 217 

on tin's memorable occasion, at such a gratifying realization, in rt^pre- 
sentatives of their race, of all that the highest eulogium of poetio 
patriotism could associate with the character of an Irishman — • 

*' By honour bound iu woe or weal, 

Whate'er *■//'- h'uU, he dares to do ; 
Tempt him with bribes, he will not fail, 

Try him in tire, you'll iind him true. 
He seeks not safety ; let bis post 

Be where it ouyht, m dautrer's van, 
And, if the Held of fame be lost, 

'Twill not be by au Irishman " — Ohr. 

The feeling of a just national pride, at being the countrymen of such 
heroes, found a popular expression in music; and, to our times, the piper 
in Munster has jjerfornied the air of — " The da// tcp. beat the Geniuins at 
Cremona.'^ * A late patriotic wi-iter, Thomas Davis, has well observed 
— " We would not like to meet tlie Irishman, who, knowing these facts, 
would pass the north of Italy, and nut track the steps of the Irish regi- 
ments, through the streets, and gates, and ramparts, of Cremona." + 

The celebrated Duke of Vendome was app(jinted to succeed Viller(»y 
in Italy, with a sufficient army to oblige Prince Eugene to raise the 
blockade of Mantua, and to force him to an engagement. Tlie Irish 
troops, under the Duke's orders, were the 5 battalions of Bourke, 
Dillon, Albemarle, Berwick, and Galmoy, and Sheldon's 2 squadrons. 
Of Colonels present, from May 27th to June 1st, at the reduction of 
Castiglione delle Stiviere, were Bourke and O'Mahony; the latter of 
whom, and an officer named O'CarroU, appear as distinguished, July 
26th, at Vendome's surprise and cutting up of 4 of Eugene's cavalry 
regiments under General Annibal Visconti at Santa Vittcn-ia. Sheldon, 
who volunteered there acting as Aide-de-Camp to Vendome, was si-verely 
wounded; behaving so very well, that he was 1 of 3 ollicers (2 of them 
French) specially recommended, for such good service, to Louis XlV.'a 
consideration, by his grandson, the King of Spain. These movemenfca 
were followed, August 15th, by the battle, of Luzzara. Eugene's force 

with the offer of £100 reward for a Popish Archbishop, £50 for a Bishop, and 
£40 for a Vicar-General, and everj' Jesuit or Monk. Yet how much wurae [leual 
legislation was to come ! 

* I allude to the famous (Jansey, deceased iu February, 1S">7 " He passed 
away calmly and peacefully," says the account, "at Killarney, in the !)Jth year of 
his age," and, by his performances, left a name "associated, fur over half a century, 
with the talismanic recollectious of Killarney, in the breast (.f millions, at home, 
and abroad." The late Maurice O'Conuell mentioned to me, his havnig often heard' 
the air, on the combat at (Jrcmona, from Gaiisey ; to whom it had l>een transmitted 
by his Munster predecessors iu "the tuneful arc." 

t For this narrative of the affair of Cremona (which ha-; cost me an amount of 
time and trouble painful to think of) I have made use of the French contemporary 
journals, the various publications, on the Bourbon and the Imperial side, in the 
JNlercure Historique and the Lettres HistorKpies for 1702, the original documents on 
the subject in the great work on the War oi the Sjjanish .Succession from the De[>.)t 
de la Guerre at Pans, the large history of the Marquis de Quiiicy, the accounts of tlie 
Manjuises de Feuquieres and Dangeau, the Chevalier de Foiard, the Histoire dii 
Prince Eugene de fSavoye, and the Italian writer Botta, with subordinate matter 
from the iJuc de St. fciimon, the Chevalier de Bellerive, the Ablie de Vairac, the 
jiainphleteer Forman, the Abbe Mac Ge^ ghegau, the Memoirs of Charles O'Conor 
of Belanagare, his grandson's unfinished Miiii&ry Memoirs of ih ■ Irish Nation, 
Plunkett's Light to the Blind, the M6. iiistory of Kerry, and Ponce MSS., iu the 
lioyal Irish Academy, &c. 



218 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

has been differently represented at from 24,000 to 2G,000 men, with 57 
cannon. Vendorae's force has been computed at 35,00 ) men ; of whom, 
however, not so many as 2-3 ds, could engage, or be up for action; ami 
they had but 37 cannon. The contest, which, from the broken nature 
of the country, was one chiefly of musketry and cannon, lasted froui 5 in 
the evening till 1 in tlie morning. Vendome acknowledged about 2500, 
and Eugene 2G95, killed and wounded. Both remained intrenched in 
presence of one another; and the engagement was, so far, a drawn battle. 
The main attack of Eugene having been against Vendome's left wing, the 
latter ])osted there " the flower of his troops," including the " Brig.:ide 
des Irlandois," or Bouike's, Dillon's, Berwick's and Galuioy's battalions; 
that of Albemaile being upon the French and Spanish right. The 
French accounts thus notice the .several assaults of the Imperialists upon* 
Vendome's left wing. At their 1st onset, tliat wing " received them 
with .so mucli vigour, that they were re])ulsed; leaving the ground 
covered with dead. Half an hour after, they retiu-ned to the charge, 
and th«y were again lepuLsed. Then they made fresh troops advance, 
and charged a 3rd time, with as little succe.ss. At last, the 4th time, 
they caiised the Irish, and the Regiments of Berche and of Saidt, that 
had sufl'ered severelv, to lo.se a little gnuind. But the Comte de Be.sons 
caused the cavalry Regiments of the Colonel-General, of Dourches, of 
Montperoux, and of Bourbon, to niai'ch, leading them several times to 
the charge against the enemy, which arrested his progress." After 
admitting the repulse of tho.se 3 fuiimis charges of the Ini|»erialists, and 
mentioning their reinforcement by 3 battalions of Daiaes for a 4th effort, 
- — " At last," says Prince Eugene's historian, " the Brigade of tiie Irish, 
being no longer able to sustain the Are of the Imperialists, and having 
lost a quantity of soldiers, and its be.st officers, was obliged to fall back 
above 500 paces. The majority of the French regiments, when they saw 
this, fell back also, and the Impeiiali.sts made themselves masters of tlieir 
ground" Thus, " the Im])erialists penetrated the left wing of the army 
of the 2 crowns, but they did not dare to pursue the Irish, nor the other 
brigades which had tui-ned their barks" — this caution [troceeding from 
"the ap[»rehension fif encountering a 2nd line, and of being surrounded." 
The same hostile writer subsequently refers to " the disorder of the 
Irish," and the nece.ssity, on the ])art of M. de Besons, '-to make some 
squadrons advance to sustain them, and gain time for them to rally." 
How very hard it was to niake tliam give way is thus attested by the 
accounts of both sides. The French admit the confusion to have been 
so great on this wing from its heavy lo.ss, especially of ollicers, that 
Vendome himself was obliged to I'ally it; and it was not until after aid 
obtained from the right, and G attacks, that the enemy could be repulsed. 
Meanwhile, the liattalion of Albemarle, under its Lieuttmant-Colonel, 
Nicholas Fitz-Gerald, signalized it.self very much upon the i-ight. It is 
described, in the letters of 3 French General Otficers, as " having, though 
with a great loss, performed wonders —tlelivering the very distinguished 
corps of the Carahinier.s, towards the close of tiie action, at a most critical 
period, or when they were flanked, and on the point of being overpowered 
by the enemy — the charge, by which tliis deliverance was eliected, having 
been the most vigorous ])os.sitile — trampling down all before it, though 
those who iikkK.' it were inferior in number — so that," it is addt'd, " tliey 
could nob lie too highly praised." Of the general conduct of the Irish, 
IriJiii the deliverance of Ci-emoua, to the end of this cauip.iign of 170J, 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 219 

Fieffe says— "D'ans toutes ces actions, les Ii'landais deploient encore la 
nliT* grande hravoiire." 

Among the 5'2 battalions and 90 squadi-ons, which, as " le plus en etat 
de servir," Vendome still kept at hand in November, lest Eugene should 
attempt any atfensive movement instead of retiring to winter-quartei's, 
the 5 battalions of the Irish Brigade were included; the number of 
men in each of those battalions being thns officially returned — Dillon's, 
350 — Bourke's, 397 — Galmoy's, 397 — Berwick's, 460— Albemarle's, 327 
— in all, 1931. Among the cavalry regiments of the Duke, detached for 
garrison duty, Sheldon's Irish, as 2 squadrons, are marked, as stationed 
at Cesoli. In a Stuart document of 1G93, concerning the fittest methods 
of obtaining recruits for the Irish Jacobite army on the Continent, it is 
sppcided, how " Irish officers were to be established on the frontiers of 
Flanders; and 2 louis d'oi-s weie to be given to every soldier, they could 
engage to desert from tlie Allied army." Accordingly, from th(i.t ren)ote 
quai-ter, we find arrangements on foot in 1702, to reinforce the Irish 
Brigade in Italy for the campaign of 1703 Our adventurous country- 
man, Peter Drake of Drakerath, County of Meath, informs us, how several 
Irisli officers, of whom he fianies the Ca[)tains O'Driscoll and Mac Carthy 
Eeagh, were employed in Flanders, so early as the s[)ring of 1702, to 
engage 600 deserters from Mai-lborough's army ; which number, and a 
few over, were obtained in the coui'se of the summer; Drake himself 
having procured so many as 156.* With all these, he left Brussels, in 
Angu.st, 1702, and reached Bavia, in Felnuary, 1703; minus, indeed, 
257 men from desertion on " the long, laborious march by land;" but 
■with about 343 remaining, that "were divided among the several officers 
of the Irish Brigade, who waited there to receive them." The official 
'• Memoire de M. de Chanday " to Louis XIV., dated October 20th, 1702, 
likewise shows the solicitude of the French Government, to have as many 
Irish troops as possible, for 1703. " II faudrait faire passer avec soin eu 
France les Irlandais qni sont en Espagne, et qui out desei-te de la flotte 
d'Aiigleteire et de Hollande, quand elle etait anpres de Cadix.+ Je 
ue doute pas que le Roi n'ait deja pourvu a ce qui est contenu dans cefc 
article. Je crois que si on s'y ]n-enait bien, on ])ourrait tirer des Irlandais 
d Irlande. Si cela etait possible, il serait tres-important de le faire an 
plus tot, ces troupes etant excellentes ; et d'ailleurs cela soulagerait 
d'antant le royaume. On dit qu'il y a beanconp d'Irlandais repandus en 
Bretagne. On ponrrait les raniasser, et les mettre dans le service." 

This year, 1702, began the insurrection of the Camisai-ds, or Protes- 
tants of the Cevennes, in Languedoc, on account of the pei-secution to 
which they were subjected, through the measures, connected with the 
Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, to compel all tho.se of tJieir ieti"gion in 
France to become Catholics. This struggle between the Camisards and 
their government was, as a religious war, attended with the ))eculiar 
cruelty, for which such Iioly contests have been infamous in every age. 
*' Nowhere," says the learned and liberal American historian, Pn^scott, 
"do we find such a free range given to the worst passions of our nature, 
as in the wars of religion — where each party considei-s itself as arrayed 
against the enemies of God, and where the sanctity of the caiise throws a 

" I^rake t!,ot in all 1.59, but .3 gave him the slip. 

t The English might olitain sailors as they did soldiers, from Ireland, in those 
times , but, it appears by the text, with dentriiuh ia view, ou the jjart of tiie former, 
a« well as the latter. 



220 HISTOUY OF THE IRISH BUIGADES 

veil over the foulest transii;re.ssions, that hides their enormity from the 
eye of the transgressor." The contest in the Cevennes continued unahated 
Tiutil 1704-, towards the close of which, the Marshal de Villars seemed to 
he entirely successful ; and, on the renewal of the disturbances, in 1705, 
they were extinguished by the Duke of Berwick. But, since the 
encounters, in the course of this insurrection, though honourable to tlie 
courage of the Camisards, and ])roportionably so to that of their op})0- 
nents, were, amidst a great European w^ar, not of such a nature, as to 
confer any distinction upon the Irish worthy of more than a passing 
notice, it will suffice to observe here, that, on several occasions, Irisli 
a])]iear to have signali7,<>d themselves, especially officers ; and, no doubt, 
Avith a greater portion of zeal, from the miserable condition to which 
those of tlieir own race and creed were reduced at home, by the violation? 
of ilirir Edict of Nantes — the Treaty of Limerick. It has been well 
rcnnarked, that "intolerance is the vice o? all religionists, when the philo- 
sophy of the FiiW has not yet instructed and humanized the rtianyJ* 
For 

"Philosophy consists not 
In airy schemes, or idle s])cciilations : 
The rule and conduct of all social life 
Is her great province. Not, in lonely cells, 
Obscure she hu'ks, hut holds her heav'nly light 
To senates, and to kings, to guide their couucils, 
And teach them to reform and bless mankind." — THOMSON. 

In 1 703, the Duke of Vendonie continued to command in Italy ; having 
the Irish battalions of Berwick, Bourke, Dillon, Galmoy, and Fitz-Gerald, 
(late Albemarle,) in his army. At the assault and capture, January 13th, 
of the intrenched post of Bondanello, in an angle at the junction of the 
Parmeggiana and the Secchia, Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander Barnewall 
of the Regiment of Galmoy, witli a detachment from Reggiolo, took a 
leading part. Tlie Imperialists, under General Stahremberg, were so 
weakened at the opening of this campaign, that Veudouie, while leaving 
a force to hold thein in check along the Secchia, was able to march, during 
the summer, with 32 battalions, and 29 squadrons, into the Tyrol, in order 
to reduce that territory, through a junction with the Elector of Bavaria 
i'rom Germany. Among the battalions engaged in this expedition were 
those of Dillon, Galmoy, Bourke, and Fitz-Gerald. Notwithstanding 
the many diffiiculties of invading a country of such great natural strength, 
defended by a peasantry of hardy and active mountaineers, ranking among 
the best sharp-shooters in the world, and aided by Austrian engineers, 
the French i)enetrated to the city of Trent ; when, from the failure of the 
Elector of Bavaria to advance far enough to effect a junctit)n, and, from 
the meditated treachery of a secession to the Allies, on the part of the 
Duke of Savoy, against which it was necessaiy to take pi-ecautions, Ven- 
dome had to retire into Italy. Of Irish officers, in this expedition, the 
TLinourable Arthur Dillon, as Brigadier, with 1500 men, signalized him- 
self, at the end of July, in dislodging from a mountain-pass, deemed 
impregnable in front, and considei'ed inaccessible elsewhere, 5U0 of the 
enemy ; by which he was able to reach and take the town and castle of 
Riva, without even the loss of a man ! The Comte de Medavi writes, 
July 31st, on this affair, to Vendorae, "que M. Dillon s'y est tout a, fait 
distingue." On the surrender, July 28th, (during Vendome's abstuiee in 
the Tyrol,) of the important fortitied town of Brescello, Colonel Daniel 



IN THE SEKVICE OF FRANCE. 221 

O'Miiliony was appointed its Governor. At the pursviit, and cutting np, 
by Veudonie, in October, of the select corps of Imperial cavalry, des- 
patflied, under General Visconti, to assist the Duke of Savoy, as well as 
at the similar operations, in Deeember, and January, (1704) against the 
larger force that marched, under General Stahremberg, to join the Duke, 
the Regiment of Dillon, and its Colonel, are mentioned, as sharing lu 
Vendome's successes, at San-Sebastiano, and Castel-Novo-de-Bormida. 

In Germany, where France was most successful in 1703, the Irish 
were employed in the Army of the Rhine, first, under the Duke of Bur- 
gundy, next, under the Marshal de Tallard ; and in the army of the 
Danube, or Bavai-ia, under the Marshal de Villars. In the ibrmer force, 
were Lord Galmoy, as Major-General, and the 2 squadrons of Slieldon's 
horse. In the latter force, were the Major-Generals Andrew Lee, :ind 
William Dorrington ; Charles O'Brien, 5th Viscount Clare, as Bi'igadier 
of Infantiy, and the 2 battalions of Dorrington and Clare. The ])riiicipal 
achievement of the Army of the Rhine, under the Duke of Burgundy, 
was the siege and reduction of Brisach, in the summer. But this acqui.si- 
tion was much surpassed by the Marshal de Tallard's conquest of Landau, 
invested October 11th, and surrendered November 18th, in conseqtumce 
of the Marshal's overthrow, on the 15th, of the Prince of Hesse Cassel's 
army, at the l)attle of S[)ire, with a loss stated at above 600S men, between 
killed and i)risoners, from 50, to upwards of 60, colours or standards, 30 
])ieces of cannon, tents, &c.; the French having, it is said, oidy GOO men, 
but, more })robably, ajar greater numl)er, kdled and wounded. In this 
battle, the French, at first, are alleged to have had several of their 
standards and kettle-drums captured by the German cavalry; and several 
cannon taken from, and turned against, them. But the Regiment of 
Sheldon, although its 2 squadrons did not muster, exclusive of otHi-ei's, 
above 180 men, "charged," says an Allied writer, '•'•and routed 2 regi- 
ments of Inq)erial cuiras.^iei^s, recovered the fortune of the day, and ti)us 
led the way to the victory." Its Lieutenant-Colonel, with rank as 
Colonel, Christopher Nugent of Dardistown, County of IMeath, showing 
himself here, as at Laiiden in 161)3, and on so many other occasions, a 
gallant man, and a good officer, received 7 wounds;* and, among the 
Irish killed, was a brave officer, of a name deducing its origin from the 
heroic ages of Erin, Colonel Bernard Macgennis. He was the father of 
4 sons, who all died in the service of France ; as did various other i-epre- 
.sentatives of the same ancient Irian lace, in the Ii-ish Regiments of 
Galmoy, Lee, Bulkeley, Roth, Dillon; of whom several were Chevaliers of 
St. Louis. In noting of the Regiment of Sheldon "•s'etant distingue a 
la bataille de Spire," Mac (ireoghegan adds, " il fut accorde une augmenta- 
tion de traitement aux Cajutaines et Lieutenans refornies qui servirent 
a la suite de ce corps." 

* The circumstance of Christopher Nugent having been so distinguished, and 
receiving, " au combat de Spire, 7 blessures," is given in a copy of an official 
Memorial, endorsed, "Promotion d'Olficiers Generaux Irlandois, iMai, 1705," and 
described as marginally noted, "in jjencil, apparently by Louis XIV." Tliis df>cu- 
mi'iit lielonged to a collection of mateiials for an intended History of the Irish 
Bri.iadp, obtained at Paris by the late John O'Connell, Esq., and kindly triUisferred 
to me, in 184'2. 'J'he Meinraial, tliough emanating apparently from a French source, 
dwells mnch, in justice to the Iiish, on the maimer in which such Jri-'i/i officers as 
l.ord Galmoy, Lord C are, Nicholas Fitz-Gerald, and Christojilier Nugent, were 
|)yv^ed over in the way of promotion, compared with several Freiick olhcers, of 
mierior claiiiis to advancement in ilie service. 



222 nisTORY OF the irisii brigades 

At the reduction, early ia the year, of the irnpoi-taiit Fort of Kohl, 
V)y the Marshal de Villavs, Major-Geriei'al Andi-ew Lee was among 
bis most distinguished officers, as well as a young Irishman, named 
Mac Sheehy, acting as an Engineer ; wlio, reconnoitring the hreach, 
correctly pronounced it, in opposition to the other Engineers, to l)e 
lu'acticable ; and the operations against tliat fort cost the Regiment of 
Clare 1 Cai>tain, and nearly 90 men. The engagement, called "the 1st 
battle of Hochstedt," was fought, September ^Oth, by the Marshal de 
Villars, and the Elector of Bavaria, against the Imperial General, Count 
de Stirum. At the commencement of this action, the Count, having a 
much inferior force to deal with, under Lieutenant-General D'Usson, 
(the same who formerly commanded in Ireland.) gave that force a very 
rough handling. But the Maishal, and the Elector, after a long and 
harassing march, coming up, and falling to work with their cavalry, 
while tlieir artillery and infantry advanced as quickly as possible to 
second them, the Count was then so outrmmbered, that he endeavoured 
to retreat, fighting, towards Nordlingen. And he continued to cTo so 
most creditably, until, after a combat altogetiier of 9 hours, his army 
were broken, and routed ; having between 7000 and 8000, (if not more,) 
killed, or made ])risoners. and their entire artillery, consisting of 33 
jiieces, taken, with 22 coloui'S or standards, tents, baggage, &c. ; the 
French and Bavarian loss not amounting to 1000 men. The i-eputatioa 
of the Irish Ihigade was much increased at this victory. According to 
the official letters, or tho.se of D'Usson and Villars, Major-Geneial 
Dorrington always led on his infantry, with great regularity, and valour. 
Major-Geneial Lee, in command of a French corps broken by the enemy, 
displayed his usual resolution, by the manner in which he exposed his 
j)ersou, to remedy the disorder that occurred; and, in doing so, received 
5 ov 6 wounds. In liastening up to gain a village in the centre, 
whicli it was requisite to pos.sess, in order to advance in front with 
effect against the enemy, the Irish, under Lord Clare, occujMed that 
]iost, with an ardour for fighting tliat c mid not be sufficiently pi-aiscd j 
and tliry continued to manifest their usual good-will and coi'responding 
ardour, being the 1st body of infantry, (j'oll.ov:ed by the brigade of 
Artois, iind some companies of gi-enadiers,) to which was due the final 
or decisive breaking and dispersion of the German infantry, attended 
by a great slaughter of that infantry, during the uiglit, in the woods, 
through whicli tliey endeavoured to escape.* Count Arthur Dillon adds 
respecting this battle — " The Eegiment of Clare highly distinguished 
itself tliere. Having lost, at the commencement of the action, 1 of its 
colours, it ])recipitated itself, a Varme blanche, u])on the enemy, recovered 
that, and took 2 other colours from the enemy." f This was being 
"double and quit" with the Germans. 

* Villars, mentioning to Louis XIV. bow 'Ton attendit que I'infanterie eftt 
gagne un village, qui etait dans le centre, pour marcher de front aux ennemis," 
states, "les Irlaiidais, commaiide's par milord Clare, I'avaient occupe', avec una ardeur 
de conibattre que 1 on ne pent assez louer." And again, or in reference to their 
(H'Hiral conduct in the action, he alleges, "les irlandais ont marqiig lenr bonne 
volonte et leur ardeur ordinaires." As to the infantry, whose coming up, &c., 
with that of the enemy, decided the event of the contest, the Marshal writes, "la 
brigade des IrJandais, celle d' Artois, et quelques cotnpagnies de grenadiers, ayant 
joint leurs derniers rangs, le dcsordre s"y mit ; elle fut "entiiircment ronipuc ; uus 
troupes eu tuiiveiit beaucoup dans les bois, ou le massacre fut trCss-graud, ct duia 
BJtme toute la unit." 

t Le Itt'gimeiit de Clare s'y distingua beaucoup. Ayaut perdu, au commence- 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCS. 223 

The greatest efforts of the Allies, in 1704, were marie h. Germany, 
to save the House of Austria, attacked liy the Bavarians and French on 
one side, and by the Hnngarians on anothei'. For this purpose, in Jnne, 
the Anglo-Dntch and Imperial armies joined in Swahia, under the Didio 
of Marlborongh and Prince Lewis of Barlen. Eacli was to command day 
about, and they pi'oceeded in July to enter Bavaria. To op])ose them, 
the Bavarian Field-Marshal, Count d'Arco, was stationed on the hill of 
Sch ell en berg, extending from Donawert on liis left, towards a wood on 
his right. That eminence, very steep, rouyh, and difficult to ascend, had 
been, some time before, ordered to be intrenched along the summit. 
But, accoiding to an Italian otheer there, the Marquis Scipio MatRu, 
Lieutenant-General in the Bavarian and s<d)sequently in the Imperial 
service, the works commenced were on a scale that would have accom- 
modated li5,000 men, and yet were so little advanced, that they could 
not be com]>leted before they were to V)e attacked ; while the Bavarian 
and French force for the defence were no more, at most, than SOOO men, 
and 14 guns. Ju'^^ 2nd, Marlborough, whose day it was to command, 
cannonaded the imperfectly-intivnched en-.inence, with a corresponding 
advantage on his side, fi'om 5 to 6 o'clock in the afternoon, and then 
ordered the post to be attacked in form. In artillery, from the Allied 
train being previously mentioned as having included 44 (ield-guns, he 
a))pears to have been much superior. His infantry, by Allied accovints, 
consisted of .5580 select British and Dutch, 3()00 Imperial grenadiers, 30 
additional battalions, half on the right and half on the left, that, at 
500 men per battalion, would be 15,000, or, with the 8580 British, 
Dutch, and grenadier Imperialists, 23,580 ; his cavalry amounted to 30 
British and Dutch squadrons, tliat, at 150 men each, wouhl make 4500; 
and his entire force would thus be (exclusive of officers) 28,080 strong. 
The assault was commenced, on the side of the hill towards the wood, by 
the British and the Dutch ; the former headed by a party of their 
Guai'ds, under Lord Mordaunt, with shouts of ''God save the Quean!" 
and both being seconded by the rest of the tioops ])resent. But the 
assailants, for an hoin* or more, were repulsed, and with such a smashing, 
especially of the British, that, it is said, the survivors could not be gc^tten 
to make another effort, M'hen the renuiinder of the Allies opportunely 
came u)). to attack the hill towards Donawert. This they did gallantly, 
under Prince Lewis of Ba<len, who was wounded, and had a horse shot 
under him ; and the works having l)een most imperfect there, and the 

irders respecting the most efi'ective mode of defending them not having 
:)een followed by the French officer at Donawert, Brigadier Dubordet 

iiid the 2 battalions of Tourouse and Nettancourt, the lines (m that side 

were forced, in about half an hour, by the infantry of the Imperialists; 
Lhe general assault upon the position, fnmi its commencement by Marl- 

lorough at 6 o'clock, having occupied from an hour and a half to an 
hour and 3 quarters. Ex[)osed, on the storming of their imperfect 
intrenchments, to such "a world of enemies" — oi-, by line of battle, 71 
battalions and 152 squadrons against but 19 battalions and 6 squadrons ! 
— the Gallo-Bavarians were obliged to abandon their artillery, (but first 
spiked or rendered useless,) their tents, their baggage, and 13 standards; 
yet had not, acc(n-dirig to Maffei, in or after the action, 2500 slain or 
taken. The killed and wounded of the Allies are recorded, on their side, 

nient de faction, I de ses drapeanx, i! foiidit, a laruie blanche, siir reauenii, et le 
re^iiit, avec 2 autres drapeaux eiiiieuiis. 



224 niSTORv of tiik imsn epjgades 

fey Serjeant Millner ftf " the Honourable Roysfl Regiment ot* Foot of 
Ireland."* as looii British, of other nations 3772, of whom \'.i'M were 
I)utch, and 2+41 Germans, making a general total of 5308 men, inclnding 
360 oflicers ! f Such was the famous comhat at the lines of Schellenberg, 
where Marlborough, at the head of a much superior force, was beaten, till 
aided by the Prince of Baden, with still greater numbers; | and where, 
considered apart from the mere circumstance of ultimate success, which, in 
war, as well as in peace, is too often n it the reward of the greatest merit, 
tlie very vigorous defence, and nni)aralleled slaughter of their enemies, by 
the Gallo-Bavarians, with every advantage against them but that of 
position, unquestionably entitled them to the priiicipal glory of the day. 
At this action, there were no Irish troops. But Major- General Andrew- 
Lee commanded upon the Gallo-Bavarian right, where the British were 
so roughly handled previous to the entrance of the lines by the Imperiaf- 
ists, on the left, or towards Donawert. Being thus cut off from retiring 
by Donawert, Lee pi'oceeded to withdraw his men, in the direction of 
the wood, to Neuburgh. And this, he, says a French contenn)oi-ary, 
"executed with so much prudence, l)y availing himself of some squadrons 
of dragoons, that he sufl'ered no loss, although closely followed by the 
enemy as far as the wood, where, having totally despaired of being able 
to break in upon him, they retired." 

The next and most famous engagement of the campaign of 1704 was 
"the 2nd battle of Hochstedt," or Blenheim, fought, August 13th, 
between the Allies under the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene 
of Savoy, and the French and Bavarians under the Marshals de Tallard 
and Marcin, and the Elector of Bavaria. Of the Gallo-Bavarians, the 
army of the Marshal de Tallard formed the right ; the army of the 
Marshal de Marcin and the Elector formed the left. The former force 
extended fi'om the village of Blenheim, which it occupied on its right, 
to the vicinity of the village of Oberglau, on its left. The latter force 
extended from the village of Oberghm, which it occupi.ed on its i-ight, to 
beyond the village of Lutzingen, which it held on its left. The general 
position of the 2 armies was along a sloping eminence, with the I^^ebel, 
a marshy rivulet, before them ; a hostile passage of which was, however, 
much facilitated by the dryness of the season. The army of the Marshal 
de Tallard vvas oj)posed, on the Allied left, by the British, Dutch, Ger- 
man, and Danish troops, under the Duke of Marlborough. The army of 
the Marshal de Marcin and the Elector was opposed, on the Allied right, 
by the Prussians, Danes, Imperialists, and other German troops, under 
Prince Eugene of Savoy. The following were the proportions of men 
and artillery on both sides, by the best contemporary accounts of e;Loh, 
respecting its own strength. ' 

* The ISth Eoyal Irish Regiment of Foot, a most distingiiishecl corps, from the 
cai)ture of Namur ^^nder King William III., to the Aa//'-capture of tSebastopol under 
Queen Victoria. 

f The Dutch, as 378 killed and 953 wounded in Millner's table, would have 
lli'.il killed and wounded ; which last number is also consistent with his gen3ral 
total of the Allied loss as 5.308. I have therefore corrected into 1331 an evident 
misprint of the Dutch total killed and wounded as but 1311. Of the 15313 Uritish 
horn lie. r.omhdf, 115 were officer.'!, and 1-121 HuldirrH. 

X The medal, struck by the Dutch, on this occasion, had Prince Lewis of I'adeu's 
ba.st on ou'i side, and, on the other, the intrenchuients of SchcUculierg, a plan of 
D-iiawert, witli the Genius of the city, represented by an old man leaning \ipoii 
an urn, and an inscription in Latin, thus translated — " Tite hhcdhi viinnnlili,td, pat 
tojligh', and their cauip tti/ceii, at Schelienbenj, near Donawurt, 17U4." 



IX THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 



225 





Battalions. 


Squadrons. 


TallanVs, . 


. . 36 . 


. . 4i 


Marciu's, 


. . 42 . 


. . 83 



78 



127 



Batlalions. Squadrons. 
Marlborough's, , 48 ... 89 
Eugene's, ... 18 ... 92 

66 181 





Infantry. 


Cavalry. 


Infantry. 


Cavalxy. 


Tallnrd's, . 


. 14,400 . 


, 4,400 


Marlborough's, 24,000 . 


. 13,350 


JIarcin's, . 


. IG.SOi) . 


. 8,300 


Eugene's, . . 9,000 . 


. 13,800 



31.200 



Gallo-Bavarian infantry, 
— cavalry. 

Grand Total, 



12,700 

Men. 
31,200 
12,700 



33,000 



27,1.-0 



Allied infantry, 
cavalry, . 



43,900 



Grand Total, . 60,1.')0 



Canuon, 90. Cannon, 6G. * 

From about 9 o'clock in the morning, the cannonading was kept 
U)) till near 1, when the charging began ; and the contest was not 
entirely terminated till after annset. By that time, the array of 
Tallar<l, from its great disparity in number to its opponents, from the 
very inferior condition of its horses, owing to long marches and a 
vast mortality among them, from the sun and wind having been 
against it during the most difficult and critical portion of the engagi;- 
ment, and from some defects in its arrangement, and some faults iu 
its conduct, was routed, destroyed, or surrounded. The Marshal himself 
was taken, with iipwards of DO coLjurs, 25 standards, and 34 pieces of 
cannon ; and so many as 27 of his battalions and 12 of his squadrons, 
cut off from the rest, had finally, or about 8 o'clock, to surrender eii 
iiiasse' AH jirisoners at Blenheim. But Marcin and the Elector, being 
differently situated from what Tallard was with reference to Marl- 
borough, or not having to contend, like Tallard, against a force sr> 
snpeiiur in number, were proportic-nahly fortunate, on their side of the. 
licld. They maintained their position, and repulsed Eugene's attacks 
until abovit 7 o'clock, when, obliged not by him, but by 'Jallard's over- 
throw, to retire, they retreated Jionourably; abandoning, indeed, along 
with Eugene's artillery, which they had captured, 13 pieces of their own 
cannon, but carrying off the rest, or 43 guns, accompanied by 30 A.llied 
colours or standards, 4 yjairs of kettle-drums, and 2U84 prisoners. On 
this disastrous day, the Gatlo-Bavarians admitted a diminutif>n of nearly 
22,100 men ; of whom the killed and wounded, by the Paris account of 
the action, were '12,000 at most, and the prisonei-s, by the Archives of 
the Depot de la Guerre, were 1076 officers and iiOli) soldiers, or, 10,095 
of both ranks ;t and, with these, there fell into the hands of the Allies, 

* The Allied battalions are admitfcd to have averaged 500 men, tbe Allied 
squadrons 150 horses, each ; those of the Gallo- Bavarians but 400 and 100 res])oc- 
tively. Tlie pro[iortion of tlie confederates of Marlborough to his msular couoiu- 
geufc, (in both cases, exclusive of othcers,) would be — 

Continentals, 47,611 

British 12.539 



Total. 



6.), 1.50 



^• The Allies claim many more ; hut must not this have been by inchidijig su(»er- 
numetanea, or ineifc caui|) lollowcrs, as mUiturij / 



226 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

accoi-diiig to Marlbdrongli's and Eugene's bulletin, a total of military 
ensigns and guns, amounting to above 115 colours or standards, and 47 
pieces of cannon. Many nien also perished in the subsequent retreat, 
under Marcin and the Elector, towards the Rhine ; all the French, that 
were found straggling, being knocked on the head by the German boors. 
The Allies enumerated their killed and wounded, as in Millner's tables, 
at 2234 British, and 10,250 other Confederates, of whom 2196 were 
Dutch, and 8054 Germans and Danes, making, iu all, 12,484 slain or 
hurt; that, with the 2084 men, previously referred to as captured, would 
form a general loss of 14 568 men.* 

The Irish, at this celebi-ated battle, consisted of the 3 battalions of 
Majors- General Andrew Lee, and William Dorrington, and Brigadier 
Charles O'Brien, 5th Lord Clare. Tho.se battalions had been recruited* 
from France, in May, with 300 of their countrymen. By the " Instruc- 
tion du Roi a M le Comte de Marcin, 14 Octobre, 1703," &c., it would 
seem that Louis was particularly desirous to till up, with their own 
countrymen, the " Regiments Irlandais dans I'Armee d' Allemagne," 
from the excellent opinion he entertained of those national cor[)s — 
" Sa Majeste etant persuades, que ce qu'ils poiirrnnt, i/s le/eront, et que 
ce qwils prometfront, Us le tiendront!" — an eulogium of the Irish regi- 
ments, by the French Monarch, the more valuable, as ex|)ressed in a 
document, not intended for the public eye. The 3 Irish corps, as 
attached to the army of the Marshal do Marcin, formed a ])ortiou of the 
infantry, stationed, under the gallant Marquis de Blaiaville, (son of the 
great Minister, Colbert.) about the centre of flie Gallo- Bavarian position, 
or at the village of Oberglau. Partly by the road, passing, on the Allied 
Bide of the Nebel, immediately through Underglau, and then, on the 
(3 alio- Bavarian side of the stream, leading, in a curving direction, to 
Oberglau, and partly by a fordable place to the right of Underglau, the 
Duke of Marlborough iiad to advance against, and cause Oberglau to be 
assailed on its right. Still farther away to the Allied right, or beyond 
Wilheim, with such of the Dutch infantry (or German and Swiss 
infantry in Dutch pay) as were nearest to Prince Eugene's army, and 
■were accordingly designed to be aided by some [inperial cavalry, another 
attack was to be made, under the Prince of Holstein-Beek, or Ilolstein- 
Beck, on Oberglau in front; an almost straight road conducting to it 
there, on both sides of tlie water. 

The troops of Marlborough, to act against Oberglau on its right, 
■were Danes, Hanoverians, and English. Of these, the Danes and 

• The sranll diir'^rence between tlie rialloRavarians and the Allies in killed and 
wounded mciji be ex[)laine(l by tlie ytiry severe execution of the sujierior and well- 
(served artillery of the foniier agaiust the latter, for several hours before lioth sides 
could actually charge or eui^ai^'e ; so th.it, if the (iallo-Bavarians lost most men 
towards the end of the day, t'le Allies seem to have lost most in the earlier part 
of it. From about 9 to 1 o'clock, (luring which the (iallo- Bavarian artillery played 
uninterru])teclly u]ioii the Allied masses, they were supposed to have suffered to 
the amount of abnut 'iOtlO men. Eugene, too, was right well mauled, by Marcin 
and the Elector, tliroughiut the day. If MarUiorougli was so very successful 
against; i'allard on the Uallo- Bavarian riglit, "cependant," alleges the Paris narra- 
tive of September (Jlh, " I'atle gauche de I'infanterie, oummandee ]>ar le Marquis de 
Blainville, avoienfc, en 5 differentes charges, tonjours enfonco et rompu la droite 
des enneniis avec un grand carnage, gagne I'artilierie, et pris beaucoup d'etendarts 
et de drapeaux, de mani&re que TElecteur crnt la victoire certaine. . . . On 
leur a })ris 3(5 etendarts et drapeaux, et 4 paires de tind)ales." The mimerical 
dsitiiila of the accoinpany'uKj 2jSi prisouei-a are given by Lieuteuant-Geucral I'eiefc. 



IN TIIK SERVICE OF FR \NCE. 2-7 

RaiiOVPrians, who were cavalry, luiviiig first gotten over the stream afe 
Uiuleiglaii and on its right, were so wanrily received, that they were 
immediately driven back to their own side. They renewed the attemut 
to cross, sustained by infantry, but with no lietter result. A .^nl 
attempt, however, supported by Marlborough in person, witli souih 
British squadrons, some Tm[)erial squadrons of the corps c/e reserre, mo *; 
battalions, and a battery from Wilheim, effected the passage, and made 
the Gallo-Bavarian outposts of horse ccnnmence retiring towards Obcr- 
glau. At this time, the Duke, according to the London Gazette, " very 
narrowly escaped being siiot by a cann(^)n-bullet, which grazed under his 
horse's belly, and covered him all over with dirt, insomuch that all that 
saw it concluded him to be dashed to pieces." Tlie fire from Oberg an 
now flanking Mai-lborough on the rigiit, and so protecting Marcin's 
cavalry, as to enal)1e them, when repulsed, to form again, and return to 
the charge, the Duke, who. after establishing his men V)eyond the rivulet' 
here, was obliged to proceed els.'whei-e, or to act with vigour against 
Tallard on the left, ordere<l, ere he depai'ted, that the obno.xious village 
sliould be stormed by fresh English and Dutch troops. This order 
respecting Olierglau ai)|)eared the more likely to be carried into eiFect, as 
aU the iiedges about that village had been levelled by the Marquis de 
Blamville, to admit of intan try-charges from it. " But," says Prince 
Eugene's historian, "it could not be forced, in spite of all the intrepidity 
of the English, who encountered such a furious tempest of mnsket-bali>s, 
of grenades, and of cartridge-shot from the artillery, that the ground 
■was very soon covered with their dead." Nevertheless, these attacks from 
Marluoi-ough's side of the field on Oberglau, although insufficient to carry 
that stoutly-defended post, were most serviceable to him, as constituting 
such a diversion, that he was finally able to overpower Tallard elsewhere. 
Meantime, the Prince of Holstein-Beek, in the Dutch service, had 
proceeded, as ordered b}' Marlborough, to assail Oberglau in front. 
The Prince, from the 1st line where he comman;led, drew the 2 infantry 
brigades of Marlborough's army nearest to Eugene's, or Wul wen's and 
Heidenbregh's. Of Wulwen's brigade, the battalions or regiments were 
6, or Beinheim's, Swerin's, Wulwen's, Varen's, and the Prince of Prussia'*, 
Those of Heidenbregh's brigade were also 0, or Heidenbregli's, Rech- 
teren's, Hirsel's, Sturler's, and Goor's. With these 10 battalions, and 
calculating on the co-operati<m of some Imperial cavalry not above 
a couple of musket-shots from where he was to array his infantry 
<m the other side of the stream that ran across the road conduct- 
ing directly up to Oberglau, the Prince advanced towards the termina- 
tion of the road on his side of the water. But, finding, it seems, 
Marcin's outguards (unlike Tallard's elsewhere) too closely stationed 
at and about the jiass there, he left some of his battalions to engage 
the enemy's attention in that quarter. Then, turning off the road, 
on his I'ight, to where there was a marshy winding of the stream 
unguarded, (apparently as supposed so difficult to pass, that, ere any 
considerable corps could get over, it might be duly interrupted by a 
detachment from Oberglau) he managed to cross the rivulet with 3 or 4 
of his l)attalions, including Beiidieim's and Go(tr's, and began to put them 
in order."' But, before he could accouiplish this, or be assisted by the 

* Tliis movement of the German Prince u])on Obersilau has been involved in 
ft wretched hotch-juitch of blunders liy ])receding writers; to expose t'le extent of 
■wlicse misconceptions on the suliject would occupy too uiucU space hero. 



228 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIOADES 

Imperial cavalry, the Marquis de Blainville caused him to he cliarcfed 
from Oherglau by (accoi-diiig to Allied coiiiputatioii) from 7 to !) itat- 
talions there, headed by tlie Irish Brisjtaiu;. This charge was most 
vigorously executed. The P*riiice, wonndt^d in several jilace.s, was made 
j>risoiier. Of his regiments, 2 suffered terribly by the Irish. Goor's, a 
line corps, most to the right, is stated to have been destroyed, with tlu; 
exception of its Colonel, a few more officers, and 50 or 60 ))rivates. 
Beinheim's, noticed by Marlborough as always distinguished, and })arti- 
< ularlv so on this occasion, is mentioned by him to have lost so many 
nilieers as to be inc;ipacitated from future service, or virtually annihilated, 
lill they could be r('i)laced. The rest of the Prince's troops were put to 
llic sword, or routed." Obeiglau, in short, was not oidy unapproachable, 
through tiie tiery hail of musketry and the crushing thunder of artillery < 
l>v which it was guarded, but, in /) several charges made by its brave 
def'ende)-, the Martpiis de Blainville, and his choice corps of infantry, 
including the Irish, (i oth'')- batt ilions, and the brigades (jf Champagne 
and Bourbonnois, the Alli'S were uuif)rndy overthrown, and very 
severely han<lled. 'I'lie English and Dutch hail the 2084 men (or 201 
officers and 1(SS.'^ soldier.^) taken jirisoners, jireviously referred to as such, 
and specilied in the Freiu-h archives as " Anglois et HoUandois." 
jfJeither were the Imperialists, from wliat tJiei/ sulfered. in any better 
Condition to jtenetrate to 01)erglau, until the order for retreat was given 
by JMarciu and the Elector in the evening, when the ])lace was evacuated, 
alter being set ou tire.t "The battle being lost," obsei-ves 1 ot my 

* Under such circ■lUIlR^fmoes, what is to he thought of all that jMarlborough's 
Cliaiilaiu, Dr. Hare, (iifterwards Bishop of Chichester,) has thought lit to coiu- 
niuincate resjiecting the Irisli, and the 2 i/fivol/.s/ird Dutch regiments? It is a3 
follows. "Ihe Irish regiments in the French .service attacked those of Goore 
and Beinheim, but they were so warmly received, that, after a sharp dispute, 
tjiey were forced to retire." Siipnrc-isto veri mu/i/estio fnlsl! Of the 3 or 4 
l)attalions under the Prince of Holsteiii-Beek, of which Goor's and Bcinheim'a 
were 2, the French historian, the Marquis de Quincy, speaks, as " enti&rement 
♦lefaits" — Prince Eugene's hiogra|)her, as " tallies en pieces," adding of •' celui de 
CJoor," that " il ne rcviut i)as 50 hommes " — and the Dutch laeutonant-General 
Baron Hompesch, among the Allied battalions which suffered most by the engage- 
ment, specifies " surtout ceux de Goor et de Beinheim." The latter regiment is 
thus ret'ened to by Marlborough, in writing to the Dutch government, about a 
fortnigiit after the battle. 'O regiment a toujours servi avec distinction, et 
jiarticuliereiuent dans la derni^re bataille." Of the condition to which it was 
j-eiluced by that engngement, the Duke adds—" Le regiment de Beinheim se trou- 
vait tellemeut degarni d otticiers, que sans y en placer incessamment, le corps ne 
serait plus en etat de servir, et courrait risq'ie d'etre ent brement perdu." 

t In .Misons " Life of John, Duke of Marlborough," (2 vols., 1852,) the Irish 
Brigade, aj'tar the disocmititure of "Prince Holstein!" is represented as driven 
back in confusion, by Marlborough in person, to that village But, it will be 
manifest, how utterly untenable such a statement is, by a reference, in the 
Lettres Historiques for 1704, to the excellent Dutch official relation of tlie battle, 
vith an annexe 1 jilan of the acti m, taken upon the spot, by M. Ivoy, Colonel, and 
Quarter Masr,er-(,4eneral at the Camp, under Marlborough. The difference of the 
locdity of Marlborough's movement towards OI)ei-glau as marked I, anil that of 
the Prince of Holstein-Beeks as marked K, in tins plan by M. Ivoy, shows how- 
vary distant, and proi)ortionab]y distinct, the 2 movements were from each other; 
so inuc'i so, as, along vvi h the Dutch account, &c., to uttcrhi discountenance the 
iiot'on of Marlljorough's having b-en in a part of the field to bring him into 
such an inuncdi.ite and successful co dlict, as that ■■^iipjiascil, with the Irish 
Pxigade, The complete separation between the respective sites of the English 
(.jeiieral's and the Gernian Prince's o)k rations in person against < Iberglau may 
Le »eeii, even iu Tiadal's coutiuiiaUon of lia2)in, (vol. iv., pp. (j5(j-7, Loudou, 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 223 

BCO'^imts ill French respecting tlie Irish, " they forced a passage for 
the.mselves thi'ough the enemy, who took no prisoners from them ; an I 
they did not h)se any colours, which may be regarded as a creditalilo 
circumstance, upon that fatal day." Another remarks — " It was th« 
Kegitnvnt of Clare that sustained the retreat of the French army, and 
thus covered itself with glory." Forn)an, after referring to "the hehav- 
ionr of Clare's regiment, commanded hy the Lord Clare in person at 
Blenheim, where they cut a Dutch or German regiment to pieces, con- 
sisting of 500 men, and commanded by Colonel Goore,"* adds the 
following anecdotes and reflections — " The Colonel himself, with a few 
of his officers, and about 60 men. were all that escaijed. The nielanchnllv, 
<lejected Goore went the next morning to the Duke of Marlborough's 
It'vee, where, as he was giving his Giace an account of the action, an 
English Colonel says pertly to. him — ' I wish I had been in your place:' 
— ' I wish, with all my heart, you had,' rejilies Goore very gravely to 
him, 'I .should have had a very good regiment to-day. and you would 
have been without one.' The Duke smUed, and everybody ai)tilaude;l 
the justness of the repartee. If every regiment in the French army 
had hehjtved that day like the Irish, England, instead of a trifling 
expence in building a house to ]iireserve the memory of so gi-eat a victory 
Hs the Duke of Marlborough gained at Blenheim, winild have found 
herself incunibred with a fugitive Emperor, a numerous Imperial 
family, which she must, at a heavy charge, have been obliged to main- 
tain, if a visit from the Chevalier had not brought a worse remedy to 
prevent it."t 

The Allies, after their success at Blenheim, having advanced to the 
fortress of Landau, before which they were detained, by the stubborn 
defence of the French, from September 9th to November 23rd, Prince 
Eugene, during the tedious progress of this siege, concerted measures for 
sn I prising the 2 Biisachs. The former, on the German bank of the 
]Miin(', was known as the OV, the latter, on the French l:)aiik, as tliH 
l\ tiv, and there was a bridge-communication between them. The French 
garrison was but 4 battalions and 6 independent companies. The com- 
])ai-ative disorder, necessarily resulting from 1200 labourers being then 
employed in strengthening the works of the old town, was a favourable 
circumstance for the Prince's design, in connexion witli a frequent 
entrance of carts of hay for a magazine thei-e; and the German Governor 
ot Friburgh, who was to command the force for the intended surpri.se, had 

1745,) from these items in its engraved plan of the battle. "3. The D. of ]\faii- 
li'iroiK/h a-wwi-S' an. I rallies the Danish and NaiKwerian Icorse." — ^"4. Goors ;v;/«- 
7iipnt routed, and the r. of Holstfia-B' ck desperatelii wounded.'" So much for 
tlie iindt/inari/ repuL'-e of the Irish Brisade l)y Marlborough in person! 

* 1 correct into "5(J0" the apj)arent error, or misprint, in Forman, of Goore's, 
or Giior's, regiment, as " 1500." 

t Since Forman tells ns, (and t-id>/ tells us) that he "had the honour to 
serve in the War-Office of Great Britain," he coukl iearu many particulars of 
the Continental cain]iaigns, not generally kiown. In my extract froui him, I 
omit, as irrelevant here, his controversial allusions 'to Arnail, a coiitemp'irar/ 
Whig goveriiment-lilieller, wiiting under the signature of " Francis Walsing lam, ' 
and a i)r()))f>rtionate delamer of the Irisli ; who is reported to have receivcil tr..iii 
8ir Eoliert Walpole "about £1().0>..0 for his ignominious Liliours, and to h.ive 
retired from them with a pension." He is thus apostrophized \>y Pope — 

" Spirit of ArnaU ! aid me while I lie!' — 

!unl consigned to additional infamy, in the Duuciad, as a shameless ^oliLico- 
literary hireling. 



230 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

obtained n knowltnlge of the iiiteiii)r of tlie j)lace through his valet, who 
liad gotten a ])as.s|i(irt to go in ami out, on the ])retext of purchasing 
■wines for his master. On the nigiit of November 9th, whicli was previon.s 
to a day wlien a qiiantity of hay was expected to reach the town, th« 
Governor of Fribnrgli, with 4000 i^elect German and Swiss infantry and 
100 cavahy, set out to effect his object. His v^^n was preceded by 50 
waggons, appai'ently of hay, but containing men and arms concealed ; and 
those waggons wen^ accompanied by a number of tlie most determined 
olhcers or grenadiers, disguised as drivers or ])easauts. Tlie vehicles and 
their immediate escort leaclied 1 of the gates of the town about 8 
o'clock in tlie morning, favoured by a very thick fog, and 3, containing 
men and arms, actually entered the town. But, at this critical juncture, 
the "Sieur de liierne, Irlandois,"* a Mr. O'Beirne or U'Byi-ne, an Irish-* 
man, overseer of the labourers on the fortifications, remarked near th« 
gate about 40 men, who, though disgui^sed as ])easants, could not pass with 
Jiini as such. U])oti which, he demamleil, " Who they were ? why they 
were not at their laboui-, like the rest?" — and addressing himself more 
particularly to 1. who was the Lieutenant-Colonel of the Ilegiment of 
Bareuth, he asked him, " Where 'he came from? what was the meaning 
of all those faces, that were never there before?" O'otaining no answer 
to these puzzling questions, the uucomiuomising Hiliernian proceeded, 
*' more patiio," to extract a rejily l)y a ni(U-e summary process, or by 
rapid and unsparing ap])lication of the "ar^umentuni baculinum" to the 
Gernum's wincing back. The Lieutenant-Colonel, not relishing this kind 
of c/'av.9-exami nation, and so smarting under the Irishman's cane, as to 
forget, that to take revenge tlieu lor the pain he was in might ruin the 
enterprise in which he was engaged, rushed to the nearest waggon, and, 
Riiatching a musket from the hay, discharged it, but inelfectually, at his 
tormentor. Betvveen L") and 20 of the Lieutenant-Colonel's comjianions 
likewise iired. and, thougli at only o or G paces' di.stance, missed their 
mark. Unarmed against so many armed opponents, the Irishman betook 
liiniM'lf to the ibsse amidst the reeds; in which direction, too, they aimed 
several shots at him, (the whole, from first to last, about 40!) but still 
w itiiout even wounding him ; wdiile he gavt; the alarm on them by shouting 
"to urnis!" with all his strength, and they justified this alarm by their 
sliotsathim! The consequence of this " Lst alarm" occasioned by the 
Irishman was, that the garrison and citizens were apprised of their damper 
in due time to .save the place, in doing which they had but 20 men killed 
or wounded. The Germans and Swiss, on the other hand, according to 
Pi'ince Eugene's biographer, lost abf)ut 200 men; including the Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel of the Regiment of Osnabruck, who was to be Governor of 
the town if taken; the Lieutenant-Colonel of the Regiment of Bareuth, 
who.se premature resort to musketry, under the stimulus of the cudgel, 
j'uined the undertaking; a Major, and many Captains and Lieutenants. 
There were likewise left behind sevei-al carts, 500 muskets, a quantity of 
liatchets, etc. The defeat of this attempt by land on Old Brisach caused 
the enemy to abandon another meditated by water against New Brisach. 
Thus was a single Irishman, furnished with no better weapon than a 

* This vigilant Hif)ernian, "minding his business, just as he ought to be," is 
fairly acknowledged as "Irlandois," in the (iri(jinal, French account of tlie attempt; 
oil l'>risach, dated, from that place, Novenilier 11th, 1704. But that acknowledg- 
nu'iit lias l)eeii uncopied hy succeeding writers, and thus "tlie colil chain of silence 
hatii lain o'er it Ioiil;, '" or raitii here asbigned a little niche in the temple of hiotoiy. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 231 

stict, the medinm of fVusfcrating at Brisacli (-ah his lietter-armed coiintry- 
Kieu had done at Cremona) an enterprise of Eugene, that, if attended with 
snccess, wouM liave been very injurious to Fratice. The inipoitance of 
Brisach to the French will be V)eKt ccmceived, f'oui Lonis XIV. Imving 
en^|)loyed 40,000 cliosen men, 120 cannon and 40 nim-tars, tlie yeai- before;, 
for its reduction, under the heir to his crown, the Duke of Burgundy, 
aided by the famous engineer, tlie Marshal de Vauban, and from the 
irritation of th<^ Em])eror Leopold I. having been very gi'cat at its loss. . 

The leading operations in Italy in 1704 were the difficult sieges, by 
the Duke of Vendo.ne, of Vercelli, of Ivrea, and V"errua, tlie last not 
terminated till April, 1705. The Irish battalions, acting more imme- 
diately under the Duke, were Dillon's, Galmoy's and Berwick's. Those 
of Bourkc and Fitz-Gerald served elsewhere. At Verrua was killed, by 
a bomb-shell, the veteran Colonel William Connock. As Major, he had 
accompanied or followed King James II., early in 1689, from Fi-ance to 
Ireland, to opjjose the Revolutionists; and was then appointed there 
Lieutenant-Colonel to Lord Boffin's Regiment of Infantry. After the 
war in Ireland, he continued to serve with the national army on the 
Continent; and, in 1702, was a ref(nmed or supernumerary Lieutenant- 
Colonel, as ]iieviou.sly mentioned, to the Regiment of Bourke, when 
brevetted, for his distinguished conduct at Cremona, to the rank of Colf)nel. 

The successful campaign of the Duke of Berwick in the Peninsula ia 
1704 has been already noticed in the history of his regiment. Biigadier 
Daniel O'Mahony, who was also sent to serve there, soon signalized himself. 
The Portuguese having had Monsanto delivered u]) to them, except the 
Castle, in which a French Ca})tain held out with 50 men, M. de Jeoffre- 
ville and Don Francisco Rouquillo i-esolved, in Jum^ if possible, to 
relieve the Captain, when they learned, that the Portuguese General-in- 
Chief and the greatest pai't of his forces were in battle anviy, only a mile 
and a half offi Upon this, Jeoffreville and Rouquillo decided, that their 
infantry should i-emain about Idanha Yelha, while the cavalry should 
proceed to reconnoitre the enemy, and endeavour to succour the Gap- 
tain in Monsanto. "The Sieur de Mahoni," observe the c(intem))orary 
accounts, "commanded on the right, when, towards evening, 20 Portu- 
guese squadrons were seen, that, after remaining some time drawn up 
for action, opened, to make room in the centre lor their infantry, 
apparently amounting to 16 battalions. They advanced with much 
confidence, as calculating, from the superiority of their numbers, on snr- 
I'ounding the Spanish troops, and cutting them to pieces. They even 
took in flank and rear the dragoons, and the Regiments of the Queen, 
of Milan, and of Orders, which the Sieur de Mahoni,, the Irish Briga- 
dier, commanded. But he received them with such lirmness, and 
repulsed them with so much vigour, that he stopped them, until he 
gained time for the rest of his troops to reach a dehle on their left. 
When this was passed, he caused the Regiment of the Queen to turn 
upon them, and chaiged them so effectively, tliat 1 of their- regiments of 
dragocnis, in a yellow uniform, which had likewise passed, was driven 
back again in confusion, leaving 200 dead n])on the place. This brought 
the enemy to a halt, till they could be joined by their infantry, and 
artillery. Then the Spanish troops retired in good order behind a 
ravine; the Sieur de Mahoni." on the renewal of the pursuit, "repeatedly 
hieing the enemy with his rear-guard, and ai-resting their progress, with 
tile almost unceasing tire which he kej»t up. Thus this retreat was 



232 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

accompli sihefl, witliout any greater loss than about 50 men, in the pre- 
sence of a force 3 times more numerous."" And that retreat was the 
more honourable to the Irish Bi-igadier, since, on reaching Idanha Vellia, 
lie met no infantry there; they having left that place in disordei', on a 
rej)()rt, that their cavalry had been defeated. 

In 17<l5, T do not find the Iiish distinguished by their achievertienta 
fnmi the Frencii in Gerniaiiy aud Flanders.* In Italy, where Louis 
XIV. made every eftbrt to ci-usli the *Duke of Savoy in Piedmont, and 
prevent his being assisted through Lombardy, by the Imperialists under 
Prince Eugene, the Irish battalions of Berwick, Bourke, Dillon, Fitz- 
Gerald, and Galmoy, served under the Duke of Vendome. May 20th, 
2 Fr-ench regiments of cavalry, attacked in the night by 500 of the 
enemy's cavaliy at the village of Castel Alfero in Piedmont, had a^ 
Colonel, other officers, and several hoi-ses captured, and would have 
•BufTered more but for Colonel Walter Bourke, who, being in the castle 
•with 2 companies of his regiment, sallied out, and made such a good 
disposition of his men in different directions, as, partly by imposing u{)on 
the enemy, and partly by a well-served fire of musketry, to oblige the 
assailants to retire. Jnly 20th, tlie Duke of Vendome, with oOO horse 
and 6 companies of grenadiers, inclu<ling tho-e of ♦^he Regiments of 
Berwick and Galmoy, and Lieutenant-Colonel Daniel O'Carroll of the 
former cor[)s, marched from Soresina towards a sti-ong j)ost of Prince 
Eugene's near Genivolta, fortified fen- a battalion of 401) Croats, and 200 
horse. The Duke's intention was, merely to approach the ytlace, in 
order to reconnoitre. It was surrounded by deeji ditched only tra- 
versible by a bridge, and then 3 intrenchments should be successively 
forced, the last secured by pointed stakes, and palisaded. Neveitlieless, 
such spirit was shown by the grenadiers in beating the enemy's (Mitposts 
into the intrenchments, that, on reaching them, an assault was ventured, 
and the place taken in less than a quarter of an hour; but 7 of the 
grenadiers being killed or wounded, while, besides those of the enemy 
slain, 130, including a Lieutenant-Colonel, 2 Captains, and 2 Lieutenants 
were captured, with the standard, and all belonging to the Croatian 
battalion. The Chevalier de Forl>in, who was present, wi-itcs — " The 
grenadiers of Auvergne, of Berwick, and Galmoy, entered the first. A 
more daring feat has never been achieved. M. de Carolh s conimandi'd 
the grenadiers, and was always at their head." The Duke of Vendome 
observes to Louis XIV. — " This event has surpassed my hopes, and 
nothing could occur, at the present conjuncture, more imjiortant for your 
Majesty's service." The Duke then liighly eulogizes O'Carroll, as well 
for his past services, as for having " done wonders" on this oc asion; and 
accordingly requests for him "a brevet as Colonel;" adding, " tlus action 
which he has just performed is so brilliant, that it deserves the grant of 
a distinguished reward from your Majesty." August 2nd, at a similar 
reconnoitring afl'aii-, ending in a coup de main ujion a fortified W(U'k to 
protect a bridge of the enemy on the Oglio, O'Carroll again signalized 
himself. " The grenadiers, having at their head MM. de Muret and de 
Carolles," says my author, "attacked it with so much vivacity, that they 
carried it in an instant; the troops of the enemy scarcely having time to 
repass the river, in order to reach Ostiano." 

* This year, says Mr. O'Conor, "great desertion prevailed in Marlborough's 
army whilst on tlie Moselle; aud, it is presumed, the Irish Brigade was recruited 
b^ tljis desertiou.'' 



IN THK SERVICE OF FRANCE. 233 

Aftor iTineh skilful n)arcliiTi<>; and eoiuitenn.ncliinjT l>ptwpen Eiicrnne 
and Vetirjoine, tiiey came, August iGtii. to the general engagetrient, 
known as the battle of Cassano. It took place among the canals beyond 
the river Adda, and the town of Cassano; the French and Spmiards 
liaving been both inferior in nnniV)er, and so situated, with the Adila 
behind them, that, if beaten, they rmiM have been utterly ruined. They 
■were, moreover, ass;iiled there by Eugene, when th.ey were in a state of 
disorder, quite unsuited for action, through the vei-y scandalous nii.s- 
conduct of Vendonie's Ijrotlier, the Grand Prior; out of which alarming 
]iosition, it required the utmost exertions of Vendome himself to rescue 
them. Conspicuous, (like his great progenitor, Henry IV., at the battle 
of Ivry,) from the tine white plume which he wore, 12 oi- 1-3 of his officers 
or attendants were killed beside liim by the Imperial musketry and 
cannon ; his famous bay horse, a present from Louis XIV., and, like 
Marshal Turenne's formerly, remarkable for its sagacity, fell imder him, 
pierced by numerous bullets ; while he himself was hit, in vaiions y)or- 
tions of his dress, from his hat to his boots, V)y 5 bullets, though without 
being injured. And he would certaiidy have perished there, but for the 
noble self-devotion of 1 of his officers to save him. Not waiting to be 
remounted, the Duke headed on foot a bayonet-char-ge with the grena- 
diers of the Brigades of Grancey and Bourke, to re|)el the Imperialists, 
when, says my French contemporary historian, "1 of their sohliers hav- 
ing recognized M. de Vendome in the midst of the tire, detached himself 
from his trooj), and took aim at him, in order to kill him. M. de 
Coteron, Captain of his Guai-d, having perceived the soldier, placed himself 
before Miim, i-eceived the shot in his own body, and thus preserved the 
life of his master. A remarkable acfion, de.^erviufj of ecerlnxting remein- 
hrance, and a fine proof of the sfruiir/ a.ftacJinifnt which he felt fur a I'rince, 
so useful to his countri/, so heUwfc/, by his troops, and so worthy of being 
behoved.''* Vendonie's illustrious opponent Eugene likewise exposed 
himself in the thick of tight, till obliged by 2 shots, one on the neck, and 
the other below the knee, to retire from the field. Tiie contest was 
maintained for about 4 hours with a terrible tire of artillery, or of 
nmsketry at about a pike's length, and witii fur-ious infantry charges, in the 
course of which, besides those slain or disabled, multitudes were drowned. 
Vendome's acknowledged killed and v.'(iundtMl were 272<'^; Eugene's 
acknowledged killed and wounded were SiJGfi. The French and Sj)atiiafds 
claimed the capture of 9 Im|ierial colours or standanh', with 7 cannon, 
and l'J42 prisoners; the Imperialists also claimed the capture of several 
colours or standards, but witliout specifying how many, and witli only 
530 prisoner.s.+ The greater amount of killed and woiind<'d. on tiie side 
of the Imj)erialists, was attributed to tlieir muskets and povv<UM- having 
been wetted, ya crossing the canals, to dislodge opponents, liring from tlie 
banks. By losing less men, by keeping 2i('ssessi<m of the field, and by 
thus preventing Eugene from effecting a junction with the Duke of 
Savoy, Vendome was, so far, the conqueror. By retiring, in generally 
good order, to his camp, but 3 miles fiom Cassano, and by tlien so long 
maintaining his position, as he likewise did, 3 years before, aftwr the 

• Compare this heroic death with that of De Sale, in Book III., at the battle of 
Marsagha, in 1693. 

+ Vendome's loss, in killed and wounded, 2728 ; in prisoners, 5.S0 ; in toto, 3258. 
Eugene's loss, in killed and wounded, oUoti; iu prisoners, l'J42; iu toto, StiOS. Both 
totals, 9i(>(>. 



234 nisTORY OF the trisii brigades 

battle of Lnzzara, Engone could scarcely be deemed conquered. For 
both engagemetit.s, hotli sides jiad Te Deum chanted, as both claiming to 
be victoi'ions! Yet, on bnth occasions, how great soever were Eugene's 
merits, (and they ivere great.) Vend-ome, a.s results attested, had the better 
claim to b(! styled tlie conqueror. 

The Iri.sh acquired very high honour at Cas.sano. Eugene, according 
to the French reports, having "directed his chief efforts against Ven- 
dome's centre, opposite to the Brigades of the M: rq lis de Grancey, of 
(Walter) Bourke, and of the Marine, the Imperialists* bndce through 
a battalion of the last-mentioned brigade, and forced their way to the 
artillery in the rear. But Du Heron's and Verac's Eegiuients of Dra- 
goons, and the Regiment of (the Hoiionrable Arthur) Dillon, belonging 
to the Brigade of the Marine, then so bravely attacked the Imperialist.'^,^ 
that they were overtlirown, and the brigades rejoining, ijeai'ly all, who 
had pierced through, wei'e killed. Others of the enemy, who, in a differ- 
ent direction, had penetrated between the Brigades of Grancey and of 
Perche, were vigorously assailed by the Marquis de Gi-ancey and the 
Sienr (Walter) de Bourke, who, uniting to the right and left, charged so 
furiously with fixed bayonets, that all who had passed the canal there 
■were destroyed, or driven back into it, and nnmbers of tl.em drowned. 
The Sieiir (Daniel) de Carol, Lieutenant-Colonel of the Regiment of Ber- 
wick, signalized himself very much, in this ])art of the action." It is 
added — "The Sieur Dillon, Mylord Galnioy, and the officers of the Irish 
Regiments, sustained the greatest efforts of the enemy, with an extreaie 
bravery," and that "the Irish suffered considerably." The Regiment of 
Galmoy alone is said to have had so many as 40 oliicei's kiiled or 
wounded. In addition to the ])receding jjarticulars, it is stated, by Qiiincy, 
of the battalions of Dillon, Galmoy, and Fitz-Gerakl — "The regiments of 
Dillon, of Galmoy, and of Fiyueral, being inca]iacitated from acting in 
the same manner as many of the other brigades, posted themselves ia 
fosses, with water up to their waists, and holding the liranches of trees 
and bushes between their teeth in order to raise themselves up, and get 
a better view of the enemy, by this means opened such a flanking hre 
upon him, as annoyed him much." Count Dillon, too, after relating how 
the Irish, on being galled by some Imperial batteries from the ojjpobite 
bank of the Adda, swam across and captured the batteries, ob.serves of 
those troops — "Their happy audacity very much contributed to the gain- 
ing of the battle, and M. de Vendome wrote to Louis XIV. — That the 
Irish had fought in this affair with an exem])lary valour and intrepidity, 
and that they formed a band, who.se zeal and devotion might be relied 
upon, in the most difficult emergencies of war."t In recompense fortlii.s 
good conduct, as well as for their services at the 2 battles of IToch.stedt, 
Louis augmented each comyiany of the troops of that nation by 2 officers; 
and att^ached several more, as supernumerai ies, to each of the regiments, 
with full |)ay. The campaign between Vendome and Eugene terminated, 
bv the latter being obliged to retire, for the wintei% towards the Alps, 
about the Lake of Garila, whence he had taken the field for the summer. 

In Spain, seveial plots were concerted, and still more were rumoured 

• A sul).stitutioii here, and elsewhei-e, for tlie less distinctive term of "enemy," or 
" eiieinie.s. " 

•|- Lieutenant-rTeneivl ("ouiit .\rtlinr Dillon, the yonn'j;er. See, Hkewise, the 
cii HiiKMKheion ui ihe iriah by Veuilouie, in iiook Ifl., uueler reiuciiou of Bar- 

CU.Ll.lU, lu iu'Jl, 



IN TFIE SKRVICE OF FRANCE. 235 

to >iave been concerted, in 1705, Mgainst Pliili|) V., by eraissnries of the 
Allies in favour of the Archduke Charles of Austria, as Ciiarles III.; 
which ])lots, though frustiated for the time, were but too sure indications 
of the formidable footing the latter Prince was about to acquire, and long 
maintain, in the Peninsula. One of these plots was against Cadiz, but 
it was discovered, and the safety of that city'clnly ])rovided fur by a stiong 
garrison, including the " Piegiment de Mahoni Irlandois," at this period 
one of infantry, and stationed in the Isle of Leon. In June, (according 
to the Abbe de Vairac, then in the Spanish metropolis) the number of 
French in each house at Madrid was found marked on tlie door, in tigures 
of red lead, on the eve of the great festival of Corpus Christi; it was 
given out, that next day every native of France was to be massacred, 
and their Majt^sties to be carried off from the Palace of Buen Retiro to 
Portugal, and even slain on the road, in case of resistance; all which, 
according to the report, was to be effected by certain foreignei-s, at that 
time in the city as ])i-etended deserters, but engaged, it was said, for those 
designs, by no less a personage than the Marquis de Leganez, Grandee of 
fe])ain. Governor ot the Palace, Grand Master of Artillery, and Vicar 
General of Andalusia The Marquis, when proceeding at 8 o'clock in tiie 
morning towards tlie King's apartment, was consequently arrested by the 
I'rince de Tilly, Captain of one of the Ti()0|)s of Life Guards, and then 
committed to the custody of a Kilkenny gentleman, Don Patricio or 
Patrick Lawless, commanding a detachment of the Guards, who had 
orders to convey the ])risoner to the Castle of Pampeluna. The Marquis, 
on the way there, made many advantageous offers to the Irishman, to be 
allowed to escape; but Lawless (who was no more to be tem])ted than 
his coimtryman Mac Donnell by Villeroy at Cremona) duly fiilHlled the 
commission with which he was intrusted. Aiter the cajiture of Barce- 
lona by the Allies for the Archduke Charles, and the revolt, to his party, 
of nearly all Catalonia and parts of Aragon and Valencia, the Pi-ince de 
Tilly was despatched, by Philip V., from Madrid, with a force for the 
defence of Aragon; and, says a British writer, "he had under him the 
famo\is Colonel Mahoni, who had distinguislied himself, in so extra- 
ordinary a manner, in dri\iiig the Germans o\it ot Cremona." In the 
s'liaip and continual struggle which Tilly had to maintain against the 
Ausiro-Cai'list miquelets, the Irish officer's name occurs with credit. 
'i hiis, an account from Madrid, of December 18th, IJOo, after noting how 
the frontier was assailed by various parties of miquelets, and, in sonie 
instances, with success, adds— "One advanced on the side of Mequinenc^a, 
which was put to flight by Colonel Mahoni; and 40 of them, who had 
rushed into a boat, to save tliemselves on the opi)osite side of the river, 
were all drowned." 

The campaign of 1706 in Flanders opened on Whitsundajs May 23i-d, 
with the battle of Ramillies, between the Duke of Marlborough and the 
IMarshal de Villeroy. Marlborough had 73 battalions, and 123 squadrons; 
Villeroy had 74 battalions, and 128 squadrons. In artillery, the Allies 
were .superior by 48 pieces; they having had 120 guns, or 100 cannon 
and 20 howitzers ; while the French had only 72 guns, or (JO cannon, and 
12 mortars. The arrangements of the French General, for the action ot 
that day. have been as severely censuied, as the ability with which the 
Ln>;lish General achieved, and the vigour with which he followed up, 
Buccess, have been highly commended. After the usual cannonade, the 
lieuth, having been generally attacked at from 2, to half-past 2, in the 



23G IIISTOUY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

Rftci'iKtoti, w(>re iK'Mteii, by lietAveen fi and 7 in tlie evening. Tlie Allied 
pnisuit did not cease until about 2 next niornin;^. Villeroy was utterly 
defeated ; losing 54 cannon, besides mnrtar.s, 87 colours or standard.s, 
idiout 20(10 waggons, with a quantity of baggage; po'haps lO.OliO men, 
In'tweeu killed, woundcid. and missing;* and. in cotise(|uence of this 
ovcrrlirow, all Spanish Flanders. The Allied killed and wounded were 
finieially jaiblished as 3633; but, according to Kane, Parkc^r, and Mdner, 
Oil jircseut there, were riiany tnore, or from above 5000 to 6000 men. 
It \v:is T'lnarked in Fi'ance, alleges my Briti.sh contempoi-ary histoiian of 
T\1;nllMirongli am] Eugene, respecting the French Mai-shal's preparations 
for this uufoituuate battle, that Villeroy "made the worst disposition 
iinagiiiablr, notwithstanding he had the greatest advantages in point of 
fi-ound ; and he would never alter his disposition, notwithstanding severs*! 
(jcnei-al Olllctirs, and particularly M. de Gassion, took pains to shew him 
his errors; and though the enemy gave him 5 hours' time, while they 
altered \\n\ whole disposition of their troops, in order to take advantaga 
of his mistakes. He neglected even the common precaution of sending 
away his baggage, suffering it to remain, during the engagement, between 
Ids lines', in such a manner, that it hindred any reinforcement from 
going to his right, and afterwards proved the ruin of the troops by 
hindring their i-etreat; which could never have been so nnhap])y as it 
was, but for this blunder of his. since the left wing never engaged at all, 
but mai'clu'd off" leisurely, and in good ordei', till night came on, and, by 
tlie breaking of the waggons, the rout became general." Thu.s, in propor- 
tion as A^illcroy here was but little of a General, jMarlborough was cjreat 
as a (icnei-al, or, it would seem, "not so great after all" — foi", can mere 
Muue.Ks really glorify, apart from any consideratitm of the merit, or 
demerit, of the adversar}', with whom one has to contend'? But, for an 
ollicer of the ennobled branch of the Molesworths in Ireland, Marl- 
borough, moreover, would have been taken prisoner, or slain instead of 
hc'nig riclorums! For, having, in the eng.igement, been ridden ovei% 
left almost senseless on the ground, and his horse having run away, he 
was only enabled to escape, or rejoin his own troops, in consequence of 
b -ing i-emounted by the gallant officer i-eferred to, his Aide-de-Cainp, the 
Ilonouralile Pilchard Molesworth, Captain of Cavalry, subse(]uently 3rd 
Viscount Molesworth of Swords, County Dublin, Baron of Phili|istown, 
Kings County, and Field-Marshal. At the hazard of his own life, the 
Ca])tain tlius, as observed, "certainly, under God, preserved tli-at of the 
(reneral "^respecting whom, "this remarkable fact," it is added, "was 
very iniluslriously hushed u]) in the army," and the more easily, since the 
Aide-ile-Cani'i, equally modest and brave, "was quite silent upon it!" 

At the village of l-{amillie.s, only q\iitted when Marlborough's sweeping 
success to its i-ight rendered a further defence impo.ssible. and last main- 
t.iimil, in that quai'ter of the field, ])revious to the commencement of 
A'lllcKiy's retreat, the Regiment of Clare was stationed, under its Colonel, 
riiarlts O'Brien, 5th Lord Clare, and Marechal de Cam[). or Major- 

* It is noted, by Lieutenant-Gencral Pelet, of the Comte de Saillant, who coiu- 
maiided at Naiuur, (which foitress, by the way, was vot reduced by the Allies 
diu'iinr this war,) how tlie Count sent Home detachrrients from liis garrison, 2 days 
alter the action, towards tiie field of battle, where, and iu tiie adjacent villacos, 
;>4 jiieces of the cannon, with about 800 of the woiuided, that had fallen iutotlio 
enemy's hands, were left by them. These were broiiuht away to Nainur, and the 
('< nr.t also collected, and sent back to Villeroy's army, about 1500 fugitives from 
the hattle. 



IX THE SERVICE OF FRANCE, 237 

General. "Lorrl Clare himself." says an Allied writer, "was noted in 
the French army for hi.s intrepidity in action," and, "at Ramillies, we 
see Clare's regiment shining with tro[)liies, and cover'd witii laurels 
again, even in the midst of a discoinlited, routed army." According to 
Captain Peter Drake of Drakerath, County of Meath, who was at the 
battle, with Villeroy's army, in De Couriere's regiment, " Lord Clare's 
ingaged with a Scotch regiment in the Dutch service, between whom there 
was a great slaughter; that nobleman having lost 281) private centinels, 
22 commissioned Officers, and 14 Sei-jeants; yet they not only saved tlieir 
colours, hut gained a pair from the enemy." This "Scotch regiment in 
the Dutch service" was, by ray French account, "almost entirely de- 
Htioyed;" and, Viy the same account, Clare's engaged with equal honnur 
the "English Regiment of Churchill," or that of the Duke of Marl- 
borough's brother, Lieutenant-General Charles Churchill, and then 
commanded by its Colonel's son, Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Churchill. 
This fine corps, at present the 3rd Regiment of Foot, or the Buff!-:, signal- 
ized itself veiy much in the action with another, or Lord Mordaunt"s, 
"by driving 3 French regiments into a morass where most of tliem wei-e 
either destroyed, or taken prisoners." But the "Regiment Anglois de 
Churchill," according to the French narrative, fared very differently in 
encountering the Regiment of Clare, by which its colours were captured, 
as well as those of the " Regiment nollandois,"'or "Scotch regiment in 
the Dutch service." Following up the advantages thus obtained, observes 
my Allied authority, Forman, respecting the Regiment of Clare, " their 
courage precipitated them so far in pursuit of their enemy, that they 
found themselves engaged at last in the throng of our army, where they 
braved their fate with incredible resolution, till an Italian regiment, ia 
the service of France, and a regiment, vulgarly called the Cravats, gener- 
ously pushed up to their relief, and as bravely favour'd their retreat." 
Then, alluding to, though unwilling to be precise i-egarding. the capture 
of English colours, or those of the' Regiment of Churchill, the same 
writer adds — " I could be much more particular in relating this action, 
but some reasons oblige me, in prwlence, to say no more of it. However, 
if you are desirous to know xohat regiment it was they engaged that day, 
the colours in the cloister of the Irish nuns at Ipres, wliich, I thouglit, 
had been taken by another Irish reginient, will satisfy your curidsitv." 
Of this religious establishment — respecting which Mac (jreoghegan like- 
wise notes, that the "^wo colours, taken from the enemy at the battle of 
Ramillies, were deposited in the house of the Irish Benedictine nuns ;it 
Ypres," by the Lieutenant-Colonel of the Regiment of Clare, Muri-ougli 
O'Biien — an English tourist, in 172 1, erroneously speak.s, -a^ foande t, 
instead, more correctly, as endowed, "by the late King James's Queen, 
for the daughters of such as followed her husband's fortvnies,' in Ireland, 
and France.* A recent, or contemporary Irish visitor ot this interesting 
nunnery at Ypres, mentioning "the little chapel as a perfect gem in its 
way, richly ornamented in the chastest style of Christian art," and refer- 

*Tlie well-informed writer of "Glimjises d'ontre Mer, No. 1, Ypres," in Duffy's 
Iliheniian Magazine, July, ISGO, pays of this once Irish nunnery at yi)res -" We 
looked U[), and beheld the date of If.s e.rcctlui, Ki\2, set, in raised characters, over 
the narrow, arched (h>orway." Harris, in mentioning the foundation of a convent 
for Irish Dominican nuns near Lisb<ni, "in the siime century,' adds, — "This is tlie 
only nunnery for Irish ladies abroad, except one at Brussels for Doinmicans, and 
Hiiother for Leuedictines at Ipres. ' 



238 ITISTOUV OF TlIK THTSII rsrilf! APRS 

iin£j to tlie iinns "s(tr('(MiO(l from view, doina; lioiruige before tlie tiihpr- 
Dacle," remarks — " ]Ve tlionglit of ()f..',,er adfu'crs. too, long since passed 
away; many of whom often gnzed with joy, and, it may be, with sadness 
betimes, on the conquered flags, hung ti]». in that very cliapel, by Mnr- 
rough O'Brien, as an offering to God, and fatherland." Those "coh)nrs 
and w(n'shi[)])ers are now no h)ngci- to Ik- sccii. We W(U'e unconsciously 
treading on the graves of the latter; for the floor, f>n which we stood, 
■was but the roof of a necropolis. Ami on that roof, we could reail the 
names of sleepers, whose hearts once thi-obhed but for tin; glory of God, 
ami the welfare of Ii-eland of Dainct Margaret Arthur, who died in 1715 
• — of Madame Butler, who died in London, in 1719 — of Dame Marie 
Benedicte Dalton, deceased in 17'^"> - i>f Danu^ Marie SchoListique Lynch, 
in 1799 -of Dame Mari<^ Bernai'd Lynch, who depa,rted life in 1830— ^ 
and of Marie Benedicte Byrne — boi-n in Dublin, 1775, deceased in Ypres, 
1810. Slui was the last of tlie long line of L'ish Abbesses tiiat governed 
tlie Benedictine Oonvent of Vpres ; and, l)y a strange permission of Provi- 
dence, there is not ii.oio—;it least there was not at the period of on?- visit 
— a single Irish nun amongst a sisterhood, once exclusively Irish. The 
■words of the I'salniist arose to our memory — ^ Ad<jrahim,UK in loco vJii 
fffeterant fmles rjux'—iywA, applying them, for the moment, to the last 
Irish Abbess of Ypres. we knelt upon Jier grave, and gave God thanks, 
for havirsg afforded such a calm retreat, such a cheering home, to many a 
sorrowing daughter of Iieland, who had seen the bravest and last of her 
kindred perish in the battle-field — ^semper d nh'iqne fi.deli'^ to the cause 
of King jjouis, and (he hapless Stuarts." The capture of the Scotch and 
English colours at Bamillies — the o)il ij 2 lust by the Allies that day! — • 
cost the Irish Regiment its brave Colniicl, Lord (Mare, who received "9 
wounds." of which he died, a few days after, at Brussels; and, besides his 
Lordship, there fell 38 oflSccirs, and 32*) soldiers, nut of 800 men. 

Among these officers was 1 of the respectable Munster or Clare branch 
of the gi-eat Ulster name of 0'(.'ahan, O'Kean, or O'Kane, also anglicized, 
or written without the O', as Kean, or Kane. That branch contributed 
(accoi'ding to its ])edigi'ee in French) several gallant gentlemen, some of 
them CMievalicM'sof St. Louis, to the Regiment of Clare. Eugene O'Kean, 
on the 1st formation of the corps, raised an entiie company for it, at 
whose head he fell in Italy, in 1()93, at the battle of Mar.saglia. Hia 
brother Charles, who accompanied him to France, comnmnded the grena- 
diers of the regiment in the village of Ramillies, wdien a cannon-ball 
carried away his legs, and he was despatched there, with 22 more wounds, 
by the English soldiers. Just as this occnrred, he was recognized by an 
Ulster , officer of his name, but, as a Protestant, then in the English 
artiiy, in the very distinguished cor])s at ])resent known as the 18th Royal 
Irish Regiment of Foot. This officer was Richard Kane, subsequently 
Brigadier-General in the British service, and Governor of Minorca, to 
■udiom a monument has been deservedly raised in Westminster Abbey. 
He had tlu^ unfoi-tunate Charles intei'i-ed the day after the engagement, 
■with due military hononrs, in the village of Ramillies.* On the " hoirid 
necessity" by which Irishmen, as in oppo.site armies, were too frequently 

• Brisiariier-General Kane was born in Deoemlier, IGfil ; obtained his 1st com. 
mission in the army in 1(5^^9; and died in Decemlier, 17.":>(5. He was one of the 
best officers of his time, as well as a ecntleman of the greatest Innnanity and 
generosity, particularly kind to his relatious; so that his death was very generally 
lamented. In a word, a noble chaiaclcr. 



tX THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 239 

expo!=efl, in those timos, to act against tlioir own conntrynif^n in V)attle, 
the celebrated Lord C'liarlemont, who deplored the circunistance with au 
illustrious Irish otiicer in Austria, remarks — " My most parf.icidar fiieud, 
tlifi brave, and truly amiable, General O'Donuell, when speaking on thy 
tiibject, has often wept." 

The following epitaphs of 'the gallant Colonel and Major of the Regi- 
ment of Clare, both mortally wounded on the same dny, both survivors 
of their wounds to the .same day, and both interred in the same 
receptacle for the dead, have been preserved, as copied by Dr. de 
Bui'go, among the .sepulchral monuments of the Church of the Holy 
Crxusii at Louvain, in 1769. 

D. 0. M. 

Hie jacet 

nimns D. D. Carolus 0-Brien, 

Ex stirpe Regum Hiberuiae, 

Par, Comes de Clare, & Maigh-airty, &c. 

Campi Marischallus, 

Legionis Hibernicse Colonellua, 

Qui plurimis heroicis, 

Pro Deo, Rege, & Patria, 

Peractis Facinoribus, 

In Pnelio RamiUensi 

XXIII Maij MDUCVI vulneratug, 

Triduo post Bruxellis obijt, 

^tatis sure XXXVI. 

R. I. P. 

Posuit pia ejus Conjux, 

Illma Dom. Garcia Bulkelev. 



D. 0. M. 

Hie, ulji vohiit, jacet, 

Praiuobilis Dominus, 

D. Joannes O-Carroll, 

Major Hibernicse Legionis 

De Clare, 

Vtilneratus in Ramilie, 

XXIII. Maij MDCCVI. 

Obijt Lovanij XXVI. ejusdem. 

R. I. P.* 



The Irish Horse Regiment of Colonel Chi'istopher Xugent of Dardis- 
town, consisting of 2 squadrons, likewise suffered much at Ramillies; 
80 that, it is marked, above 2 months after the battle, or July 29th, as 
still unfitted for service. But, with any details of the rough handling 
of tldfi corps in the engagement, I am unacquainted. The other leading 
events of the campaign of 1706 in Flanders were the sieges of Ostend, 

* The late Thomas Davis has celebrated, in prose and verse, as at Blenheim 
and Ram'dUcs, a regiment he calls "Clare's Drarioons!'' But, during all this 
•war, there was, in tlie French service, no Regiment of Clare, except one of 
liif<nitrij ; and no Irish Cavalry Regiment, but that which was tirst Sheldon's, and 
next !N agent's, Ro'^iment of Horse. 



210 HIRTOIIY OF THE IRISH BUIGAOKS 

Menia, Benrlerinonde, and Ath, by the Allies; the rfihiction of which 
cost tliein (l)y accomits on their side) above 4400 men, kilL-d or 
wounded. No Irish troops, however, were engaged in the defences of 
those places. 

In Italy, the Duke of Veiidonie took the field, early in 170G, against 
the Ini|)erialists, (in Prince Eugene's absence) under the Danish Count 
de Ri'ventlau. The Duke had 23,000 men, and the Covmt had only 
12,000; but fortiHed, about Calcinato, by good retrenchments, besides 
caiKvls, eminences, and fosses, which rendered an access to his position 
very difficult. The Duke, having marched all night to surprise the 
Count, a]>]K>arcd in fmut of his position, April 19th, about daybreak, 
and attacked hiiu, b<'fnre he could bi-ing uj) his artillery. The Count, 
nevertheless, opposed the assailants with resolution, and, for some tinr\p, 
with considerable success, but was finally defeated; losing about GOOO 
men, between killed, wounded, and prisoners, 6 caniion, above 1000 
horses, several colours- or standards, and the greater j)art of his baggage; 
the Duke having no more than 700 or 800 men, killed or wounded. 
The princii)al Ti-ish otticers belonging to Vendome's army were the Lieu- 
tenant-GtMieral Lord Galmoy, Major-General the Honourable Arthur 
Ddlon, Brigadiers Nicholas Fitz-Girald and Walter Bourke; its Irish 
battalions were Galnioy's, Dillon's, Fitz-Geiald's, and Bouike's — Ber- 
wick's nut Ijeing in this engagement. Among the General Officers in the 
1st line, of whom Vendome wrote to Louis XIV., as having " done 
wonders there," was Dillon ; and Fitz-Gerald and Bourke performid 
important parts with the bi'igades of Piedmont and the Marine, which 
they led in thi^ action. The conduct of the infantry altngether, or Irish 
as well as French, was, according to the Duke, "far bey(nKl anything he 
could say of it. every individual of the battalions engaged, as well aa 
those \\ho commanded them, being entitled to marks of his Majesty's 
satisfaction." 

Tiiis victory at Calcinato was the last where the Irish were generally 
distinguished in Italy. Prince Eugene, soon after Ileveutlau's defeat, 
took the command of the Imperial army, largely reinforced ; and the 
road to his subsequent decisive trium[)h over the French at Turin, 
which led to their final evacuation of Italy, was opened by the removal 
of Vendome to Flanders, after the battle of ilaraillies, in order to 
succeed Villeroy, and recover the army there from the discouragement 
of that great overthrow. The only success of the French in Italy, after 
Vendome's recall, was at the battle of Castiglione, gained, September 9th, 
with very small loss, by the Count de Medavi, over the Prince of Hesse, 
who had about 4-300 men killed, wounded, or taken, with 33 colours or 
standards, all his cannon, and all his baggage. The Honourable Arthur 
Dillon, who connnanded the French left there, routed the enemy's right. 
For having "acted in such a manner as few General Ofiicei's had acted 
for a long time past," so that to his, and M. de St. Pater's, " good coh- 
duct and resolution, the greater porticm of the gaining of the battle was 
due," Dillon was recommended by the Count de Medavi, to be made a 
Lieutenant-General. The Count adds of him, in writing to Louis XIV., 
— " He is a foreigner of merit, aiid of valour, who, on every occasion, 
has always served yo\ir Majesty welll" 

In Spain, where the Allies, in 1705. acting for the Austrian Archduke 
Charles as claimant of that Monarcliy, had gotten possession of ; 11 
Catalonia except Roses, and of nsauy places in Valencia, and Aragon, tlie 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 241 

famous Charles Mordaiint, Earl of Peterborough, proceeded, early in 
1706, to relieve the city of ^'alencia, then threatened to be recovered for 
Philip V. by the Duke of Arcos. Before Peterborough could reach 
Valencia, he should pass by Murviedro, (the ancient Saguntum,) where 
Brigadier Daniel O'Mahony, with his own Regiment of Dragoons, some 
other troops, and a river in his front, was stationed ; and if O'Mahony 
were dislodged from that post, there was next a plain of about 2 leagues, 
where a junction of the Duke with him would present a superiority of 
cavalry too great for the Englishman to encounter. Despairing of suc- 
cess by force, Peterborough did not scruple to attempt accomplishing 
his object by means unworthy of an honourable foej" He despatched 
a flag of truce to O'Mahony to solicit an interview, which was the more 
readily granted as there was a connexion between the parties by marriage, 
through the Lady Penelope O'Brien of the Thomond family, who Avas 
Countess of Peterborough. The Englishman and Irishman met at the 
place appointed, each accompanied only by a few horsemen. " In their 
conversation," says my English authority. Lord Mahon, " Peterborough 
made every exertion to gain over his adversary to the cause of Charles ; 
oflfering him high rank, and every other advantage, in the Austrian or 
English service. Failing in his attempt, he determined to impute the 
treachery, which he could not produce. In the inteniew, he had so far 
misused the open-hearted confidence of the honest Irishman, as to draw 
from him an avowal of his intention to advise Arcos to march across 
the plain to his assistance ; and he also found means, by pretending an 
equal frankness and a kinsman's regard, to impress Mahoni with the 
conviction, that an overwhelming force, both in men and aitillery, lay 
before him. Peterborough then made choice of 2 dragoons, who, upon 
the promise of promotion, undertook to go over to Arcos, as pretended 
deserters. Being admitted to the Duke's presence, they reported, that, 
while drinking wine together behind a rock, they had witnessed the con- 
ference between Peterborough and Mahoni; had seen the former hand 
over to the latter a bag of 5000 pistoles ; and had heard him promise 
Mahoni the rank of a Major-General on the English establishment, and 
the command of 10,000 Irish Catholics, to be raised for the service of 
Charles. On the other hand, they declared, that Mahoni had under- 
taken, not only to betray his post at Murviedro, but to induce the Duke 
of Arcos to march across the plain, and thus entrap him into a position, 
where the English army might find it easy to overpower him* The 
Duke was confounded with this intelligence, and still doubted its truth ; 
but, shortly afterwards, he saw Mahoni's Aide-de-Camp arrive with the 

* Dr. Friend, in his account of the Earl of Peterborough in Spain, savs of tiie 
Earl — "He chose 2 Irish dragoous out of Zinzendorf s regiment, whichbe well 
instructed, and well paid, and sent immediately as deserters to the Duke of 
Arcos. He promised to make them officers, if they succeeded : which was 
punctually made good to 1, who well had deserved it; the other dying soon 
after his return." If we disapprove of the conduct of those 2 Irish dragoons, in 
consenting, for gain, to destroy their con iitryinan,hy hecoming false witnesses agtinxt 
him, what ai-e we to think of the honour of the English nobleman, who could 
snhorn them to act thus against a gentleman icith ichom he was connected, and for 
whun, as such, he affected a corresponding friendship f Such a specimen of honour, 
on his Lordship's part, too strongly countenances the damning purport of the 
statement in Biographiana, as to the praise Lady Peterborough deserved, after 
his Lordship's death, " by preventing the publication of his manuscript ' Memoirs,' 
in which he had confessed, he had been guilty of 3 capital CKiiiES, before lie 
was 21 ! " 



2i2 niSTORY OF THK IFUSir BUrCADKS 

V(>.)y proposal of wliich the spies liad forewaniecl liiiu, and of wliieli Lord 
Piitei'lioroiigli had l)econio apprised by liis enemy's incautious friuikness. 
No doubt coukl now remain on the tnind of Arcos, as to Mahoni's trea- 
son : he had liim immediately airested, and sent off a prisoner to 
i\]adrid; while, so far from marchinjjf across the plain as Mahoni had 
suggested, and as good policy ri^piired, he broke up his camj), and 
retreated with ])i'eci))itation to the mountains." Petei'borough was t/iii.t 
imabled to jiass by Mur-viedro, and the |)lain beyond it, to Valencia, 
which he entered early in February. 

On O'Mahony's ex))lanation, at Madrid, of the circumstances of his 
an-est, he was created by Pliilip V. a INIarechal de Cam]>, or Major- 
Ceneral, and, before the end of the month, was again sent to the pro- 
vince of Valencia, to endeavour to ])reserve tin' j)laces there still faitiiful 
to the King, with such troops as were collected, which were mostly new 
levies, or country militia. Tn A])ril, having vainly summoned Enguera, 
he stormed and sacked it, by way of examj)le, which caused many other 
ydaces to return to their duty. He was at Alicant in the summei-, when 
it was attacked by the Allied land and sea forces, under Brigadier 
Richard Gorges and V^ice-Admiral Sir John Leake. The town w;i,s 
breached and entered. August <Sth, by the Allies, and he retired into the 
(vastle, after receiving ;5 dangerous wounds ; for which, being without a 
SiH'geon, and i'equ»\stiiig Biigadier Gorges for 1, that oflicer generously 
granted the request. The Castle was lu^xt invested, and Sir John Leako 
menaced the Major-Geiuu-al, that, if he attempted to hold out to the 
last, himself and his garrison should receive no quarter. O'Mahony, 
however, defeiuh'd himself for 27 <lays, or till his provisions failed ; not 
surrendering the place till September 4th, on honourable terms ; by 
which he ami his men were to be conveyed, in English vessels, to Cadiz, 
with 4 cannon, and 2 mortars. His garrison then consisted of but 02 
Neapolitans, 3G Frenchmen, and as many dragoons of his own regiment, 
or no more than 1.'54 nicTi ; the rest having been killed ! These "hon- 
ourable terms" were concluded with the Eatl of Peterborough, who 
arrived at Alicant to take the command of the besiegers, after the 
gai-rison had retired into the Castle. And a Captain of the Earl's escort 
niiikes this creditable allusion en passant to another Irish officer, Colonel 
O'Gara. " We marched next morning by Monteza ; which gives name 
to the famous title of Knights of Monteza. It was at the time that 
Colonel O'Guaza, an Irislimai), was Governor, besieged by the peo[)le of 
the country, in favour of King Charles ; but 'very ineiiectually, so it 
never changed its Sovereign." * 

In November, the Clievaliei- Don Miguel Pons, with .500 men of his 
own regiment, and that of a distinguished Ij-ish officer, Colonel Henry 
Crofton, having appeared befoi-e Daroca. which was defended by a larger 
foi-ce, consisting of 8 companies of the Archduke Charles's regular troops, 
and the armed inhabitants under their ecclesiastics, summoned the 
j>lace to T-esnnu^ its alK'giance to Philip V. The sumuions not being 
cou)])lied with, the town was ordered to be attacked ; and, as thei-e was 
nothing but its fire to prevent the assailants reaching the foot of the 

• Memoirs of ('ai>t;iiii ricor<j;e ("arleton. TIk^ historical authority of tliis work i», 
in ()|)])oyition to some cavillers, as Jmlicioiisly atluiittcd, as satisfactorily i)roveil, by 
I.t.rd Mahon ; whose proof can l>e stren'^tlienod by a Petition and Memorial fniin 
tlie worthy Ca^itain liiniself u> the Duke of Urnionde, as Lord LieiiteiiauL of heiauJ 
in i7U3. 



IN THE SERVICE OP FRANCE. 243 

■wall, the Irish vushcrl forwards to a place least exposed to tlio hostile 
iniisketry; and, "with extraordinary bravery," says the gazette account, 
"set themselves to open a breach by the pick-axe." When 1 was ■ 
effected, suthcient to admit a siilgle man, a gallant Spaniard, Ca[)tain 
Eaimond Escallart; of the Regiment of Pons, and Ca])tain Daniel 0'(Jai-- 
roll of tiie Regiment of Crofton, led in their troops; who, putting to th« 
sword those they met, or comy)elling them to throw down their ;!rm^^, 
became masters of the place, with a loss stated at but 27 killed, besidci 
■wounded. Captains Escallart and O'Carroll were appointed to convey 4 
standards ca[)tured there to Madrid ; and, among the other oihcers 
"wounded," or "extremely distinguished," were the Sieur Gibbons, the 
Lieutenant-Colonel of the Regiment of Crofton. and the Sieur O'Beirne, 
Ca])tain of Irish Dragoons. Soon after this, the Aragonese Count do 
Sastago, -with a detachment of the Archduke Charles's regular troops, 
and a great immber of iiis insurgent adherents, proceeded to recover 
Daroca. Although the Chevalier de Pons had taken tlie place in 3 
liours, he, with only 500 or GOO harassed dragoons, maintained it for 3 
days; slew (as reported) in a sally 400 or 500 of the enemy, from v/honi 
he likewise gained 4 colours ; and, when at last obliged to abandon the 
to«n, he did so by night, bringing away to Molina 500 mules loaded 
with booty; his killed aiul wounded being very few. The enemy's 
Colours were sent to Madrid by an Irish Captain of Dragoons, the Sieur 
Henry O'Beirne ; tlie Chevalier de Pons was ma<le a Camp-Marshal, or 
Major-General, by Philip V. ; and the Sieur Henry Crofton, Colonel of 
Dragoons, a Brigadier, "for having seconded, with so much valour, the 
Chevalier de Pons, in this enter[)rise.'' The same month, King Philip, 
in consideration of the services of Major-General Daniel O'Mahony, 
cA'eated him a Count of Castile, and also appointed him Governor of 
Carthagena. But, in December, the Chevalier de Pons, who was some- 
times too deficient in caution, was surprised, and defeated, at Calainoche, 
in Aragon, with a lo.ss of .300 or 400 men, and Brigadier Henry Croftoa 
Avas taken prisoner. He, however, was subsequently exchanged. At 
the siege of Barcelona, by Philip V., in the spring of this year, among 
the prisoners taken from the enemy, were a number of Irish ; and the 
larger or Catholic portion of them, that had been driven by misery to 
enter the English service as pr(>tended Protestants, gladly availed them- 
selves of the oppM-tunity, afforded by their capture, to join the regiments 
of their own nation, and religion, in Spain. 

On the Rliine, in 1706, Lieutenant-General Andrew Lee and Brigadier 
Michael Roth, with Lee's and Dorrington's battalions, served under the 
Marshal de Villars. At the successful attack, in July, upon the Isle du 
Marquisat, which, although not attended with a great loss of life, pre- 
sented a. tine military spectacle, and was honourable to the troop.-^ engaged' 
in it. Roth, with a detachment of grenadiers, displayed his "usual valour," 
and the Regiment of Lee had its Captain and Lieutenant of Grenadiers, 
and 5 or 6 other subalterns, killed or wounded. 

Tlie French campaign of 1707 in Flanders, under the Dulce of Ven- 
dome, consisted of a judicious system of tactics, by which the Duke of 
Marlborough was completely foiled, without fighting. "After .so disas-- 
trous a cam|iaigii as that of 1706," says my contemporary British 
liistorian of Marlborough, "it was generally supposed, that France would 
l)e able to make no stand at all on the side of Flanders ; but that the 
6ame great genius, whick had destroyed so hue uu urnsy us that <jL 



244 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

Marslial Villeroy's at Raniellies, would force the French army either to 
another disadvantageous battle, or go on, in reducing towns, till it would 
be easy for him to make an irruption into France itself." But, con- 
tinues this writer, "the Duke de Vendome. having consumed the forago 
in the neighbourhood of his lines, did nt)t, like his predecessor, provoke 
the Allies by gasconades, or pretend to dare them to. a battle, but ho 
made such movements, and chose such canijis, as did all that could bo 
expected ; iov it constrained the Duke of Marlborough. 1st, to lay aside 
ail thoughts of tightiug, and 2ndly, of making any important siegt;." 
Moreover, though lessened in number, by 2 deductions, in June, and 
August, amounting to 16 battidions and 21 squadi-ons, the French army 
in Flanders drew subsistence from the Alli<Ml territory ; and Marl- 
borough, much lowered in reputation, had to retire for the winter, "tliat 
lie might concert ineasm-es for making the ncr.t campaign more elFectuai 
than this, which had been spent in marcliing and countermarching, and 
in which none hid the /Juke de Vemlume had gained any lianoiirr Ou 
Marlborough's return to England, " nothing of imjinrtance having been 
done in the last campaign, his Grace did W(;f receive the thanks of either 
Houses of Farliament. On the contrary, a very waini spirit began to 
discover itself, especially in the House of Lords, against his Grace, and 
the Ministi-y, on account of the management of the war." In short, 
concludes the same British authority, "the French were as much pleaned 
with the situation of things in Flanders, as the Allies were diagunted." 
The game, on the whole, between the Frenchman and the Englishman, 
may be illustrated by tluit between Marius, and the Italian commander 
Pompedius Silo, during the Social War or that of the Allies, in Eoinaa 
story. "If you are a great General, Marius," said Pompedius Silo, 
"come down, and fight iis ! " — "If you are a grea General, Silo," 
ans\vei-ed Marius, ^^ ntake me come down, and tight!" In the "Ordre de 
Bataille" of Vendtune's army, the Irish infantry Begiments of O'Brieu 
and Fitz-Gerald were in the 1st line with the Brigade of Piedmont 
commanded by Brigadier Nicholas Fitz-Gerald, and the Irish horse 
Bcgiment of Nugent was in the 2nd line with another cavalry regiment, 
Jjoth commanded by Brigadier Christopher Nugent. Tiie campaign, 
however, as unattended by battles or siege.s, did not admit of the Ii-ish 
acquiring any more distinction tiian residted fiom such of them as were 
in the Brigade of Piedmont, under Fitz-Gerald, having been united with 
the Brigade of Vendome, 20 companies of grenadiers, 2 regiments of 
dr-igoons, and 100 Gardes du Roy, in forming, August 13th, a rear-guard 
under Lieutenant-General Albergotti, wdiich kept at bay a very consider- 
able detachment from a large Allied corps under the Count de Tilly, 
Lord Albemarle, and the Prince d'Auvergne, during a long retreat made 
"^ la demie-portee du niousquet;" wherein it is noted, of the retiring 
force, " les ennemis firent ]>lusieurs tentatives pour I'entamer sans oser 
I'entreprendre, a cause du bon ordre dans lequel les troupes rnarchoient." 
My military authoi-ity adds, " cette i-etraite fut des plus belles." 

From Italy, above 38,000 Piedmontese and Germans, under the Duke 
of Savoy and the famous Prince Eugene, attended by Sir Cloudesley 
8hovel with 48 English and Dutch ships of war, and about 60 transports 
f.onveying 100 heavy cannon, 40 mortars, above 72,000 ball, 35,000 
bombs, &c., proceeded, in July, 1707, to attack Toulon, the great naval 
})(u-t of France in the Mediterranean. Tiie ca|)ture of this ]ilace was so 
much dcaired by the English, from the very deep wound it would inOict 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 24:5 

iiy)o» France as a maritime j)nwer, tliat their government went to an 
inimeiise ex])eiise for its reduction. And what France would have sutt'ere(i 
loy losing it aj)[)ears from the number of vessels there, with an arsenal 
worth several millions, prodigious magazines, and above 5000 pieces of 
cannon. The Allies came before the town, July 26lh; but, after various 
operations against the outworks, and a bombardment of the place itself, 
they found tiiemselves obliged to raise the siege, August 21st — 22nd, at 
ni'flit, and, with pro])ortionate disappointment and loss, to retrace their 
Bteps for Piedmont. * Among the Lieutenant-Generals prominently 
mentioned as serving under the Marshal de Tesse, in this impoi-tant 
defeat of an enterprise, planned by Marlborough, and conducted by 
Eugene, was tiie Honourable Arthur Dillon. At the grand assault, 
more especially, on the Allied position before the place, in the middle of 
August, which saved the town, and, most probably, France with it, " tlie 
Sieur de Dillon, who commanded on the left," says the French official 
journal, "attacked tlie height of the Croix Faron, where all tho.se who 
defended that jiost were killed or taken." Another officer, named Dillon, 
Captain of Gieiiadiers in the French Regiment of Vexiri, .signalized him- 
self, by his deftnice, with 100 men, of Fort St. Louis, 1 of those situated 
on the shore, to guard against a hostile entrance to Toulon by sea, through 
the "Grande Piade " into the "Petite Rade." From August the 9th to 
the 17tli, the Allied fire upon the fort, by land and sea, having effi^cted 
t^uch a breach as was very ]tractical)le, the Duke of Savoy, on the Ibth, 
directed General Rebinder, with a suitable body of grenadiers, to advance 
to the assault. "But," states my French historian, "M. Dillon, Captaiu 
of the Grenadiers of Vexin, who had oi-ders from the Marechal de Tess0 
to evacuate it in the evening at 10 o'clock, managed to withdi-aw his 
garrison b\' sea into the city; so that, when the enemy marched to attack 
the place, they found it abandoned altogether." Dillon, it i.s ob.served, 
"acquired a great deal of reputation by this defence, it having been 3 
days since he had received orders IVom the Marechal de Tesse, to retire 
with his garrison." Prince Eugene's biogiapher takes a like creditable 
notice of the defender of Fort St. Louis. "It was," remarks that writer, 
"3 days since M. Dillon, who commanded in this Fort, had received au 
order of the Marechal de Tesse to abandon it; but he had not judged it 
would be yet time to do so." 

In Spain, Count Daniel O'Mahony quitted Madrid, February 10th, 
1707, for his command in Valencia, and the Duke of Berwick set out, on 
the 15th, to pre])are for the leading operations of the campaign. April 
1st, the month destined to be sulisequeutiy memoraljle for grt'ater success, 
was auspiciously commenced by Captain Daniel O'Carroll, with 100 Irish 
dragoons, at the Castle of Seion, on the frontier of Aragon ; where., 
having been assailed by 1000 of the enemy's regular troops, or militia, 
"he received them with sf) much braveiy, that, after a combat of G hours, 
he obliged them to retire." Meanwhile, Count O'Mahony, from Elche, 
extended his forays even to the gates of Alicant; spreading con.sternation 
through the territory of the disaft'ected. The opponent of the Duke of 
Berwick, as Commander-in-Chief of the Allied, or British, Dutch, and 
Portuguese forces, wns a French nobleman, Henri de Massue, originally 

* The concluding data in Qnincv, respecting the numerical strength, and general 
loss, of the Allies, would, (by a coiTectiou of liis miscalcuhited tot.ils of each,) make 
the former oS,760 infantry and cavalry, and the latter on both elemeuls, or laiitl 
ami sea, so many as 15,480 meu. 



-246 HISTORY OF the ihisii niiiOADEg 

IVIiirquis do Rnvlt^ny. B;uiislM>tl from France as a Pi-otostnnt, in conse- 
quence of the violation of the ll^ilict of Nantes, lie served W^illiani III. 
bravely, in his Irish and Continental cani])ai<^ns; was made by him Earl 
of Galway, and Lord-Justice in Ircdand from 1G'J6 to 1GD9; was granted 
al)ov(! 3(i,ll() acres of tlie Jacohite i'orfeited estates there; and, in tho 
country, whose; revolutionary spoliation lu^ thus so largely shared, was 
distinguished for liis Calvinistic intdlerancc to tli« majority of its 
inhabitants, as Catholics.* The British, Dutch, and Portuguese, under 
t/liis iiohleuian, are st;ited by him iit 42 battalions, and 53 squadrons. 
The French, S[)aniards, and Irish, unchu' tin; Duke, were, by their line of 
battle, 51 battalions, and 7(i sqiiadrons. The Duk(; would thus be con- 
sideralily superior in numbci-, taking the battalions and squadrons on 
each side as complete. l!ut. this would not .seem to have been the cas» 
in either army, since the l*]arl, while referring to his own battalions and 
squadrons as very impei'fect, a)>pears to have considei-ed those of his 
opponents so much wurse in that respect,t that, notwithstanding their 
liaving more battalions and squadrons than he hud, yet, by his Council of 
War, he says, "'twas thought reasonaV)le to run the hazard of a battel, 
■wherein we had an equal chance to come olf victor.s." The comparative 
RtrengLh of the I^ armies in artillery is uncertain; nor was it much used. 
"To bring the jjord (xalway to a battle, in a ))lace most commodious for 
bis pui'pi>se, th(! Duke," we nvv. told, "made use of this sti'atagem. He 
Ord(!red 2 Irishmen, both ollicers, to make their way over to the enemy, 
as (h^serters; ])utting this story m their mouths, that the Duke of Orleans 
vas in lull march, to join the Duke of Berwick, with 12,UU0 men; thai; 
this would 1)0 (lone in 2 tl;iys; and that tiieii they would tind out the Lor«l 
Cialwav, and force him to light, wherever they found him. Lord Galway, 
vho, at this lime, lay iicture Villena, receiving this intelligence from 
those well -in'<tructed deserters, immediately raised the siege; with a 
-i-esnl itiou, liy a hasty march, to force the enemy to battle, before the 
Duk(! of Oilcans should be able to join the Duke of Berwick. To etfcct 
tlii-;, alter a hard march of 3 long Spanish leagues, in the heat of the day, 
lie appears, a little afti'r noun, in the face of the enemy, with his fatigued 
lb I'ces." I The Duke, "rejoiced at the sight, for he found his plot had 

* Kitic James's MciiKiins note, with reference to Ireland, under the year 1008, — 
"The I'riuce of Orain^o, notwitlistiunliiiL; all his fair pretences to the Confederate 
.Princes" or Catliolic [)ovver.s allied with liiiii agaiii.st l.ouis XIV'., "even during the 
Congress at Kiswick passed a new law in that kingdom, for the, rooting out Po/mt/i, 
which, amongst other aiticles, onler'd the banisluneut of all regular Priests, whicli 
Mens' Ruvigny, who coinmanded there, faii'd not to put iu execution; so thai; 
they came flociving over into France, and above 41)0 arrived there, iu some months 
after." According to the Anglo- Protestant evidence on tins jioint given by Newen- 
liam, there were, in ll)i)S, in Ireland, 4!).") of those regular cleruy, of whom tha 
number " nhipjx'd, for forch/n parts, hi/ Art of Porlhimrnt, ?/,'((.v 4'.2i. " 

t t'onsult, on tliis head, as regards the French, the very imjiortant passage of 
Voltaire referred to iu Bjok V., note to citation from Captain Parker, at battile of 
Malplaquet, in 170!). 

X This anecdote, of tlie remarkable share of the 2 Iri.shmeu in bringing about the 
ciiii;a'j;cnieiit, I cojjv from (Japtain Carleton, who relates it, as communicated to him 
l)y an ollicer in the Duke of Berwick's army. "Tlie day after this fatal battle," 
ftdds the Captain, "the Diikc (jf Orleans did arrive in the camp" of the Duke of 
Perwick, "hut with an army of only 14 attendants,^' a very ditferent/orcp from that 
cf " 12, 000 men! " Tindal, by tlie way, mentions Lord Galway as having also gotten 
iiiformation respecting the French, through 2 deserters, "young French gentlemen 
of a go 1(1 Protestant family, who had been educated in the ))rinci]>les of the reformel 
religion by the care of their pareats; a ^""'^tice very ciuumoii in L'raace after tue 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 247 

takfn," was dnly prepared for the decisive en<:fa^ement at Alnianza. Tlie 
ctimbat coinnienced April 25tb, Easter Monday, about 3 o'cloek in tiie 
at'teinoon ; Lord Galway displaying very great ititre[)idity, and receiving, 
in the incite, 2 cuts in the lace, so as to lose an eye; yet beioically 
returning to the fight, and being gallantly su|)ported by his ui n, espe- 
ciallv the British — the Dnke uf Berwick, on tbe other hand, acting as a 
consummate General, and being also gallantly supported by his French, 
Sfianish, and Irish tro(){is, iintil they gained a victory, "the most fatal 
blow," says an English contemporary, "that ever the English received, 
during the whole war with Spain;" and, adds another, "as fatal in itself, 
and its consequences, to the Allies in Spain, as the battle of Bleidieim, 
or that of Turin, was, to the French, in Geiinany, and Italy." Tho 
conquerors mention their loss as only about 2,000 slain, or hurt. The 
conqueied left u))on the field not less, if not considerably more, tlian 3000 
killed, or mortally wounded, and had nearly 10,000 made ])risoners; of 
■whom about 800 were officers, including 6 Major-Generals, 6 Brigadiers, 
and 20 Colonels; the British officers alone, killed, (u- taken, being avknow- 
hihjed as 374.* All the Allied cannon, 24 in number, were likewi.se 
Ciqitured, with 120 colours, or standards, and other .spoil, constituting a 
very large; military booty. 

The Irish, in this action, consisted of a battalion of the Regiment of 
Berwick (a 2nd battalion, of deserti-rs from Marlborough's army, haviti:^ 
been added since 1702-3,) and those of the 4 squadrons of Count 
O'Mahony's Regiment of Dragoons. All were in the Duke of Berwick'.s 
2nd line; the infantry, in that line of his centre ; tlie cavalry, in that lino 
of his riglit wing. The battalion of Berwick, ])o.sted between the 3 
battalions of the French Regiment of Maine, and another French battalion, 
or that of Bresse, acted with those 3 battalions, under the general desig- 
nation of "the brigade of Maine" Opposed to "5 English battalion.s," 
that brigade of 4, led on by the Duke of Berwick's brother-in-law, and 
counti-yman, the Honourable Francis Bulkeley, received the hostile tire 
at about 30 paces, made no reply until almost touching the English, then 
bluzed into them, and, says Quincy, " charged them with fixed bayonets, 
and threw them into such disorder, that they gave way, without being 
able to rally: and as, in flying befoie this brigade, those battalions were 
obliged to repass a ravine, a great carnage of them then took place." la 
describing the general routing of the Allies, that writer also obsei'ves, — 
"The Brigade of the Spanish Guards, and that of Maine, always follow- 
iiig up their success, drove the enemy even into the mountains"— a 
distance of 2 leagues, or 6 miles. In addition to 6 Allied battalion.s 
captured in the action, the remains of 13 more, or 5 British, 5 Dutch, 
and 3 Portuguese, had to seek refyge in the woods on tho.se mountain.s, 
where, "next morning," continues the English annalist Boyer, " being 
surrounded by 2 lines of foot, the commanding officers agreed to the same 
capitulation that was granted to the French at Blenheim, and sur- 
rendered themselves prisoners." Of the conduct of the battalion of 

persecution;" and who "told him, they had entered, as volunteer?, into the French 
service, in a regiment that was coming to Spain, in hojies of meeting with an o[ipor- 
tunity to come over to the Enghsh." 

* Of the rank of Major-Geneial 1, Brig.adior 2, Colonel 12, T.ieutenant-Colonel 17, 
]\Tajor 9, Captain 100, Lieutenant 127, Ensign 90, Cornet 6, Adjutant 2, Qu:a-ter- 
Ma:sler 4, tJhirurgeon or .Surgeon 3, Mate 1, or in all ;)7'4— of whom ^i wore LutcJ-^ 
and ::b6 taktn. Their huihch are generally preserved. 



248 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

Berwick, it is noted, Ly Lieutenant-General Count Arthur Dillon, 1if)w, 
when ordciTfl, with other reginiet)ts, hy the Duke, "to turn the division, 
of tlie En<j;liHh who were on the left of the Portuguese," that Irish coi-f)H 
advancing against the English, "attacked them, d, Varme b a)idi.e, and 
contrilmtod much, by tlieir defeat, to the gaining of the batth'." Count 
O'IMaliony is named, by my previously cited French niilitarv' historian, 
■with the "Geneial Otticers distinguished there, as having each C(mtri- 
buted to that victory, by movements duly executed." And, of the Count 
and his regiment more particularly, "at the battle of Almansa," relates 
the ( 'hevalier de Bcllei'ive, " he j)ei-formed, at the head of his Irish 
Regiment of Dragoons, astonishing actions." 

On the side of the Allies in this battle, there was a corps of i-efugee 
French Protestants, or Huguenots, fighting as exiles for their religioil, 
or undisr similar circumstances to tho.se of the Irish Catholics of tlie 
Regiment of Berwick, and the rest of the Irish, on the side of France 
and Spain. That Huguenot cor})s was the Regiment of (!avalier* in 
the Dutch service, which, being opi)osed to a regiment of tlicir own 
countrymen, consisting of Catholics, the hostile religionists as micli., or 
Protestants and Pajiist.s, rushed at each other, when a mo.st fiu'ious con- 
flict took place, without firing, or only with the bayonet, until, between 
the 2 i«^giments, not 300 men were left! "Le Mareclial dc J'x-rwick," 
says Voltaire, "contait souvent avec etonnement cette aventni-e. ' flere 
was 1 of the hfe^spcl results of the violation of the Edict of Nantes, 
or the Huguenot " Treaty of Limerick," and of the other n)rasures of 
persecution, or "Penal Laws," against Pi-otestantism in I*'raiic(!, con- 
nected with the violation of that Edict! But for such intolerant legis- 
lation, those 2 i-egiments of gallant Frenchnnm, though of diftei-ent creeds, 
woidd have served their common country, France, instead of destroyinj^ 
one aiHitlier, in op])ositt; armies. The intolei'ance of those times, on both 
sides of the Ciiannel, as further represented in the anomalous Generalship 
of bi)f!i. armies, is cleverly glanced at by a French writer, in doing justice 
to tlie courage of the English, although unfortunate on this occasion. 
"The l*]iiglish," he alleges, "certaiidy fought like lions, and perfectly 
maintained their re])utation for bravery. They might, also, liave the 
satisfactiijn of saying, that they were commanded by a Frenchman, and 
beaten by av, Engl ink inan^ 

Among the Irish officers, who fell in this engagement, was tlie Aid- 
Major ot the Regiment of Berwick, Philip O'Dwyer, of the old Milesian 
Bept of Kilnamanagh, County of Tip[)erary; a I'ace represented in the 
service of France by several Chevaliers of St. Louis, of the rank of 
Lieutenant-Colonel and Captain, down to the Revolution, and, to our 
own days, or 184G, by Joseph Abel O'Dwyer, Colonel of Artillery, and 
officer of th(! Legion of Honour; in the service of Austria, V)y a Major- 

•This was the f'anions leader of liis Hnnnenot coiuitrymen, the Camisards, in the 
war (if tlie Cexeinies, referred to luider tlie year 170:2. AriiidiiiLi: to the KeLj;imeiit 
of Cavalier at Aliiiauza, as 1 of those that '"suliored most," Oldniixou asserts — 
"Colonel (.'avalier himself gave rejieated proofs of that courage, by which he had 
before aeqnir'd great reputation iu the Cevennes. He receiv'd several wounds, and, 
having lain some time among the slain, made his escajie, by the favour of an horse, 
given liiin by an English othcer." His "jNIemoirs of the Wars of the Cevennes," 
written in French, Kut translated into ICuglish, and deilicated to Lord Carteret, as 
Lonl-Lieuti'iiaiit (jf li'eland, were [tulilished at Dublin, in 17-(>. Having attained 
tlie rank of Maj'(ir-( ieiieral in the British ser\'ice, and hcen Governor iu the Channel 
Islands, lie (.lied, JMay, 17-lU, at Clielsea, iu his Gist year. 



IN THE SERVICE OP FRANCE. 249 

General, and Count, Governor of Btjlgrade, under the Emperor Charles 
VI.; in the service of Rllssi^), V)y an Admiral O'Dwyer, urider the 
Em])ress Catherine II.* After the rejoicings, at Madrid, for the victory, 
another oificer, of tlie ancient r;ice of hi.s countiy, Captain Miles Mac 
Swiny, or Mac Sweeny, of O'Mahony's Regiment of Dragoons, was 
granted, by Philip V,, the Cross of the Military Oi-der of St. Jago — as, it 
may be added, sevei-al other gentlemen of the old galloglass name of that 
brave Captain have likewise entitled themselves, during the .same century, 
ill France, to the Cross of the Military Older of St. Louis. And, from 
the Ii-ish Catholics, among the so-called English ]u-isoners taken at this 
battle, Philip V. commenced the formation, in 1708, of 3 Ii-ish battalions, 
and 2 dragoon regiments; to complete which corps, he obtained a due 
•firof)orti(»n of the sufiernumerary or reformed officers, attached to the 
Irish I'egiinents in the service of France. 

CMptain Daniel O'CarrolJ of Crofton's "Regiment of Dragotms, who 
continued to occupy the Castle of Seron, .sallied out, M;iy 11th, with 
Captains O'Neill and Fitz-ITarris, and 7U dragoons, to sur[)rise Montea- 
gudo. gari'isoned by 15U of the enemy. Tiny abandoned that place, 
betaking themselves to Ariza, where they mustered 150 foot and 60 
horse. There, too, O'Carroll followed them, and forced them to leave 
behind them, in their flight, a quantity of munitions fif war, witli which 
he returned to Monteagndo. In Valenica, after 5 days' open trenches, 
Alcyi-a, with an English garrison, under Colonel Stewart, was reduced, 
June 5th, by Count O'Mahony. From June Sth till July 7th, the Count 
next besieged Denia, when a breach being made, and an assault given, 
that proved unsiicce.ssful, he "received orders, .some days after, not to 
j)ersist, with reference to that jilace, and he raised the siege, from the 
want of suificient troops, to go on with that entei-prise." This want 
appears to have been owing, to the Count having been likewi.se obliged 
to keep the citadel of Xativa blockaded ; which he finally took July 
12th. He was then enabled to blockade Denia, with 7 battalions, and 
9 squadron.s. 

In Catalonia, the leading design of Philip V., against the Allies and 
Au.stro-Carlist insurgents, was to reduce Lerida, for which the French, 
Spanish, and Irish troops, the last consisting of Dillon's and Bourke'rf 
battalions, and Berwick's 2 battalit)n.s, were quartered in the adjacent 
country. There they were not allowed to rest by tiie hostile miquelets, 
or Carlist guerillas, who particularly attended to surprising the horses at 
J)astuie. Thus, about the middle of August, 200 miquelets made an 
attempt of that kind near Lerida; thinking to take the grenadier-com- 
pany of the Regiment of Dillon off their guard. But Captain O'Helier- 
iian (or the " Sieur d'Yflernan." as my French document stvles him,) 
was on the alert, protected his chai'ge at pasture well, and after sustain- 
ing the enemies tire for an hour, obliged them to retire. The Dukes of 
Orleans and Berwick, with King Philip's army, broke ground, Octobt^r 
2iid — 3rd, before the strongly-fortitied town of Lerida, garrisoned 

*0f this name, (likewise written "Dwyre,") Abl>e Mac Geo2;liegan notices a 
fannly, hii^hly coiinecteii in France, whose fouiKJer, .Joliu, .son of Ednioad, euiigrateil 
to that country from Ireland, about 15.'i7. By the t'rciicli, O'Dwyer ^\■as at tirst 
changed to 6 Duycr, and tiually into I/auilniref JJuiing the War of the K,evohition, 
liie name coiitvihuted otticers to the .Jacolii'e or national ;u'iny iu the cavah-y 
]\og)nients of Lord.s Alx-rcoru and (Jaliuoy, aud the Liuautiy itegiuieiits of Colouela 
C'Uaries U'Brieu aud Dudley Baijiiull. 



250 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

vith 5 EsigiisI), Diitcli, or Pnrtugupse battalions of rfgnlars, airl 2 of 
iiiiqnelets, or irrcgiilai-.s, under the Prince of Hesse-Dannstailt, and, l»y 
No^eml)('r 1 Itli, botli tlie town and the citadel were taken. In the long 
«nd troublesome opeiations against tliis iuiportaut fortress, Bourke's, 
Berwick's, and Dillon's battalions had their share. In Valenica, Count 
O'Mahony, finding Denia too numerously garrisoned to be effectually 
besieged liy the comph-ment of troops ti)at he commanded, niarcheil 
against Alcov, vvitli 1400 regulars and 400 miquelets, and reduced it to 
sucli strait, that its gari-ison agreed, if not relieved in 4 days, to sur- 
render. To prevent this, the English Governor of Alicant, Sir Charles 
Hothani, took tlie field witli 800 of his garrison, and 50 mules ladeu 
with stcjres for Alcoy; and this body was to be joined by oOOO miqnclets, 
conveying furtlier sup])lies of ammunition and food. O'Maliony routei 
the great( r ]iarr. (jf tiiose miquelets, and took tlie stores they escorted. 
But 1200 who i-en)ained, and the detichnient from tlie garrison of 
Alicant, being too strong for the Count, from the dispersion of his forces 
in different posts about the place, he cuwU not prevent the relief entering 
the town, and had, in consequence, to retire. He lost, at this siege, 
Major O'llonrke of his own Re^giment of Dragnons — "this Major 
O'Koirk, or O'Roork," writes Captain Carleton, "being much lamented ; 
for lie was esteemed, both fbr his courage and conduct, one of the best 
of the Irish ollicers in the Spanish service. I was likewise informed, 
that he was descended from one of the ancient Kings of Ireland. The 
mother of the Hono\irable Colonel Paget, one of the Grooms of the Bed- 
chamber to his present M;ijesty,* was nearly related to this gallant 
gentleman " 

The Ansti-o-Carlist Governors of Denia and Denisa i^^ustered, October 
4th, at Molinete, lOOU regulars, about 20(J0 miqiu 'efs, and 90 horse, 
to make themselves masters of Pego. About 300 English, and 800 
miquelets, were detached to take })o.ssession of the suburb.^ ; which were 
8o well defended by a S|)ani.sh Colonel, that the assailants suffered a 
considerablt! loss, before he witiidrew into the town. Intelligence of 
this attack reaching Lieutenant- Colonel Cornelius O'DriscoU of 
O'Mahony's Regiment of Dragoons,! at Uliva, he ha.stened, with 100 
dragoons. 200 French infantry, and lUO loyal Valencian militia, to make 
u diversion against the main body of the foreigners, and Austro-Carlists 
at Ondara. "They," says my KreJich nari-ative, " retired in confusion, 
and they were jiursned even to the gates of Deuia. Then the Sieur 

• George ir. 

+ The ohl Itliian sept of the O'Driscolls in Munster duly figure, as Stuart loyal- 
ists, in the coiili.scation-records of (jroniwelliau and Williamite reliellion anil revolu- 
tion, at tlie exj'ense of the plundered Irish. Several oihcers of the sept fiuight for 
King .James II. against the Prince of Orange in Ireland ; of whom a Colonel, (iover- 
nor of the () d Fort of Kin«ale, fell, at its defence, in Octol>er, 1()!)0, against the 
Williamites frf)in England, under Marlborough. To Ctjlouel Daniel O'lJonovans 
Regiment of Foot lu that war, (Jorneiius O'DriscoU, an old cavalier, who, during 
the Croiiiwellian usurpation, had adhered abroad to King Charles II., and acconl- 
ingly received, after tlie Restoration, the royal thanks "for services beyond the 
8ea,'' was Lieutenant-Colonel ; and, by the eventual success of WilJiainitisin, was 
attainted as a rehd ! The Lieutenant-Colonel of O'Mahony s Regiment of Dragoons 
in Spain v.as, probabl}', a Cornelias jniiior, similarly attainted, and Cajitain, in 
France, in KiS).!, to the 2nd batttdiou of the corps of Henry J''itzJaines, Lord (irand 
Prior, or the " licginient de la Mar.ne (flrlande. " Down to the Kronch Revolu- 
tion under L-)uis XV'L, the name of f)'I)riscol!, with the distinction of CLevalior 
oi St. Louis, i*! to be found aiaoug the offijcrs of the Insli Jjiigaue. 



IN THE SERVrCR OF FRANCE. 2-")l 

Odriscol mardipd diligently towards Pego, and, without giving tlie 
eiK-iiiy, who liad occupied the suhinbs, time to recollect tlieiiiselves, ho 
cliarged them swoi-d in hand ; in the Lst shock, slaying above 300 of 
them upon the spot. Tlie others intrenched, and defended themselves 
for some time, in the houses, which had consequently to be set on lire. 
Ti)e dragoons cut to ])ieces all those, who, in striving to save themselves 
from the flames, fell into their hands ; the greater i»art of the rest, 
especially of the miquelets, were bni'ued there ; so that scarcely any of 
them got off." In this '• vigorous action" of O Driscoll, his loss was 
comparatively trifling, being stated at but 22 killed, or wounded; his 
dr.igoous making 14 of the number, and having 10 of their horses slam. 
In Novemljer, Count O'Mahony, levying contributions upon the dis- 
affected Valeucians, demanded 10()0 pistoles frcmi the little town of 
Muchemiel. But, it was so strengthened with troops, and 4 ])icces of 
nrtillery, by Brigadier Charles Sibourg, British Governor of the Castle of 
Alicant, that the Count had to retire towards Griudia. In his march, 
ho burned down 7 villages in the valley of Gallinar, that there might be 
no shelter for the hostile Carlists, or miquelets. He likesvise committeTl 
to the flames, another village, and a Church, to which 11 insurgent or 
Austro-Cariist Pries;s, with 26 of their followers, betook themselves; the 
whide <>f whom were put to the sword. 

The campaign of 1707 in Germany, under the Marshal de Villars, was 
commenced by the passage, in May, with little or no loss, of the famous 
lines of StolholFen, or Bihel, previi>usly the bulwark of the Empii'e ; and 
this success was followed y)y the overrunning of Baden, Wirtemberg, 
Swabia, Francouia, and tlie Palatinate. From the comitries he overran, 
and a number of Imperial towns, a vast sum, at the rate, it is said, of 
not less than 10,000 crowns a day for 3 months, was lev.ed by the Mar- 
«hal. He thus enriched himself, as well as supported his army, while ia 
the field ; so that it was no cost, for that campaign, to Louis XIV., who 
observed — " There is no one can do tfiese ihingn but Villars!" The Marshal 
Was unchecked, in his prosperous career, till the summer was considerably 
advanced ; when, his army having been very much diminished in order 
to .strengthen other quarters again-stthe Allies, while that of the Germans 
was very much increased, he had to retire towards the Rhine ; yet, 
without an\' greater reverse, than a surprise, September 24th, by mucli 
superior numbers, in a morning fog, of 14 detached squadrons of his 
troops, under the Marquis de Vivans, and their consequent defeat, with 
the admitted loss of 4U0 or 500 men, besides hoi'ses, tents, and baggage. 
Among the Irish officers serving under Villars were Lieutenant-Gciicral 
Andrew Lee, noticed in connexion with the ojjerations against the lines 
of Stolhofl'en, and Brigadier Michael Roth, who was pre.sent at several 
successful aflairs, already mentioned in the biographical account of hira 
given with the history of his regiment. Of Lee, more especiallv, in 
reference to the measures of Villars, for assailing the lines of .Stolhoti'en, 
my contemporary British historian notes — " Lieuieuant-General Lee also 
executed las commission very exactly; for he thundered on tlie Jsle of 
Dalunde with 10 pieces of heavy cannon, and drew together several boats 
about Druseuheim ; which gave the Germans to apprehend that he 
intended to pa.ss, with a consideiable cor[)s of troops, there ; u[)on which, 
expresses were immediately despatched from one jilace to another, and 
they,' the Ceiiuans, "were everywhere put into cunlu.siou." 



HISTOEY OF THE iraSII BrJGADES 

IN 

THE SEEVICE OF FRANCE. 
BOOK V. 

The warlike operations for 1708 were commenced l)y Louis XIV". 
with the equipment of an expedition to place Prince James Francis 
Edward Stuart on the throne of his ancestors as King James VI 1 1, of 
Scothmd, and James III. of England and Ireland. The Prince was to 
be landed in Scotland, where his presence was most desired, ])artly from 
the attachment of that nation to the true or only legitimate mf^» rVore- 
Bentative of its ancient Sovereigns, and partly from the general indigna- 
tion there at what was deemed the unprincipled sale of the country, the 
ju-eceding year, to England, by the so-called Act of Union. On that 
measure, as here, and subsequently, so connected with the s\iV)ject of this 
work, some observations are requisite. King James II. of England and 
Ireland and James VII. of Scotland, in his Advice to his Son, as Prince 
of Wales, written in 1692, remarks it to have been the ti-ue interest of 
the Crown (meaning in the direct Stuart line) to keep Scotland separate 
from England, or governed by its own laws, and constitution ; and he 
likewise lays it down, that any specious pretence of uniting the 2 King- 
doms should be regarded, as emanating, either from weak men bribed 
by some private concern in the matter, or from enemies to the Monarchy; 
Scotland, as she was, being, in his opinion, a great support to the Crown, 
which, he considered she could not be, if united to, or swallowed ny) by, 
England, as in Cromwell's time. And this view of the matter seems to 
liave been well-founded, with reference to the interest of liifi family. 
For, notwithstanding the success of the Whig-Orange Revolution in 
Scotland, to the prejudice of James himself, and his son, from the reign 
( t' William and Mary to that of Anne — or, in other words, notwith- 
standing that Anne, as a Protestant, was accepted as a Sovereign, after 
William's decease, in preference to her brother, the Prince of Wales, 
nicknamed a " Pretender ! ^^ — still the Scotch were too much attached to 
the House of Stuart, to think of excluding it altogether from their Crown, 
after her decease, for the sake of the completely foi'eign family, or that of 
Hanover, advocated, as rulers for others, as well as themselves, by the 
English Whigs, and their y)artizans. And this, although, upon the final 
trial of strength, in 1702, in tlie English House of Commons, as to 
Kecuring the royal succession tliere to the House of Hanover, the measure 
jiroposed only passed by the nairowest possible escape, or, "in a division 
loi- the affirmative, yeds 118," to " noes 117; so that," remarks my English 
Whig annalist, nnder George I., "to this happy majority, tho' but of 1 
vote, we owe our pieseut glorious Condition, under his most excclleut 



2n4 niSTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

Mitjesty!" — the earlier observations, or those at the time of this ''escape," 
Jinviiig been " tlie Prince of Waleii has lost it in the IJouse by 1 vote, or 
the House oi Hanover litis carried it htdhy 1 vote!'''' * Hence, in tlie next 
year of Anne's reign, or 1703, "the Earl of Marchmont," writes Lock- 
liart of Carnwath, respecting the Scotch Parliament, " having one clay 
]iresente(l an Act for Settling the Succession on the House of Hanover, 
it was treated with such contempt, that so"f«^ propos'd, it might be burnt, 
and otiiei-s, that he might be sent to the Casble, and was at last thrown 
out of the House, by a plurality of 57 voices!" — a majority, it may be 
added, strangely enough amounting to the exact number of claimants 
nearer by blood to the Crowns of Great Bi-itain and Ireland than George 
I. ! To hunt, therefore, the House of Stuart out of its old Kingdom of 
Scotland, as well as to exclude that House from its 2 more recently- 
acquired Kingdoms of England and Ireland; or, to prevent, in case <if 
Anne's death, a Scotch Parliament adliering to the direct line of their 
ancient Sovereigns, by calling to the Tin-one the son of James II. of 
England and Ireland, and James Vtl. of Scotland, as James VIII. of 
Scotland; the English Wliigs and their tools elsewhere decided, " [)er faa 
ant nefas," to get ))assed, through the Scotcii Parliament, an Act, at once 
oustiug the House of Stuart in Scotland, as it had been ousted in 
England, for the House of Hanover, and decreeing a Union l>etween 
Scotland and England — since what slio\dd be thus decreed in Scotland, 
]io\Y(!ver unjus, twould be Ix'j'ond any future reversal there, as, after 
a Union, no Scotch Pailiament would exist, to undo what had been 
done. 

The so-called Act of Union was nothing more deserving of respect, in 
Scotland, than an act of bribery and sale to the amount of £-50,000, 
backed bv the aid of such Government terrorism, and military force, as 
were naturally required to secure the job against interruption, from the 
general and just indignation of those who were to be denationalized by 
the jobbers.t The bribe to the Scotch Parliamentary Cominissionei-s to 
treat of the terms was £30,000, for which they sacrificed the rigiits of 
their countiy as follows — 



Scotch Peers. 


Dis ranchised. 


Retained. 


English Peers. 


UiO. 


144. 


1(). 


ISO. 


Scotch Members. 


Disfranchised. 


Eetaiiied. 


English Members. 


155. 


110. 


45. 


5i;j. 



This Anglo-Whig arrangement of but 16 Peers for Scotland against not 
less than 180 Peers for England, and of but 45 Members for Scotland 

• The Annals of King George, Year the First : containing not only the Affairs of 
Great Britain, but the General History of Europe during tliat Time, &c., p. 17: 
Ijomlon, 17IG. — 'Hie nanuH of the 117 and 118 voters are given by Oldmixou, in 
his History of England during the Pieign of Queen Aune, pp. 2S.3-4, who further 
observes, in reference to the Hanoverian succession — "About the same time, one 
litzgerald was prosecuted, for writing a i)amphlet against that succession, and, 
being found guilty, had this mild sentence past upon hiiix ; to appear near tho 
Gourts in Wcstnmister-hall, with a paper pinn'd to his hat, specifying his crime: 
v.hicli was thought to be a very moderate punishment, and what a zealous Insa 
.lacdbite would rather have gloried in, than been asham'd of." Is not the niihlness, 
Of moderation, here alluded to, likewise clearly indicative of the great strength of 
the Jacobite party then ? 

+ The corruj)t Scotch Members, who voted for the Union, are described as 
" liaving horses laid, and alwaj's ready, to carry them oil fioiii tlie danger tlicy had 
reason to dread, aud justly deserved." 



IN THE SF.RVrCK OF FRANCE. 255 

a,2^ainst so many as 513 Members for Eiigland, was more particularly 
complained of under tlie latter head, or iiiasuincli as, on the .score of 
revenue, Scotland should have gotten 60, and on that of population, 66, 
Members — the paramount objection, however, of Scotch natioTialistiS, to 
the measure, being, that it wjis altogether objectionable, as nothing better 
than a legislative or national subjection of Scotland to England. Tlio 
additional bribe of £20,000, given to the party of Scotch Meuibers calh'd 
the " Flying Squadron," completed the sale of Scottish independence. 
Never, perhaps, was there viler corruption displayed. " One noble 
Lord," writes Sir Walter Scott, in leference to Lord Bamf, "accepted of 
so low a sum as 11 guineas; and," adds Sir Walter, "he threw his 
religion into the bargain, and, from Catholii% turned Protestant, to make 
his vote a good one!" In allusion to such baseness, the English Secre- 
tary, Harley, subsequently said, in i"ej)ly to some Scotch Union Members 
— " Have we not bought the Scots, and do we not acquire a right to tax 
them? — or, for what other purpose did we give the equivalent?" The 
imprincipled Scotch Members of Parliament were, indeed bought. But 
the Scotch people could, neither morally, nor constitutionally, be tlnis 
disposed of. The general indignation, therefore, in Scotland, at the 
shameless ccn-ruption, with which her people's inalienable rights, as 
those of a nation, and the hereditary claims of her royal family, as a 
dynasty, were equally bargained away, in opposition to the will of both, 
by a set of venal wretches, for foreign objects, strengthened the cause of 
the Stuai'ts in their ancient realm, so far as such cyrcumstances led to the 
inference, that, as the blow aimed to exclude the true heir to the Crown 
of Scotland was also one to destroy the Parliament of Scotland, so that 
Parliament could only be restored, by restoring the true heir to the 
Crown. Indeed, this reasoning was countenanced by precedent; since, 
on the restoration of the true heir to the Crown, in the persmi of King 
Charles II., after Cromwell's death, Charles restored to Scothind, as well 
as to Ireland, the Parliaments, which had been both extinguished in a 
United or London Legislature, under the Ci'omwellian nsui'pation. 

Nor was the conduct of the Pre.sbyterian clergy such, with reference to 
the Union, as to give them any considerable influence, in opposition to 
this mode of thinking among their flocks; that reverend body having 
afforded too much cause for a general belief, of their being actuated by 
no higher principle, in connexion with the measure, than that of main- 
taining themselves as "the established clergy" of the land, and propor- 
tionalile recipients of " the loaves and fishes ;" on being guaranteed which, 
against such invasion as was feared from a Union, ^/iet?' object was gained, 
though the independence of the nation might be lost! At first, we are 
infoi-med, "the Ministers were every where ap])rehensive of," i. e., for, 
"the Kiik government, and I'oar'd against the wicked Union from their 
pulpits, made resolves, and sent addresses against it from several Presby- 
tei-ies, and the Commission of the Assembly. . . . But, no sooner 
did the Parliament ))ass an Act Jar the Security of the Kirk, than most of 
their zeal was cool'd, and many of them quite chang'd their notes, and 
preach'U up what, not long before, they had declar'd anathemas against; 
yet with no effect, for their auditories stood firm, and the Clergy lust much 
of tJieir reputation, by sJiewing so much se^fislmess, and little regard to the 
interest and lionour of tlce coantrTj." Consequently, it is remarked, of the 
uncorrupted laity, "the Presbyterians appear'd most zealously against 
the Union." Aud, in the general exaspeiutiou of the Scotch agaiust 



253 niRTORY OF THE IRISH BRIfiADES 

tlvat nioasnre, we nre toM, with reference to .the yonnsf representative of 
the House of Stiuirt, or James VI f I., tliat even "the PresbyteriaiiB, and 
Cameioiiians, were ready to pass over tlie ohjection of his Vjeing Papist; 
for, said they, (according to their predestinating piinciples,) God may 
convert him, or he mai/ have Protedant children, but the U nioti can never 
be good!" The Scotch patriotic song, also, in lamenting, how there 
should be "such a parcel of rogues in a nation," that Scotland, under 
the pretext of a Union, should be " bought and sold," as " England's 
province," feelingly notes — 

"What force, or guile, could not subdue, 

Through many warlike ages. 
Is wrought now by a coward few. 

For hu'eling traitors' wages. 
The English atpel we could disdain. 

Secure in valour's station ; • 

But English rjold has been our bane — 

Such a parcel of roijuts in a nation!" 

Another song, known as ^'^ Tlie Curses,'" indignantly di plores that— 

"Scotland and England must beuow 

United iu a nation, 
And we must all peijure, and vow, 

And take the abjuration ! 
The Stuarts' ancient freeborn race 

Now we must all give over, 
And we must take into their place 

The bastards of HauGver ! " 

Then " curs' dr it says, be those 



■ "traitor.% who, 

By their perfidious knavery. 
Have brought our nation now into 

An everhisting slavery ! 
Ciirtid be the Parliament that day, 

Who gave their conlirmation I 
And cKVdd be every winning Whia, 

For the// have damu'd the nation! ^^ 

Under these circumstances, the Scotch Jacobites and Anti-Unionists 
having solicited Loiiis XIV. to send over James VIII., accompanied by 
so many troops, as, with the patriots ready to co-operate, would enable 
James to recover his Throne, and Scotland to re-establish her Paklia- 
MKNT, the French Monarch made corresponding naval and military 
ai'rangements. 

The disembarkation in Scotland was to be effected at or near Dunbar 
by a squadron from Dunkirk, under the famous Chevalier de Forbin, 
which was to convey a land foice of 12 French battalions,, or above 
'5000 men, with a sujiply of fire-arms, cavalry-equipments, &c., for the 
rising of the Scotch against the English. Among the subjects of James, 
Hppomted to sail with him, were several Irish or British veterans of the 
campaigns in Ireland and on the Continent, or the Lieutenants-General 
llichard H;imilton, Dominick Sheldon, William Dorrington and Lord 
Galmoy. Major-General Nicholas Fitz-Gerald, Colonel Francis Wauchop, 
and a number of subordinate officers of the corps of Lee, Dorrington, 
Galmoy, Berwick, O'Brien, &c.. whose names generally display their con- 
Ufxiou with the best races of Ireland, or those of Milesian, and Normal^ 



IN THE S-ERVICE OF FRANCE. 257 

or French, origin. From an iinhicky illness of James, nnrl other 
causes, the French fleet did not leave Dmikiik till March 17th, could nob 
reach the mouth of the Firth of Edinburgh till the evejiing of the 23rd, 
and, wlien about to enter it next nioruing, beheld Sir George Byng'a very 
superior armament. It thus became necessary to avoid an unseason- 
able engagement, and, finally, to return to Dunkirk. This was effected, 
by the French Admiral with the loss of only 1 heavy- sailing ship, tlie 
Salitihury, that had been formerly taken from the English. On board 
the recaptured vessel, with Colonel Francis Wauchop of the Irish 
Brigade, were 15 other officers. Lieutenants ^f the Regiment of O'Brien, 
(late Lord Clare's,) 10 Serjeants, 10 Corporals, 10 Lanspessade.s, and a 
French Commissary of War. The 15 officers of the Regiment of O'Brien 
were of the families of O'Donovan, O'Keeffe, O'Sullivan, O'Clery, Mac 
Cai-thy, Mac Mahon, Fitz-Uerald, Fitz-Maurice, Prendergast, Arc. These 
Irish gentlemen were sent up to London, committed to Newgate, with 
irons to their legs like felons, and were then removed, by order of 
Government, to the Pres.s-Yard, pre{)aratory to being tried for their 
lives, and executed. But the French taking 2 ships conveying supplies 
to the A Hind forces in Spain, as well as several French Protestant officers 
in the English service, these Huguenc^ts would have been executed in 
France, had the Jacobite officers been executed in England; so that 
both were saved, by being exchanged. All the time the Irish officera 
were imprisoned in London, they met with much kindness, from the 
sympathy of some worthy Tory or Jacobite loyalist. "There was a 
dinner of several dishes, with a small hamper of wine, sent from a 
tavern near Newgate; and they never knew, to lohnn they wei'e obliged, 
for that benefaction." Tlius well supj/lieo, \t is added, they every day 
had '-good company; for they never v/ero %^-ithout 2, ?>, or more gentle- 
men from ai)ioad, to dine with them ; and seldom nvissed a day, of 
having a visit from one Mr. Hefierii:iM, famous for the harp, which 
he never failed to bring with him, to d^-t^Jt the gentlemen; and some- 
times would leave it thei'e for 3 weeks, to avoid the trouble of fetch- 
ing it." The stout Peter Drake of Draken.tb, who furnishes thess 
interesfii'g particulars respecting the imprisoned Irish officers, was also, 
at this time in Newgate, along Vt'ith an English sea-captain, named 
Smith; and, by the orders left with the dinner, and wine, at the 
prison, boUb shared the mess sent to the ofTic-"rs. Drake and Smith were 
imprisoned, as charged with " high treason," for having been taken on 
board French vessels, fighting against the Plnciioh — a charge justlij made 
against Smith, as a native-born iCuglishiCRu — but not so against Drake, 
as an Irishman, privileged to ent",r LIh^ service of France, according to 
the Treaty of Limeiuck, ratified 'oy Williaio III. Of the consequent 
Trial at the Old Bailey, in Jur.e, 1708, Drake writes — •'! shall not 
trouble the reader with many of the jnuticulars of this Tryal, which 
lasted above 2 hours and a half; ana shall only say, that my Councel 
])leaded strongly, my being under the Articles of Limerick; and tiiere- 
fore hoped tl)e Court would grant me the benefit of them Article.s, 
which they were ready to prove I was intitled to; and then called my 
Avitnessex. which were sworn; the chief of which was my Lady Tyrone, 
who knew me in Limei'ick, at the time of the surrender, and after that 
in France, at our landing :tt Brest. This, and ail iny defence^ was over- 
ruled, (ind the dv.rii bronijld in ilieir Verdict, GUILTY. At this, my poor 
brother, who was close to the Bar, sonuded" — i e., swooned — '-away, 

S 



258 lIIST(iaY OF TIIK IRISH ERIGADK3 

and fell down motioiilfss. 'i'liis Verdict made a o^roater im]iression on 
liini, than it did on me; and I here solemnly declare, that, seeing hiin 
in that condition for near a quarter of an hour, gave me more concern, 
than the dread of any sentence that should i)ass upon me. . . . One of 
the learned Judges, whose name was Powel, made a long harangue to 
Captain Smith, and to me; which he concluded, telling ns, that good 
siilijects should chuse rather to lie down in a ditch, and starve, than take up 
arms against their lain/id Prince. To which I took the liberty to answei', 
that tJiey must be good subjects, indeed; that, if that doctrine )tad been 
jireached and adliered to at the Revokuion, I shoidd not be noin hampered 
as I was. . . . Then Sir Charles Hedges ])roceedHd to pass sentence 
on ns, as is usual in cases of High Treason." Smith was executed; but 
Drake, through interest made by his worthy lu'other, was, after some 
time, released. The cutting pertinencj'of Drake's reply to Judge Poweli 
needs no connuent. His shameless condemnation to death by an English 
Court of Justice, in contempt of the Articles of Limerick, was of a 
piece with England's geiiend conduct to Ireland, as regards the Treaty of 
Limerick. 

The alarm, at this expedition from France for Scotland, was great in 
XiOndon. It is related, that, notwithstanding the intei])ositi()fi of the 
House of Commons in favour of the Bank of England, the run upon 
it was such, that it was only on intelligence of the retreat of the French 
Kquadron the ])anic was arrested, and the concern thus preserved from 
shutting up, wdien within but 12 hours of having to do so. In Scot- 
land, it would appear, that James had only to land, in order to succeed. 
And his success there would not have been without active results in 
Ireland, whose " disposition," says my contemporary Stuart document, 
"is constant, and always the same, founded on interest, on liberty, and 
on religion. It is notorious, from the great number of Bishops, of 
Priests, and of Moidvs, who have been obliged to seek an asylum in 
France, how much religion is ojipre-s-sed in Ireland; almost all the 
ancient families despoiled of their i>roperties; not 1 Catholic admissible 
to any civil or military office; and all disarmed. Yet, it is certain, that 
there are, in that kingdom, at least 6 Catholics, for 1 Protestant;"' and 
it may be easily judged, by the valour and irreproachable conduct of the 
Irish regiments that served in France, of what their countrymen would 
be capable at home, if they had arms. In fine, it may be confidently 
afiirmed, there are no motives in nature to induce a man to adopt a 
party, which do not exist to make the Irish Catholics adopt that of their 
legitimate King." The fate, then, of the Cromwello-Williamite oi' 
Whig settlers in Ireland — whose hated " a.scendancy" there was based 
npon the landed spoliation, and religions and political op])ression, of the 
older people of the country — may be easily conceived, had events been 
Buch, as to embolden the suffering majority of the nation to rise in favour 
of HIM, to whom alone^/iie^ could look to conij relief from their tyrants. 
That the contenqtlation of such a fate was, for a time, a cause for appre- 
hension among the latter, may also be sufficiently inferred, from the 
tiubsequent admission by their Legislature in Dublin, with resi^ect to the 
Catholics. " We,"' it observed, " with abhor^-ence call to mind the satis- 

• The Catholics are Hkewise represented, in an important Presbyterian petition 
to the colonial House of Commons in Dublin, in 1705, as having been in the pro- 
portion of 6 to 1 of the entire Protestant population in Irehmd ! — on which 
assertion, the Jacobite statement, in the text, aecms to have been based. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FHANCE. 2-39 

faction, wliicb too visibly ajipcared in the faces, and the iriKolent behav- 
iour, of the generahty of tliein, when the late attempt was made, b}' the 
Pretender, on the north part of Great Britain." The most ancient or 
Milesian portimi of the population were especially eager for " the 
Avenger," to use the expression of 1 of their Gaelic songs; which added, 
with a due perception of the connexion of their cause, as a despoiled 
Catholic race, with that of their disinherited Catholic Prince — 

"Ten thousand huzzas shall ascend to hiwh heav'n, 
Wiieii uur Prince is rttslur'd, and our fettern are rivn!" 

Besides, as is remarked by the translator of that song, they sympathizpcl 
with the Prince's misfortune, inasmuch as they regarded " the 8tuarts as 
of the Milesian line, fondly deducing them from Pei-gus, and the Celts 
of Ireland."* 

In Flanders, Prince Eugene of Savoy and the Duke of Marlborougli 
obtained a victory, July lltli, 1708, at Oudenarde, or Audenarde, owiuij 
to the Duke of Vendome having been so hampered with, and opposed by, 
the Duke of Burgundy, heir presumptive to the Crown of France, ami 
his ill advisers, or tiatterers,+ that little, if any, honour could be fairly 
claimed from the advantage gained over the French under such circum- 
stances, and no honour at the expense of Vendome, who, when unfettered 
in command, had shown himself to be an opponent worthy of each of 
those famous Allied Generals Had his judgment been ])ermitted to 
direct the movements of the French army, it is certain the French would 
not have been defeated at Oudenarde ; and when, from the Tinwise con- 
tradiction he experienced, that disaster occurred, which he predicted 
would occur, he ])reserved his country from results, still more disastrous. 
On the disorder becoming general among the troops, he dismounted, and 
ran from regiment to regiment sword in hand, doing everything he could 
to bring back the officers and soldiei's to their duty, until it became no 
longer possible to arrest a torrent, which was the more overwhelming, 
from the intervention of the night. Then, with a select rear-guard (if 
25 squadi-ons, and about as many battalions, he protected the retreatj 
giving a chosen corps of 40 squadrons, and 12 battalions, sent forward, 
next morning, by ^lailborough to complete the victory, such an unex- 
pected or disagreeable reception, on the road from Oudenarde to Ghent, 
that they had to retire ; numbers of the cavalry being destroyed, parti- 
cularly 1 Continental regiment, which is naniel as almost annihilated ; 
and, among the infantry, Major Irwin's grenadiers being repulsed, with 
the loss of lialf the men, and a quantity of their otKcers, besides Major- 
General Meredith, wounded. " Who could have believed," exclaims 
my Allied authority, "that, after so glorious and so complete a victory, the 
viciors themselves should receive, the next day, a check, from an enemy, 

• The acknowledgment of the origin of the Kings of Scotland from the old 
Kings of Ireland, by the 1st Scotch or Stuart Sovereign of England and Irelai.Lh 
has tieen already cited. Uiion the earliest intelligence receivetl, by the "ascen- 
dancy" (lovernnient in Ireland, of the sailing of King James II. 's sou for Scot- 
land from France, several of the chief Cath(jlic laity and clergy were committed 
to prifcon, and required to take the Oath of Abjuratiou, but they would nut do so. 

+ It is very displeasing to see the Duke of JBurgundy, the excellent }:)upii of tl.'a 
exemplary and accomplished Feiielon, so much astray, on this (ccasion, us to dis- 
agree \iith the veteran Vendome. The writers on the side of the Allies arc tha 
louaest m Veudonie's praise. 



2u0 HISTOUY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

'beaten, flying, anrl astonishefl'? But, inc^ecd. it was ni>t so— tliose, who 
repulsed the Allies, were ti'()0])S nmler the Duke rle Vendome, wdio were 
never broken." Snhsequently, by the position, which, against the ojtinioii 
of all. the other Generals, he had the tirniiiess to take at Lovendegheui, 
Vendome, according to the admission of friends and enemies, saved the 
French army, and France itself Hence, Eugene's and Marlbox'ough'a 
historian refei-s to Oudenarde, as "a battle which, but for the D\ike of 
Vendome's retreat, would have been much more fatal to the French 
tlian that of Ramillies," though it, "as it was, overturned all that 
]>riident General's schemes, and gave the Allies an opjiortunity of besieg- 
ing Lisle, which otlun-wise perhay)s they would not have found." And, 
on the impolicy of trusting a Villeroy, whereby the Vjattle of Eamillies 
was lost, and of not relying uf)on a Vendome, whereby the battle of 
Oudenarde was li)St, the same writer i-emarks — " We may say, that it \Aras 
the peculiar felicity of the Duke of Marlborough, that the weakness of 
the Fi-ench councils contributed no less to his glory, than his own 
vv'isdom." At this " untoward event" — which should merely be termed, 
tlie defeat of the iJuke of Bnrfjundi) by Prince EiKjene and tJie Duke if 
Marlborovgh — I find, as regards the Irish, that Fitz-Gerald's and O'Brien's 
Eegiments of Foot, and Nngent's Regiment of Horse were present; 
and that the Colonel of the 1st, or Major-Gem;ral Nicholas Fitz-(Jerald, 
was anioiig the leading oifieers of tlie French army, who were disabled, 
made ])risoners, and died, of injuries received in the action. According 
to the best historian of these wars on the side of the French, they had 
al)out 7000 soldiers, and 685 officers, slain, or made prisoners. The 
enen)y, of course, reported the French loss to have been several thou- 
gands more. The killed and wounded of every rank, on the side of the 
Allies, as published, at the time, by themselves, present the following 
aggregates, for the various nations engaged. Dutch, 1503 ; Danes, GOG; 
Hanoverians, 4GG ; Prussians, 209 ; British, 173 ; the small ]ii-oporti'>n 
of these last, to the other Allies, and the general amount, having conse- 
quently been — 

Eritisli, 173 

Utliers, 27^4 

Total, 2937 

Thus, adds my British authoi*, as he might specially do with reference to 
the little that Ids countrymen suft'ta-ed, " all things considered, this 
victory was as cheap, as it was considerable; and it would certainly have 
been much more so, if, as the Duke of Burgundy and his ])arty designed, 
the French had quitted the neighbourhood of Ghent, and x-etired towards 
Ypres " — as they looidd have done, but for Vendome's decision to encamp 
at Lovendeghem. 

The most important consequence of the Allied success at Oudenai-de 
■was the famous siege and reduction of the skilfully-fortitied and strongly- 
garrisoned city and citadel of Lisle by Eugene and Marlborough, whose 
military reputation was very much increased by the ability with which 
they conducted the enterprise ; they having to guard, on the one hand, 
against the French army of above 100,000 men eiiileavouring to raise the 
siege ; and having, on the other, to overcome such a line defence of the 
jilace. as that under the Marshal de Bonfflers. from August until 
December; i\ defeuce, which cost hiui, iu every way, above 5000, and 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 5^01 

the besieging force iY-om 15,000 to 20,000, men ! Tlie Irisli uoUmI ia 
this defence were a veter-an Lienteiiant-Generai and Chevalier Andrew- 
Lee, those seemingly of a provisional battilion, styled, from the Queea 
of King James II., " Fuseliers de la Reine d'Angleterre,"* and the super- 
iiuuierary or reformed officers, wlio, after returning from the late 
unsuccessful expedition to Scotland, were attached to the several corps 
of the garrison of Lisle. Lee, who was wounded in the head by a boirib, 
received a pension of 6000 livres, with permission to wear the Cordoa 
Rouge of the Order of St. Louis until a vacancy should occur to a Grand 
Cross, or Commandershif), wliich he then obtained. At the Camp of 
Sa,ulsoy on the Scheld, there were Iri.sh also, or the 5 battalions of Lee, 
O'Brien, Dorrington, ODonnell, and Gahnoy, wlio increased their 
strength, at the expense of Marlborough's army. " I can," says a writeir 
connected with the English War Office, "name a regiment or 2, or, 
perhaps, more, in Flanders, in the year 1708, which we generally call 
the campaign f)f Lisle, that lost considerably by desertion ; one of them 
no less than 130 men, as well as I can remember. They all went off to 
the Irish, and fouglit against us at Malplaquet" — tlie following year. 
" They were esteemed brave fellows in our regiments; and I can hardly 
think, that changing sides abated anything of their courage." The 
youthful repi-esentative of the /.ef/itiniKte as distinguished from the revolw- 
tiouar// I'oyalty of Great Britain and Ireland served this campaign with 
the Frencli army as incoyuito, or under the designation of the Chevaliep 
de St. George, from the popular or legendary tutelar Saint of England. 
He, relates the Duke of Berwick of the Chevalier, " was present at the 
combat of Oudenarde, where he disidayed a great deal of valour ami 
I)resence of mind ; and he acquired, by his affability, the fr-ieudship of 
every one ; for we are naturally prepossest^ed in favour of the unfortunate, 
when they have not been so thnnu/h their own fault, and when, moreover^ 
their conduct is guod.^ It may be added, that the young Hanoverian 
Prince, afterwards George II., was at the same combat, in the opposite 
or Allied army, and likewise behaved himself gallantl}'. 

In Spain, Count O'Mahony, with GOOD i-egular troops, among whom 
were the Irish corps of Berwick, Bourke, and Dillon, besides sr)nie 
militia, and lOOO workmen, appeared before Alcoy in Valencia, January 
2nd, 1708, The place being breached by his battering train of 6 gunjj 
on the 4th, was twice, or on the 5th and 7th, assaulted with mucli Jos.s, 
and without success; but on the 'Jth, was obliged to surrender — the few 
English there as prisoners of war — the inhabitants as rebels at discretion 
— and the town having to ])ay a fine of 48,000 piastres. At this siege, 
repulsing a sally on the 2ud, the Count's brave Lieutenant-Colonel, 
Cornelius U'Driscoll, was wounded in the foot dangerously. The Coanfc 
then reduced a long list of places towards the sea-coast, causing his 
troops to observe the strictest discipline; which was the more gratiiyiiig 

* Connect this with what apjiears farther on, about the Irish deserters, at the 
defence uf Touinay, in 17U*J King James IL's Queen suiviveil her husbaiul neaily 
17 years, or until May, 1718, wliea she died, at 8t. Germain, in her (JOth year, or 
the SUtli of her e.xile Ironi England. "In England," writes Mr. Hardiinaii, •' slia 
was never popular, in consequence of her being a Catholic, and warinly attached to 
]ier religion ; but, for the same reason, s!ie was an especial favourite witli the 
Irish."' See, in that learned and patriotic collector's "Irish Minstrelsy, ' among 
tlie "Jacobite Relics," tlie native Milesian or Gaelic poet's "Lament for the Qiieen 
of King James II.," m the original Irish, with a spirited versilicatiou into English, 
by Henry Grattau Curran, Es(j. 



262 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

to tlip. people of the countiy, an tliey had been made to believe, that 
nothing was to be expected, but massacre and ]>illage. 

In Marcli, 1708, the Count was ajipointed to command in Sicily, to 
which lie was to proceed with 3000 iS]i;inish tr()ii])s, and his 500 Irisli 
dragoons. He reached Messina in April; soon acquired, by his jjolished 
Hnd generous manners, the frit-ndship of the Sicilians; and inspired them 
with feelings of confidence, the stronger, in jiroportion to the grent 
superiority of Jiis abilities and reputatior) to those of their Viceroy, tlie 
]\larquis de los Baibases. The Inqierialists, in tlie kingdom of Na|)les, 
Conquered by tlieni in 1707 from Philip V., were designing to adil Sicily 
to that acqtiisition ; and the naval ])Ower of their Allies, the English, iu 
the jMediteri-anean, was very serviceable to the can.se of the Emperor's 
brother, the Archduke Cliarles of Austria, as claiming to be King t^ 
8j»ain, in o])position to Philip V. In A>igust, writes a British historian 
respecting Sir John Leake, "the Admiral reduced the Island of Sardinia, 
of which the Conde de Cifuentes was declared Viceroy by King Charles; 
and, soon alter, by the assistance of Lieutenant-General Stanhope, he 
teduced Minorca ulso, excepting Port Mahon, and 2 other ports, which 
were afterwaids reduc'd by Sir Edward Whitaker; who likewise cruis'd 
in the MeditertMuean, and struck such terror into Italy, that the Pope 
acknowle<lg"d King Cliarles, and did every other thing that the Enqjeror 
(lesir'd, tho' with a very ill grace." Such etlertive precautions, however, 
were adopted by Count ()'iMahony for the preservation of Sicily, that no 
Allied landing took place there; while the NeajMjlitans, on the other hand, 
were, adds my British authority, "hai-a.ssed liy a fleet from Sicily, with a 
l)odv of land forces on boai'd, \\ hich had the hardiness to appear in the 
very Port of Naples, and to exact contributions all along the coasts." 

In the Peninsula, the chief army of Pliili]) V., in 1708, was that of 
Catalonia, under the Did<e of Orleans, consisting of 3ii battalions, and 55 
i!C[nadrous. The h ading Irish corps enqiloyed there, or in Valencia, were 
the 2 battalions of Berwick, and tlie battalions of Bourki^ and Dillon, in 
the French service, and Brigadier Henry Ci-ofton's Kegiment (or 4 
squadi'ons) of Hragoons, in the Spanish .service. The strong fortress of 
Tortosa, garrhsoiied by 8 Allied battalions of i-egidars, 2 battalions of 
jniquelets. and 3 ■(> horse, assisted by the armed inhabitants, was invested, 
June 12th, by the Duke, and, after a laborious siege, was compelled to 
Caj>itulate, August 11th. Of Iiish officers there, William TaVoot of 
Haggardstown. County Louth, ne]ihew and successor to the Earldom of 
llichard Tall)ot, Eail and Duke of Tyrconnell, and attainted in Ireland by 
the Ilevoluticmists as William Talbot of Dundalk, served as Aide-de-(-ainp 
to the Duke of Orleans; in which capacity he is erroneously noticed by 
the French historian, as Duke, instead of Earl,, of Tyrconnell. Berwick's 
battalions several times mounted the trenches. In December, the 
liattalions of Bervvick, Bourke. and Dillon are mentioned, as constituting 
j)art of the force with which the Chevalier d'Asfeld reduced the town of 
Alicant. defended by Colonel Richards, to surrender — the Castle holding 
out till the ensuing spi-ing. or April, 1701). 

In 1709, France was reduced to such terrible distress, from the effects 
of a most ruinous season, condiined with the immense taxation I'cquisite 
for the maintenance of hostilities against so many natiins, that Louis 
XIV. s]iared no efforts to obtain ])eace, though he was unable to do so, 
ijotwithstandmg the fairest oilers on his part In this melancholy state 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 2G3 

continue tlie war. "All the people of quality, without distinction, and 
all the people who had any plate in Paris, sent it ininiediately to the 
Qiint. The King sent all his own gold ])late, and particulaily some tables 
At Versailles, the workmanship of wliich came to 4 times the value of the 
metal." Yet, by every means that could be resorted to, such a military 
force as was raised for the public defence could only be kept on foot ia 
"much privation and misery.* The Duke of Marlborough atul Prince 
Eugene, on the other hand, assembled, in June, for the campaign in 
Flanders, a very fine, and more numenms army, referred to by an Allied 
writer, as ^"^ all choice troops, all eager to engage, and all flushed vnth the 
ho])es of peitetrating into and of plundering France, ivhich was the general 
discourse in Gennariy, England, and Ilollayid, at tlie opening of this 
cnmpaign!" The French, nevei'theless, were so skilfully posted, by the 
Marshal de Villars, from Pont-a-Vendin to Betlmne, that the enemy- 
could only commence active o])erations by investing Tournay, on the 
27th. That town was well fortified, had likewise a fine citadel, and was 
peculiarly formidable to attack, from the number of mines connected witlx 
tlie works. The Governor was the Marquis de Surville. distinguished, in 
1708, at tlie defenoe of Lisle; and he was well aided b}' M. de Megrigny, 
the able engineer who had planned the citadel. But the garrison was 
not proportioned to the foitifications, having been diminished to but G400 
men, in order to increase the French army ; and there was an insufficiency 
of jH'ovisions and money, though ammunition was abundant. The Allies, 
from tlie night of July 7tli-8th, when the trenches were ojiened, till 
September 3rd, when the citadel surrendered, suffered severely, especially 
by the sallies and mines; their admitted lo.ss having been 5340 men. 
That of the garrison was returned as 3191 killed and wounded, including. 
12-5 oflicei's. At this siege, the Irish reformed officers signalized them-. 
selves, as they had done the year before at Lisle; and a cori)S of Irish 
formed by M. de Parpaille for the occasion out of deserters from tha 
English army (under those circumstances already explained) are described, 
as in a sally, on the night of July 21st-22nd, '"having achieved wonders, 
and having ruined a great deal of the enemy's works." 

Soon after the conquest of Tournay, the Allies invested Mons ; but 
could not besiege it, without first giviiig battle to the French. The Mar- 
shal de ViUars, assisted by the worthy Marshal de BoutHers, the gallant 
defender of Namur and Lisle, (who, although an older ollicer, agreed to 
act under his junior for the public good,) took up a sti'ong jiosition in 
the territory about the village of Malplaquet, with woods to the right 
and left, and an open country between, and to the rear of, those woods. 
Along the woods as his wings, and over the intermediate gi-ound as his 
centre, the Marshal placed his infantry V)eliind triple intrenchments, 
trees cut down, and fastened together, &c. The whole of those arrange- 
ments were such, that an advancing enemy, while struggling with thft 
difficulties of attacking the intrenchments, might be well torn and. 
mashed by a crossing fire fiom the musketry and cannon of the defenders ; 
and the remaining space, to the rear of those works manned by the 
infantry, the Marshal occupied with his cavalry; having had every 
obstacle cleared away, which could interfere with their movements to 
snjjportthe iniantry. The French army, according to its official authori- 

* Louis XIV. was nndergoino- the ptniishTnent, in Ins old age, for that faidt, or 
rather chime, which he himself coiiileMined on liis death-hed, of having l)een too fond 
of Will-, for so luaiiy years oi' his lile, and France was involved in his piuiishuiciit. 



2G4 iiisTouY OF THE inisii brigadks 

ties, consisted of 120 battalions, and 2G0 squadrons; being, in the 
nimber of both, as well as the complements of eacli, generally inferior to 
the enemy. Of those troops, too, but a comparatively small proportion 
were old soldiers; the relies of so many destroyed at Blenheim, Ramil- 
lies, Tiii-in, Oudenarde, kc. The great remaining majority were merely new 
levies; and all were naturally under the dis[)iriting influence of that series 
of misfortunes to their ai'ms for several years, which, as the Marshal 
de IJoufflers wi-ote to Louis XIV., "had so humbled the French nation, 
that one hardly dared to own one's-self a Frenchman!" They were 
likewise inferior in artillery; having, according to their above-mentioned 
accounts, but SO pieces of cannon. Nevertheless, they were resolved to 
recover thtir former character, if possible, under Villars; whose past 
achievements, and present dispo^^itions, inspired them with as much con* 
fidence, as the recent Allied insolence, which refused their Sovereign 
any tolerable terms of peace, was calculated to fire thein with loyal and 
jiatriotic indignation. The Allied army, according to Marlliorough's 
historian, Archdeacon Coxe, amounted to 129 battalions, and 2o2 squad- 
rons; but, according to Serjeant Millner, who fought under Mailborough 
in the action, and whose enumeration is not discountenanced bj' other 
Allied statements, it consisted of 152 battalions, and 271 squadrons.* 
Prince Eugene, contrasting the composition of this army with that of 
France, thus described the Allied troops — " They are all men accustomed 
to tiie and slaughter; of whom there is scarcely 1, that has not beea 
]irespnt at some battle, or at sieges. Besides, with what daring are 
they not ;^nimated, by the recollection of such a long series of victories?" 
They had also, according to the Histoire du Prince Eugene, the Marquis 
de Quiney, and Drake's Memoirs, a much more power! ul artillery than 
the Flench. It was divided into heavy and light guns. Of the heavy 
guns, to level the French intrenchments, there win'e, in the 3 chief 
batteries, 103; and the rest appear to have made u[) 120. The light 
gun.s, to accompany the respective brigades in their adxance, have not 
been enumerated, but included a nundier of field-mortars, to dislodge the 
French from the woods, by discliai'ging such a quantity of shells and 
stones, as to dash down, or shatter to fragments, the trees upon those 
about them, and s])read destruction, and confusion, in every direction. 
With so many circumstances in favour of the Allies, may be noted the 
generally superior "conditif)n" of their troops to those of France, 
owing to the vast miseiy there, already mentioned. The ]\Iar.shal de 
Villars, among his heavy apprehensions respecting the campaign he had 
to make against an enemy so siqierior in nund^ers, ai'tdlery, etc., jtarti- 
cularly refers to his " ])erpetual feai' each day of being without bread" 
— adding how, as he pas.sed through the ranks of his army, the poor 
soldier, struggling to subsisb on a half or a quarter ration, would 
address him, in the words of the Lord's Prayer — " Give us this day our 
daiUj bread!" And, for a day j)revious to the battle of Malplaquet, 

* Marll)orougli's and Euoene's puhlishrd line of battle, June 2.Srcl, about Lisle, 
at the openiiiif of the campaign, presents a total of 170 battalions anil 27i 
squadrons. 'i'he Allies had likewise a cur/i.s-de-re.scrve, to cover Brabant, under 
Lieutenant-Cileneral Donipre, (quartered about Alosfc; from which, and other 
Eonices, the French computed that their o])ponents could be swelled, in the 
field, to ISO battalions and "289 si^uadrous. Subsequently, or August Gth, at 
Orchies, Marlborough's and Eugene's piihliNliP.il line of battle is given as lt>4 
battal lais and 270 squadrons — exclusive, of course, of such as were then absent, 
or detached. 



IN THE SKRVTCE OF FRANCE. 265 

according to one account, and, even for 2 days, according to another, 
tliere had not been a di.stril)iition, sufficient to extend to the whole of 
the army. "On Wednes(hxy, the 11th, early in the morning," alleges 
Drake, "our army received a day"s bread, which we stood in great need 
of, not having had any for 2 da.ys before!''^ Of this bread, the last which 
so many of them were ever to eat! these brave fellows having taken 
some, threw away a pai-t, that they might be the less encumbered, or mt)re 
alert, for the ap])roachiug eiigagement. 

Prince Eugene, and the Duke of Marlborough, perceiving that, to 
attack the Marshal de Villars, as he was posted, would I'equire the pre- 
sence of every man they could muster, and, not being able to have all in 
hand until the 11th, deferred the decisive contest to that day. A dense 
summer mist, very favourable to the Allies, as enabling them to make 
their vai-ious dispositions for the action unseen by the French, did not 
uncurtain the landsca])e before the increasing brightness of the morning 
sun, till between half-]ia>t 7 and 8 o'clock. The stage then being 
clear for the bloody drama in prepai-ation, the firing of the artillery 
commenced, and, from 8 to half-past 8, the entire of the French line in 
front was assailed by tlie Allied infantry; who, duly encouraged by their 
leaders, well primed with brandy, animated to the titmost with military 
music, and most formidably ])ioneered by the destructive discharges of 
their cannon and mortar batteries, "advanced," as described, "not like 
men, but devils," against the " infernal gulph" of the Fren<"h intrench- 
ments. The combat raged with great obstinacy, varied fortune, and a 
frightful carnage, particularly of trie Allies, until past 3 o'clock in the 
afternoon ; when the Marshal de Villars having been cariied off senseless 
from a wound received in repelling an attack towards the left; and the 
intrench men ts of the left and centre having been completely peneti-ated, 
so that those on the right, which were the last held, had to be evacuated ; 
the Marshal de Boutflers, after several gallant and effective cavalry- 
charges, made an excellent retreat towards Quesnoy and Valenciennes. 
The French ap])ear to have left behind them 14 or 15 pieces of their 
artillery as dismounted, with 29 colours or standards, but to have carried 
off" the rest of their 80 cannon, along with 32 Allied coloui-s and 
vstandards;* and they had 7837 slain, or hurt, besides, according to 
Millner, 13G9 irremovably wounded, or made prisoners; forming, so far, 
a loss of 9206 men. The Allied official list of slain or disabhid intautry, 
distinguishing the proportion of every nation, makes them 18,353; and 
a similarly minute list, by Milluei', of the casualties of the Allied 
cavalry, makes them 1963. By these accounts, there were killed and 
wounded, of British infantry and cavalry, but 21)40; of tliosc^ of the 
otiier Confederate nations, 18,276 ; of whom the Dutch, who siiir(ii'<l 
7//".s'^, as opposed to the French right un<ler the Marshal de BoiilHers, 
were 10,496, t and the rest 778U, making, of the Allies altogether, 

* The .S2 captured Allied banners, which are particularized as "24 colours 
and 8 standards," were forwarded to Louis through the Marquis de Nauijis, an 
ofticer of the liiohest character, most distinguished in the battle along witli tlie 
Irish Brigade; anil were solemnly presented, as trophies, September 21st, at lEglise 
de Notre Dauie, in Paris. 

+ The line Regiment of Dutch Blue Guards, of 3 battalions, which had been 
such a favourite corps with William III., and contained so many Dutch 
(.'atholics, suffered extremely here. Its choice Company of Cadets, especially, a 
body of " young heroes," exclusively of Huguenot families, and which, since its 
institution, under William, supplied so many excellent officers to the Dutch 



266 HIST()RY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

20,3 G; and the French having had 9206, and the Allies 20,316, liors da 
combat, the loss, or suffering, of b:)TH armies would consequently extend 
to not less than 2iJ,522 men! Such was the famous battle of Malplaqnet, 
wliich I notice so fully, as the most sanguinary of any fought dnring 
this war. It was won, indeed, by the Allies, as having every advantage 
on tlicir side, except an intrenched position; and even tliM single 
advantage of the French was, to a considerable e.xtent, neutralized, by 
the circumstance of a marsh, on their left, thought imiiassable, proving 
passalih^ and thus opening a way for the ist success of their assailants. 
Yet so high was the juice at 'which victory was attained, tliat Prince 
Eugene's historian doubts, whether it would not have been as well, if 
not better, for the conquerors (like Pyirhus of old after 1 of his 
encounlei's with the Romans,) had they never achieved s\ich a disastrous 
triumph. As to the Duke of Marlborough's connexion with it, our* 
gallant countryman. Brigadier General J'ichard Kane, observes — "It 
was the only rash thing the Duke of Marlborough was ever guilty of; 
and it was generally believ'd, that he was prcss'<l to it hy Prince Eugene; 
and this very battle gave the Duke's eneuiies a handle to exclaim against 
bim, ill saying, he was a man delighted in war, and valued not t!ie lives 
of men." Which serious charge — the more serious, as Marlborough wa.s 
insatiably avaricious, and proKted |)roportionably by the war, — continued 
to gain more and more credit in England, till it contributed, in a great 
degree, to his linal deposition from command. 

The Irish, in the French army, that remarkaVie day, were Lee's, 
O'ljiieii's, Dorriiigton's, O'Donnell's, and Galmoy's infantry regiuieiits, 
and Niigent's cavalry regiment. " Tliey," says Lieutenant- General 
Count Arthur Dillon concerning those infantry, " were posted towards 
the centre, in the opening of the wood of Sai-t. having the S^viss Guards 
on their light, and the Brigade of Champagne on their left. It was 
towards this point, that the enemy directed their greatest efforts. The.se 
3 brigades, after having sustained, for upwai-ds of 3 hours, the nun-derous 
fire of a battery of 20 pieces of cannon, rejiulsed so many as 3 of the most 
furious attacks, in which the enemy suffered a considerable loss. Tliey 
were at last obliged to i-etire, because 4 battalions, who secured their 
flank, having abandoned their post, the enemy were about to tui-n them. 
They returned, notwithstanding this, to the charge, and, after having 
gained some advantages, they I'eceived orders to retreat altogether, which 
they executed with the left of the army, after the wounding of the 
Marshal de Villars." Of 1 of those repulses of the enemy by the Irish 
Brigade, the leading French historian of Louis XIV. 's wars, after observ- 
ing how Lieuteiiant-General Albergotti having "marched against the 
enemy, attacked thein so well as to drive th<un from the ground they 
had gained, and to force them .to betake themselves to the extremity of 

eervice, was annihilated. " This Com|ian3 ,'" jays my British authority, "distin- 
guished itself o.i every occasion which offered during the war, till the battle of 
Malpkujuet iu 17(t9, wlierein they were eutircly cut to pieces, in forcing the 
retienclmient on the left of our army." l^rince Kngene's t.V)ntinental biographer, 
iioo, in relataiii' how, on the Allied left, the, ground "was covered with the d(».(l 
bodies of the Duccli," and how " their Foot Guards were reduced to a lament- 
able state," adds, "(if 2UD Cadets of l^'rench refugee fanii ie; there were 19.3 hki'fc 
Uj)on th» liekl. " Of the Scotch iJrigade in the Dutch bervico, the British his- 
torian previ .usly ci ed likewi-e remarks —" The unfortunate Marqids of Tullibar- 
*Hne, with tlie rest of the .Scotch officers in the service of the States, did wonders, 
though to kale belter purpose, than barely to slu-w vi-u.li how much bravery they 
could die." 



IN TITR SERVICE OF FRANCE. . 2G7 

tlie wooil," adds — "The Irish Brigade, at whoso head were the Cunite de 
ViJlars and the Marquis de Naiigis, overturned all that came in their 
vvav." The Allied trooj^.s, "who," according to Marlborough's biographer, 
Archdeacon Coxe, " recoiled a considerable way before the impetuous 
onset of the Irish," were " British and Prussians." 

The following passage respecting this battle occurs in the Memoirs of 
Captain Robert Parker of Kilkenny, then serving with the liStli, or 
Royal Irish Regiment of Foot, in Maidborough's army. "We happened 
to be the last of the regiments that had been left at Touruay to level 
our appi-oaclies,and therefore could not come up till the lines were all 
fornied and closed, so that there was no ))lace for ns to fall inti). We 
were ordered therefore to draw up by ourselves, on the right of the whole 
army, opposite to a skirt of the wood of Sarb ; and when the army 
advanced to attack the enemy, we also advanced into that ])art of the 
wood, which was in our front. We continued maridiing slowly on, till 
we came to an open in the wood. Tt was a small plain, on the ()])posite 
side of which we perceived a battalion of the enemy di-awn up, a skirt of 
the wood being in the rear of them. Upon this, Colonel Katie, who was 
then at the head of the regimenc, having drawn us up, and formed our 
plattoons, advanced gently toward them, with the (J plattoons of our 
1st lire made ready. When we had advanced within lOU paces of them, 
they gave us a lire of 1 of their ranks : whereupon we halted, and 
returned them the lire of our 6 plattoons at once: an<l immediately made 
ready the 6 ])lattoons of our 2nd lire, and advanced upon them .-gain. 
They then gave us the lire of another rank, and we returned them a 2nd 
fire, which made them shrink ; howexer, they gave us the lire of a 3i'd 
rank after a scattering manner, and then retired into the wood in great 
disorder: on which we sent our 3rd liie after them, and saw them no 
more. We advanced cautiously up to the ground which they had 
quitted, and found several of them kdled and wounded ; among the 
latter wiis one Lieutenant O-Sullican^ who told us the battalion we had 
engaged was the Royal Regiment ol Ireland. Idere, therefore, there was 
a fair trial of skill between the 2 Royal Regiments of Ireland, one in 
the Bri/ib-h, the other in the French service ; for we met each other upon 
equal terms, and there was none else to interpose. We had but 4 men 
kdled, and 6 wounded ; and found near 40 of them on the spot, killed 
and wounded. The advantage on our side," adds the Cai)tain. " wdl be 
easily accounttid for, 1st, frt)m the weight of our l>all : for the French arms 
cairy bullets of 24 to the pound : whereas our British firelocks carry 
ball of 16 only to the pound, which will make a considerable dillerence 
in the execution. Again, the manner of our tiring was different from 
theiis ; the French at that time tired all by ranks, which can never do 
equal execution with our plattoon-tiring, especially when ti plattoons are 
fired together. This is undoubtedly the best method that has yet been 
discovered for lighting a battalion ; especially when 2 battalions only 
engage each other." These remarks of the Captain are deserving of 
much attention, for more reasons than one; or Istly, as showing the 
sei-ious disadvantages, in point of-wea])ons and disci]iline, under which 
the French infantry, as contrasted with the British, labour d in Marl- 
borough's time, to wiiich disadvantages, no doubt, as well as others, 
so many defeats of the French were, in a very great degree, attribut- 
able;" and 2ndly, as demonstrating tliat, even if iht^ whole, instead of 
" The successes of the Allies, in tl;is liual war respecLiiig the Spamsb succes.sion, 



268 HISTORY OF THE IKISH BRIGADES 

(as it will appear) merely a detachment from, the French Royal Regi- 
ment of Ireland, was really engaged with the British Royal Regiment of 
Ireland, still the meeting mentioned by the Captain should not be con- 
sidered as one upon anytliing like equal terms, since the corps which 
fired by 6 platoons or, ranks at once, opfjosed to a corps of which only 
1 i-ank fii-ed at a time, may be legarded, as , having the advantage of 6 
men or bullets to every 1 against it. Besides, even if the whole of both 
regiments had been arrayed there, the fight would not have been a fair 
one, unless it could likewise be shown, that there was no superiority 
of numbers in the British over the French Royal Regiment of Ireland. 
Tiiat the aflliir mentioned by Paiker was nothing more than one against 
a detached party or outpost of the French Royal Regiment of Ireland on 
the outskirt of a wood is made still more obvious, even without a])peal- 
ing to any French evidence, by the circumstance of Colonel Kane alad* 
Serjeant Millner, both in Parker's regiment, having each left a descrip- 
tion of the battle of JNIalplaquet, yet without either of them at all noticing 
the matter so dwelt upon by Pai'ker ; which is rather irreccmcilahle with 
an actual occuri'ence of what would have been such a remarkable feat, as 
tkeii' regiment having beaten the entire reg.inent of the like name ayid nation 
in the French army ! Neither have 1 found any allusion whatever to 
anything of the kind, in any contemjiorary British historian. 

But, according to the Freiich documents, the Fi-ench Royal Regiment 
of Ireland, or Dorrington's, was mainly engaged, not in such a mere out- 
j)ost affair at the wood as that last noticed, but in the hottest portion of 
the battle, under its Lieutenant-Colonel, ranking as Colonel, Brigadier 
Michael Roth, and a Kilkenny man, as well as Pai'ker , the Briga- 
dier, in the absence of the Colonel- Proprietor, Major-General William 
Dorrington in Germany, having commanded the regiment in Flanders, 
where he is s])eciall3' noticed, as having "combated with the greatest 
valour at Malplaquet." In connexion with the Regiment of Dorrington 
forming a portion of the Irish Brigade ea ytiast^e in repelling the English, 
I translate the following interesting passage in a letter to John O'Connell, 
Esq., from "Le Baron Cantillon de Ballyheigue," County of Kerry, 
Lieutenant-Colonel of the 3rd Regiment of Hussars in France, and 
President of the Council of War at Paris, in 1843— a nobleman, the 
representative of the old Norman ov French race of the De Cantillons, 
so long established in Ireland, and still, or after the re-establishment of 
his branch of the name in France, honoui-ably cherishing recollections of 
the land, in which his ancestors wei-e so long eminent. "A celebrated 
])ainter," writes the Baron from Paris, December 8th, 1843, to Mr. 
O'Connell, " has reproduced in a picture, which is at present my property, 
an historical subject, concerning my family and yours. It treats of my 
great-grandCatlier, who was likewi.se the uncle of Mary O'Connell, the 
wife ot Maurice, your grand-uncle. The subject is drawn from the 
Archives of the Minister of War at Paris. This picture represents 
Ca})tain James Cantillon, at the battle of Malplaquet in 1709, chai-ging, 

against Louis XIV., will not l>e wondered at by any reader of Voltaire's description, 
in his "Sit'cle de Louis XIV." chap, xviii., of the vast degeneracy in the military 
administration of Fi-ance, under C!hamillart. Indeed, if a reader combines, witli 
that powerful description, the pernicious jobbing connected with the carrying out 
of the Icing's decree of January 2,jth. 1701, respecting the levies for his infantry, 
the wonder will rather be, how the French cmild have made such a stand, as they 
f'iit, in the ensuing ccmtest. See the "History of the French Army," in Colburues 
Vfw Monthly Magazine for December, labi. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCS. 2G.5 

at tlie head of the p-enadiers of the Irisli Regiment of Dovringtou, the 
En!,'li.sh troops, commanded by tlie Duke of Marlborough. The official 
documents explain the subject of it in this manner: — 'When the left of 
the French army, taken in Hank by the right wing of the enemy's army 
under the orders of the Duke of Marlborough, began to recoil, the 
Marechal de Villars brought up as quickly as possible the Irish Brigade, 
which was in the centre. It attacked with fury the English troops, 
whom it repulsed. Cantillon, at the head of the grenadiers of the 
liegimeut of Dorrington, (irst approached the enemy's line, exclaiming 
to his men — Forward, brave Irislnnen ! Long live King James III., and 
tJie King of France! He had his sword broken in the combat, and fell, 
covered with wounds, in the midst of the i-anks of the English infantry, 
after having killed, with his own hand, an officer, and several soldiers. 
There remained, after the charge, only 15 men of the company of 
Cantillon; the others were stretched di ad, or wouiidel, around their 
brave Ca])tain, whose glorious exainjile they had followed!' The 
painter," concludes the Baron, "has represented Cantillon, sword in 
hand, pointing out the eneniy''s troops to the Irish, and holding up his 
hat in his left hand, while exclaiming. Forward, brave Irislimen," ifec. 

Prince James Francis Edward Stuart, (or, in Jacobite lar)guage. King 
James III.,) highly signalized himself at Malplaquet, as the Chevalier de 
St. George. Though ill with a fever at Quesr)oy, he requested the 
Marshal de Villars, to let him know when the engagement was to take 
place, in order to be present at it; and, notwithstanding his illness, 
arriving by post as the action was commencing, he placed himself at the 
head of the famous Maisou du Roi, or Horse (iuards of Louis XIV., whose 
behaviour that day was, says the Marshal de Boufflers, '■'indeed beyond 
himian nature, and above all expression!" After an exposure to the 
cross-fire of 50 pieces of cannon for several hours, that fine corps gave or 
received so many as 12 charges; penetrated, sword in hand, the 1st, 2nd, 
3rd, and even to the 4th line of the comparatively fresh Allied cavalry; 
and was only at last obliged to retire, through the combined strength of 
the Allied horse and foot, su[)ported by the tire from a flanking battery 
of 3U pieces of artillery. In the last of these chaiges, the I'rince re- 
ceived a sabre-wound on his right arm. "77/e Chevalier de St. George," 
writes the Marshal de Boufflers to Louis XIV., '■'■behaved himself, during 
tlie ivliole action, with all pussible bravery and vivacity!" * Aceordine to 
the contempoi-ary unjniblished Irish Jacobite historian, Plunkett — "The 
King of England was remarked for his valour and zeal, when st-veral ■pcrstriis 
were killed and wounded about him; and his subjects, the Irish Brigade, 
under his gallant countenance, exhibited uncommon bravery in 4 
occasions." In the words of our native Jacobite song, 

"He ■wasi as fit to wear the Crown, 

As any %ohd;i in London town ; 
But of his right they cut him down, 
A iioljle Stuart born! '' f 

* The (Jefails respecting the very gallant conduct of the Maison dn Eoi, and the 
Prince at its head, are taken from the contemporary French and British authorities 
of the Marquis de Quincy, and the honest compiler of tlie Military History of 
Prince Eugeue of Savoy, and the Duke of Marlborough, in 4 volumes. 

t The song, of which the above is a fragment, and the air "of the right sort," 
continued to be simg about in Munster, till late in the last century. It bewail thus — 
"I wish that day would come to pass, 
With all the Catholics going to masal" 



270 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

The arlvov.tnrons Peter Dfake of Drakeriitli, wlio fought most gal- 
lantly in the Chevalier de Jaiison's Compan}^ of Gendaniierie, ami was 
very severely vvomided, observes, in relating his arrival at Qiiesnoy 2 days 
after the l)attle, and his then going to the Prince's quarters there — 
"Being acquainted with one M^Carty, who was Master of his Wine- 
C(*llai-s, I got myself conducted thither, in hopes to get some comfortahle 
refresliment, which T stood much in need of. In this I succeeded, as 
well as I could wish. Mr. M'^Carty came to me, bi'ought me into the 
hall, went and brought me a silver cup of excellent wine, and some 
French bread; I drank some of the wine. Vmt could not touch the bread, 
though I was very hungry. He went and got me a jiorringer of good 
soup, with bread well soaked in it, which T sucked in as well as I could, 
and it was great comfort to me. At this time, General Sheldon came 
in, and being informed wlio I was, immediately called for one of* 
the Pretender's Surgeons, and ordered him, to examine and dress my 
wounds. . . . There came a good number of gentleman on horse- 
back to the door, belonging to the Pretender, and it was said, he was 
going to the camp; he soon came down, whicli was luck\' for me, for, as 
he was going by, he saw me, and General Sheldon told him, I was the 
gentleman that came from England, and had waited on him about a fort- 
night ago: he stopt a little, and looked towards me, and went off; in 2 or 
3 minutes, one Captain fjooth, who belonged to the Duke of Berwick's 
Regiment, and was one of the Pretender's Aid-de-Camps, came to me, 
and gave me 20 French louis d'ors, amounting then to 400 livers; a 
strong and timely supply." 

The 3 leading English and Irish Jacobite prisoners, connected with the 
operations preceding this engagement, or the engagement itself, were 
Sheldon, acting as Brigadier, who was "taken near Bossu, doing his 
duty with valour, at the head of 400 horse ;" an Irish veteran of the 
War of the Revolutirm, belonging to the Regiment of Nugent, Matthew 
Cooke, Brigadier of Cavalry ; and the Lord Macguire,* Lieutenant- 
Colonel of the Regiment of Dillon, which corps, however, was yio< serving 
in Flanders. Tlie French state the killed and wounded officers of the 
5 Irish Regiments of Foot thus — Lee's, 17 — O'Brien's, 9 — Dorrington's, 
30 — O'Donnell's, 16 — Galmoy's, 11 — in all 83, or, with 2 of Dorrington's 
alone mentioned as taken, 85. Yet, of ca])tured officers of the Regiments 
of Doi-rington, Lee, Galmoy, and O'Donnell, I find 1 Aid-Major, 4 Cap- 
tains, and 7 Lieutenants in a Dutch lis^t of prisoners from the French, 
printed at the Hague. In this, I am able to make out the names of 
Condon, Cantillon, Mandeville, Walker, Comerfurd, Ryan, Fitz-Gerald, 
Murphy, O'Neill. A letter of September 13th, on the battle, from the 
cam):> at Ruesne, near Quesnoy, by M. de Contades of the Etat- Major, 
after observing, "all the infantry in general have done wonders," adds, 
" tjie Regiment of Navarre, Uiat of Royal Champagne, and the Irish 
have been very distinguished." 

I derive my knowledge of it from my venernhle mother, who heard it when a child. 
The italicized word '" irhi'lp," was a conteniptuoiis term, among the Jacobites, for 
Guelph, the faiiiily name of the House of Hanover. 

* "Of the MacLjnires," says the introduction to Dr. O'Donovan's edition of 
O'Dugan and O'Heerin, "the noble representatives of the title of Baron of Ennia- 
killeu M^ere officers in France, from the rei.;n of Louis XIV. to that of Louis XVL ; 
nnd dnrini,' tiie same period, gentlemen of that old sejit were to be found there ia 
tlie national Brigade, or the Regimenta of Lee, Dorrington, Dillon, O'Donnell, Fitz- 
Jam.es, Biilkeley, and Lally." 



IN THE PF.nVTOF, OF FUANCE, ^1 I 

The active operations of 1709 in Fhmdeis terniinaterl in October, with 
the i-eduction of Mons by tlie Allies, after a creditable defence of 
between 6 and 7 weeks. Its garrison, though neither nnmerons enough, 
nor sufficiently sup[>lied, for duly maintaining such a foi'trt'ss, killed or 
wounded above 2200 of the besiegers ; who, with tlieir fellow-suti'erers at 
Tournay, and Malplaquet, and, with those lost by minor \varf;ire, deser- 
tion, and disease, would nmount to consideral)]y more than *0,000, if not, 
as the French said, above 35,000 men ! Eather a dear price, in eit/ier 
case, for the successes of t/iis camjiaign ! Maubeuge, was the next post 
exposed to attack by the Allies, when the French, under the Duke of 
Berwick, jji'ovided against any further conquests, by the construction 
of an intrenched camp, where the 5 battalions of Lee, O'Brien, Dorring- 
ton, O'Donuell, Galmoy, with the 2 squadrons of Nugent, were stationed ; 
and Eugene and Marlborough, having gotten quite enough of fighting for 
this year, dismissed thfir tioops into winter-quarters. 

Of Irish, with the French forces in Spain, Rousillon, or Dauphine, in 
1709, or Majoi'-General Walter Bourke, Lieutenatit-Genei'als Arthur 
Dillon, and Lord Galmoy, and the battalions of Bourke, Dillon, and 
Berwick ; and Irish in the service of Spain, or Brigadier Henry Crofton 
and his Regiment of Dragoons acting thei-e, and Count Daniel O'Mahony 
in Sicily ; the following are the principal circumstances recorded. 

May 7th, 1709, was fought the battle of the Guadinna, or La Gudina, 
near Badajos. between the S[>anish army of Estremadura, under King 
Philip V.'s General, the Marquis de Bay, and the Portuguese and 
]>ritish, under the Marquis de Fronteira, and Queen Anne's Genei-al, 
the Huguenot Fail of Gal way. Tiie Allies, according to the Portuguese 
account, were 49 regin)ents of infantry and cavalry, against but 40 on 
the side of their Sj)anish o]>j)onents ; according to the London Gazette, 
No. 4538, about 17,000 foot and 5000 horse in very good order, and, by 
the reports from deserters, mucli superior in number to the enemy. The 
Spanish army were, by their published line of battle, but 24 battalions 
and 47 squadrons. The artillery of each party was stated as equal, or 
20 piects of cannon. The Portuguese and English were defeated, with 
the loss, in every way, of about 4000 men, 17 cannon, 15 coloui-s or 
standards, as well as tents, and baggage; the Spaniards having had, it is 
alleged, only about 400 men, and 100 horses, killed or wounded. Of the 
British contingent, the Vjrigade of Pearce, consisting of the 2 English 
regiments of Barrymore and Stanwix, and a 3rd, or that of Galway, 
composed of recently-levied Cai-list S[)aniards, alter some resistance, 
were, owing to their total abandonment hy the Portuguese horse, com- 
pelled to surrenderee masse. The Allies had about 1700 men killed 
and wounded ; those captured were altogether about 2300 ; of whom 
the greater number, or 1500, were Queen Anne's troops, and the 
remainder, or 800, were Portuguese. The chief British (besides Portu- 
guese) officers, made prisimcrs, were Major-Genei-al James Barry, 4th Earl 
of Bairymore. and Nicholas Sankey; Brigadier-General Tl)omas Pearce; 
the 2nd Colonel of the Regiment of Galway, with Major Thomas Gordon 
of that corps; Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Meredith of the Regiment of 
Colonel Thomas Stanwix, and Lord Henry Pawlet, Aide-de-Camp to 
the Eail of Galway ; the latter nobleman, (unfoitunate here as at 
Almai'za,) after having a horse shot under him, only escaping with 
ditRculty. The Allies were tlius disa])i)ointed in the calculation they 
liad made, of being able, through their superior numbers, to reduce 



272 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

Badrtjos, and liad the additional mortification to witness aljove 30 
leaijfues of the Portuguese territory ])laced under contribution by the 
Marquis de Biv, wlio subsisted his army at the expense of his adver- 
saries, to the end of this campaign. In sliort, so genei'ally discreditable 
to the Confederates did tlieir intelligence from Portugal appear, that, 
savs a contemporary London annalist — "For my part, I think the 
stories, and excuses, sent us from thence, are as mean, and poor, as our 
fighting, and conduct, seem to be." At the victory, which led to such 
satisfactory results for Pliilip V., Brigadier Henry Crofton, with hi>i 
Regiment of Dragoons of 4 squadrons, was in the 1st line of the Spanish 
viglit wing of cavalry, by whose imp-tuous charge, upon their Portuguese 
opponents, it is stated, that " all the cavalry of the 2 lines of the enemy's 
left was, in less than half an hour, broken, overthrown, and put to flight." 
And Crofton is elsewhere specified, as having "performed wonders, in his 
capacity of Brigadier, at the head of his Regiment of Dragoons, in the 
famous battle of Guadinna." lie was created, December 1.5th following, 
a Mardchal de Camp, or Major-General, by Pliilip V. Elsewhere in the 
Penins\ila, the bi-ave Don Miguel Pons, STareclial de Camp, with 3 
horse-i'egiments and 2 battalions, surprised, August 6th, near the river 
Noguera, about the bridge of Montannana, 6 regiments of Austro-Car- 
list infantry and cavalry so successfully, that he routed thein at the 
1st volley, only 4 of his men being mentioned as killed, and some of 
his hor^es slain, or disabled ; while the enemy had about 700 men killed, 
wounded or taken, with their baggage, and G standards. One of the 2 
Lattalicms, engaged, under the gallant Pons, in this well-ma jaged afi'air, 
was Dillon's. 

August 2Sth, 1709, Lientenant-General Arthur Dillon, attached to 
the Army of Dauphine under the Marshal Duke of Berwick, gave a 
sharp repulse to one of the enemy's Generals, at the head of a detach- 
ment estimated as superif)r in number, or 3000 foot and 200 horse. The 
Marshal Duke thus relates the affair. "General Rebender, desirous of 
pel forming some striking achievement, marched, for that purpose, from 
his camp al)(>ut Exilles, and traversed Mont-Genevre with the design of 
plachig under contribution the Val-Despres, and, more especially, the 
market-town of La Vachette, which was no more than half a league from 
Brianc^inn. M. Dillon, who commanded in these parts, perceiving that 
Rtil lender had descended from Mont-Genevre upon La Vachette, marched 
thither with 2 battalions and 6 comj)anies of grenadiers, whom he 
stationed liehind the town. As soon as the enemy, (after being arrayed 
for engaging,) appioached to assail a weak palisaded intrenchment that 
had been constructed there, M. Dillon sallied out upon them, fnmi the 
right and left of the town, and charged them with so much bravery, 
that he beat them ; killing 700 or 800 of them upon the spot, and 
making 400 prisonei-s. Rebender retired, as expeditiously as possible, 
towards Exilles, and did not show his nose any more, lor the rest of the 
campaign." Nevertheless, not long after this sharp re|)ulse, the hostile 
Governor of Exilles, with 3000 men, came down from a mountain, in 
sight of .the French guarding Briancjon, and twice retired, in order to 
entice them after him. Dillon, ex[)ecting the Governor would return a 
3rd time, caused the mountaineers to intrench themselves so secretly, 
and supported them so well with infantry ambushed behind the moun- 
tain, that the enemy, on their reappearance, had 300 men slain, 70 
taken, and the remainder put to the rout. In making his arrange- 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE, 273 

merits for tins campaign, the Duke of Berwick had written from 
Grenoble, May 4th, to Louis XIV., resy)ecting Dillon — " His activity 
and his vigiLince cannot be surpassed; and your Majesty scarcely has an 
otficer more capable of serving you well." And, when the campaign was 
over, Lieutenant-General Comte de Medavi "rendered justice to the 
care which M. Dillon had taken, during the campaign, to place the 
intrenched camp and works in the enviions of Brian^ou in such a state 
of defence, that everything was in the best order there, for excluding the 
enemy from that leading ])ass into Dauphine; as well as facilitating the 
transmission, to other parts of the frontier, of detachments, able to resist 
such enterprises, as might be directed against them." 

In Sicily, in 1709, the deficiencies of its Spanish Viceroy, the Marquis 
do los Balbases, alluded to as "a poor creature," were so well compensated 
by the ability of Count O'Mahony's arrangements, with the native 
militia, and regular troops from Spain, for the defence of the island, that 
it had nothing to fear from invasion. " The Nea})olitans," says an Allied 
letter in June, " who are the chief promoters of it, and who used to 
represent it as a slight matter, to be undertaken with 3000 or 4000 men, 
and 6 ships, do now, when one comes to talk in detail of the execution, 
insist, that there should be 10,000 men sent, with a good battering train, 
aiid they all agree, that it will be necessary to besiege Messina, by sea 
and land. The enemies have, in the island, at least 4000 regulai- foot,, 
and 1500 horse, commanded by Mahoni, under the Viceroy, who is a ])Oor 
creature." The naval strength of the English and the Dutch this year in 
the Mediterranean was such, that they took very considerable prizes; and 
these advantages led, as might be expected, to an attempt in the direction 
of Sicily, though not with such a result as its contrivers would have 
wished. For, alleges my account from " Madrid, July 3()th," on the 
authority of a courier expressly despatched fi'om Sicily, "a squadron of 
English vessels appeared off the coasts of the kingdom, from which 2 
landings were effected; one between Trapani and Castellamare, and the 
other near Melazzo. But the Sicilians, sustained by some veteran corps 
of Spanish troops, received their enemies with such vigour, that they were 
forced to re-embark with ])recipitation, after having lost about 600 men, 
including those who were drowned, ere they could I'egain their shipjnng." 
These unsuccessful landings in Sicily seem to have been predatory 
attempts, from the Neapolitan territory, through the maritime aid of the 
English, to retaliate the successful hostile visits from Sicily, the year 
before, to the Bay, &c., of Naples. 

On the side of Germany, in 1709, the Allies under the Elector of 
Hanover, had formed a design, the accomplishment of which, b}' rendering 
them masters of Franche-Comte and Lorrain, by cutting off all com- 
munication between France and Alsace, and by other results, would have 
been a very severe, if not a fatal, blow to Louis. But, by a defeat of the 
Impei-ial General, Count de Mercy, at Rumersheim, the contemplated 
design was lendered impracticable, and the Elector of Hanover was 
prevented undertaking anything further; the French army under tlie 
Marshal d'Harcourt recovering Hagembach, encamping on the gromid 
■where the Germans had pi-eviou.sly ])osted themselves, and levying con- 
tributions in Baden, and all the country about Landau. In the list of 
the Marshal d'Harcourt's Lieutenant- Generals were Lee and Dorrington ; 
but neither accompanied by any Ii'ish troo])8, nor having been so situated, 
during the campaign, as to gain any particular distinction. 

T 



274 HISTORY OF THE IIUSII Bnir.ADES 

Amonn; the Gencn-al Oflicers serving umler tlie I\Tarsliiil dc^ Villara, 
in Flmidcrs. in 1710, were IMajor-General Micliael Roth, Brigadiers 
Wurrongli O'Brien ami Christopher Nugent; and there were, in the 
T'larshal's army, the 5 Irish battalions of Lee, Dorrington, O'Brien, 
Oahnoy, O'Donnell, and the 2 squadrons (or cavalry regiment) of Nugent. 
The Allies, under Eugene and JNlarlborough, though baulked in tlieir 
leading object of investing Arras, yet were so superior in strength to the 
French, as to hold them in check during this campaign, and reduce 
Douay, Bethune, St. Tenant, and Aire; those 4 sieges, however, costing 
the Confederates, l)y their own admission, ui)wards of 19,200 men, killed 
and wounded ; but far more, according to the French.'" In the very able 
defence of Btithun;-', which, says an Allied writer, "held out much longer 
tlian any liodv expected, and longer than any )»lace of the .same foi-ce was 
ever held befoi-e," — the loss of the Allies in taking it having been abo\'^ 
?>.'5G0 men, killed and wounded — the Governor, Lienlenant-General 
"Vanban, a worthy nephew of the great engineer, had. as next-in-eonimand, 
(H- jMaieehal de C.imp, the Kilkenny veteran, Michael lloth. And, 
remarks niv French contemporai-y histoi-ian, — " M. de Vanban was use- 
fully seconded by M. Illiot, Marechal de Camp, who availed himself of 
tiie opportunity of frequently signalizing his zeal for the service (jf the 
King his capacity for, and his great devotion to, the military ])rofession, 
and of giving similar ])roofs of valour to those he iiad manifested in 
xiumei'ous eiu-ounter.s." Another French authority states of lioth at 
Bethune — "Commanding under }<i. du Buy Vanban, besieged in this 
])lace, he gave the mo.st decisive evidences of valour, of ])rudence, and of 
iirmi ess, and very much contributed to the fine defence which M. du Buy 
Vanban made, during 35 days of open trenches. M. de Rothe," it is 
added, " headed nuiiibei-s of the sorties there." For this, Louis XIV. 
rewarded Ruth with a Commandership of the Order of St. Louis, as his 
countryman, Lee. v.'as rewarded, in 1708, for similar conduct, undei- the 
Marshal de Boulllers at Lisle. In Flanders, this year, "2 brigades 
d'officiers Iriandois" are officially mentioned; and the supernumerary or 
reformi'd olKcei-s, who were distinguished at the great sieges of Lisle and 
Tournay, also took part, with much honour to themselves, in the gallant 
defences of Douay, Bethune, and Aire. Those, esiiecially, belonging to 
the Reginu^nts ot Dorrington, Gabnoy, O'Donnell, Bourke, ami Berwick, 
for their .services this campaign, and henceforward to the end of the war 
in Flandeis, were, as a mark of Louis's favour, allowed the same sub- 
sistence in wiiitei-tpiarters as officers en pie:!.. In the Duke of Berwick's 
campaign for 1710 against the Imperialists and Piedmontese, General 
Kebender advanced by Mount Genevre to dislodge some of the French 
posts; but Lieutenant-Geueral Arthur Dillon, from his camp at Brianc^on, 
BO harassed the, invader by detachments, that he had very soon to retire 
to S(!sanne. 

The Irish, in 1710, signalized themselves most effectively in S2:)ain, 

* "This campaign," alleges the Engrlish historian, Sahnon, "tho' not so bloody as 
gome others, <lid not cost the Allies less than 25,000 men, upon a modest coinj)uta- 
tlon; and, if 1 should say, it cost them 10,000,0(10 of in(mey, I might i^peak within 
compass. At this expense, we added, to the dominions of the Dutch and the 
Imperialists, the towns of Douay and Aire, Bethune and St. Venant . . . . But the 
principal design of the Allies against Arras miscarried ; that town being so covered 
by the French army, that they had no opportunity of investing it." To losses by 
killed and wounded, a very considerable ailditioQ must, of course, be made, on the 
Score of those who die by ulckuttii, e.-^pecially m a v.ar oi^ sieves. 



«* IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 275 

where Philip V., and his Austrian competitor, tlie Archduke Cliarles, 
were early in the tield. Anion2; the General Olficers of King Philip, 
weie Lientenant-General Count Daniel (J'Mahony, (returned with honour 
from Sicily) and Major-General Don Henry Orofton. Among the )-oval 
regiments were 2 of Irish infantry, newly formed of deserters from the 
enemy, in Catalonia, and Portugal. These regiments were conimandt'(l 
l)y Colonel Don Demetrio (or Derniod) Mac Auliffe, and Colonel Don 
John de Comerford ; the former, head, or chief of the ancient sept of tlis 
Mac Aulilfes, or Clan-Auliffe, of the Bai'ony of Duhallow, in the noi-th- 
east of the County of Cork; the latter, whose name was established since 
the time of the Anjou-Norinan King Johan, or John, iji Erin, was long 
of baronial eminence, at Danganmore, in the County of Kilkenny; and, 
in France, as well as in Spain, has been distinguished by its gallanb 
officers, including several Clievaliers of St. Louis.* With those 2 Irish 
regiments, there was a 3id brigaded under Colonel Mac Doc aell. In 
May, some of the Irish were engaged with success against the miquelets; 
and. in June, Count O'Mahony, with 2G()() ;iien, seized at Cei \^era, a 
liostile magazine of artich^s of clothing for 4o()0 men; at the Castle of 
Cala^, wliicli he subseijueiitly n-duced. and levelled, destroyed a great 
quantity of the enemy's ])r()visions; and. according to the Jacoliite liis- 
tni'ian Plunkett. "still advanced tuwards the sea, takeing o little houlds, 
and obligeing the country to submission, until he came within 4 leagues 
of Barcelona." After 2 cavalry-encounters, with varied success, at 
Almenai'a and Penalva, in July and August, tlie hostile main armies 
came to a general engagement on the 2()th of the latter month, near 
Saragossa. The Archduke Charles's army, commanded by the famous 
Count de Strdiremberg. was superior both in numbers and condition to 
that of King Philip, commanded by tlie Marquis de Bay, or from 23,000 
to 24, 000, against but IT), 000, combatants; the latter being reduced to 
that number from 17,000, by having been obliged to live, for sevei'al daj's, 
witliiiut bread, or only upon such fruit as they could pick up, and un- 
wholcsiime water. A warm cannonade from about day-break was the 
jirebide to a closer contest between 12 and 3 o'clock; in which King 
Philip's army was defeated, with the loss of mo.st of its artillery, colour.s 
and stamiards, and between 3000 and 4000 men ; the enemy stating their 
loss at but 2000. In this engagement, Comit O'Mahony commanded ou 
the right ot the royal army, at the head of the cavalry. With the King's 
Guards and Spanish dragoons, he charged so fui'iously the Portuguese 

* An Irish writer, in 1723, referring to the finding at Barnanely, or the Devil's 
Bit, County Tipjierary, in l<j92, by some labourers digging turf, ef an enchased gold 
cap, or provincial crown, i-eseinbling the close, lialt-crown, half-helmet, diadem 
of the Eastern Em[iire, notices the family of Comerford, in relating, that such au 
interesting reiic of Irish antiquity would have been melted down, but for "a curious 
gentleniau," Joseph Comerford, Esq. "This gentleman," it is added, "heing 
rendered incapable, hy reason of his relujion, to purch se lands in his oivn countnj, 
has bought the Marquisate of Anglure, with a good estate, upon the river Aule, in 
Champaigne, which he has settled, in default of issue from himself, upon his brother 
Captain Luke Comerford, (an othcer of great esteem in the French service) and ius 
heirs male; and, in default of such issue, upon his kinsman. Sir John Comerford 
(a Mnjor General and Colonel of a Regiment of Foot in the service of the King of 
Spain) and his male issue." The last-named gentleman is the officer mentioned :n 
the text. Mj' French MS. specifies 7 Comerfords of the same branch, inclusive of 
Luke previously alluded to, as having been officers of the Irish Brigade, in tlie 
Kegimeiits of Dillon, Lee, and Bulkeley; of whom 6 were Captains, 1 Lieutenant, 
and 4 of the 7 were ChevaUers of St. Louis. 



276 HISTOI^Y OF THK UU'^IT RHIGADES 

lioi'se of tlie enemy's left under neiipval Haniiltmi. that they were hrnkpn, 
I'oiiter], and driven into tlie Ehro, wlirre a multitude of tlicrn were 
drowned. Tlie Count next fell upon the hostile cannon; although thev 
were most bravely defended V)y Colonel Bourijard, (who received several 
wounds) took those guns; but, not being able to carry thein off, hain- 
stringed 400 mules attached to the train; and then, although assailed 
upon all sides by Stanhope's cavalry, and some corps of infantiy, he cut 
his way back to his own army, with 5 standards won from the enemy, and 
escnrted the King on his retreat* The conduct of the Count, in this 
engagement, was censured by some, as having contributed to the loss of 
the day, owing, it was objected, to his having pushed his 1st success too 
far; to which it was answered, that, notwithstanding the very inferior 
number and condition of the royal army, if the behaviour of the King's 
(/iuards, and dragoons, under the Count, had been equalled by the rest of 
the royal cavalry, tlie battle would have been gained, instead of lost. 
Tlie 3 battalions of Mac Auliffe, Comerford, and Mac Donnell, or 
" Brigade of Irish infantry of Castelar," were likewise much distinguished. 
Philip V. reached Mad: id on the 24th, but being unable to remain 
there, had, by September 9th, to quit it, with his Queen, and little Heir 
to the Crf)wn, or Prince of Asturias, for Valladolid, the ancient resi- 
dence of the Kings of Castile. Ere he hft Madrid, he "summoned all 
the Councils, wherein he told them, that his aflfairs were in a very bad 
condition; that he did not })retend to constrain any body to follow him; 
and that, in his desperate situation, his sole resoui'ce was in the hearts 
of his subjects. This did not hinder, however, great numbers of per- 
sons of quality from following him; insomuch that, when he quitted 
Madrid, he had lOUO coaches in his train; almost all the rnltab'daids 
followed for 3 leagues, u'ishing their Majesties a happy return; and 
obliging them, to stop several times, iliat tJieij might weep over tJip, 
Prince of Asturias, who safe in his mothers lap, sick of an ague/" The 
King arrived, the IGth, at Valladolid, where he was joined, the 20th, by 
the illustrious Duke of Vendome from France, to act as Generalissimo 
against the Archduke's ai-my, which had penetrated to Madrid. The 
2iSth, that city was entered in state by the Archduke, who, however, in 
reference to his chief supjiorters, the Protestant English and Dutch, met 
with no better reception, than as '• Charles IIP, by the Grace of the 
Heretics, the Catholic King !" — and, from September till Novendjer, 
while his mixed English, Dutch, Huguenot, German, Catalonian, Poitu- 
gueae, and Italian army occupied the metropolis and the adjacent parts of 
Castile, the conduct of those intruders was a compound of insults to 
national feeling, oppressive exactions, and outrageous sacrileges. Mean- 
time Philip, as really the King of the people's choice, and the Duke of 
Vendome as 'Hhe Liberator, the man of the right hand of God, destined 
Jroni on high to restore the Monarchy," obtained, from the loyal, patriotic, 
and religious enthusiasm of the nation, abundant supplies of every 
kind ; so that the royal army, re-established, inei'eased in number, and 
zealously aided by the honest peasantry as irregulars, or guerillas, cou- 

* O'JSIahony, known as the "fiimeux Malioui," has likewise been termed, "the 
Ilurat of his day." Here and elsewhere, I make use, among my authorities, of 
"J'arge's Histoire de rAvenement de la Maison de ]>onrl)on an Trone d'Espagne, 
puUhshed at Paris in 177-. But the C'hcvalier de Bellerive, as a "tenioin oculaire " 
in this iinpoiumt cam[)aigu under Vendome, is most satisfactory, from the justice 
be does to the Irish. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 



27.7 



tinu.illy narrowed the quarters, diminished the subsistence, and cut off 
ihe detachments, of the detested invaders, till they had to abandon 
Madrid, in despair, for Catahmia. The Kin.ij, and the ,Diike, entering 
that capital in triumph, December 3rd, quitted it, on the 6th, to pursue 
the retreating enemy ; whose van, or main body, the more advanced upon 
the retreat under the Count ile Stahremherg, was considerably separated 
from the rear under Lieutenant-Geneial Stanhope, owing to the difficulty 
of subsisting such numliers together, in a devastated country. Stanhope 
had 7 battalions, and 8 sfpiadrons, all Eni^dish b\it 1 Portuguese battalion, 
and making about 5500 men. The King, and the Duke, coming by 
surprise upon Stanhope, the 8th, at Brihuega, breached, and entered it, 
tlie 9th, and compelled the Englishnian, after a brave resistance, in 
which he spent nearly all his ammunition, and lost about 600 men, to 
surrender, with the rest, in the evening, as yn-isoners of war; even while 
Stahremberg's 9 signal-guns, from Can)po de las Vinnas, announced his 
encampment for the night there, or but 2 leagues off, on his approach to 
the rescue ! The 2 armies— Stahremberg's experienced tioops, about 
12,500, Vendome's in great part new levies, about 17.(^00, and the 
artillery on each side equal, or 22 pieces. — met, on the 10th, at Villa- 
viciosa, and, from about 1 o'clock in the afternoon, manoeuvi-ed, cannon- 
aded, or more closely and decisively engaged, until about 6 in the evening, 
when the conflict terminated, amidst the darkness of December. After 
acting in every way worthy of his designation as "a 2ik1 Eugene," and 
being so vigorously sustained by his veteran forces that they are stated 
to have "performed such actions as might almost pass for supernatural," 
Stahremberg was defeated, with the lo.ss of several thousands killed or 
taken there, all his artillery, so many colours and standards, as, with 
those captured at Brihuega, made 68, his own equipage, his militaiy 
chest, containing 30,000 doubloons, (each worth 15 livres, 5 sols, French 
money,) a quantity of muskets, hoi-ses, mules, &c. ; and was subsequently 
])ursaed through Arngon into Catalonia, suffering so much en route, that 
he reached Barcelona, in January, 1711. with only from 4000 to 5000 
men. The successes of Briiiuega and Villaviciosa are alleged to have 
cost King Philip but between 200<) and 3000 men, killed or wounded; 
while the Allies, by their advance to Madrid, are repoi-ted to have lost, in 
addition to their slain, ere the close of December, above 11,250 men, as 
prisoners of war. 

From the battle of Saragossa, to the termination of this very imyior- 
tant and glorious cami)aign — which was a mortal wound to the cause of 
the Allies, and their Austrian candilate for royalty in the Peninsula, — 
the Irish proved themselves "good men and true" to King Philip V. 
In the operations that led to the recovery of Madrid, Count O'Mahony 
was active at the head of the dragoons of the royal army, includ- 
ing the Irish regiment recently Crofton's, but transferred to David 
Sarsfield, 5th Lord Viscount Kilmallock, Governor of Badajos, and 
brother, and successor in the title, to the Lord Dominick, previously 
noticed in this history. On the left wing at Villaviciosa under Vendome, 
the Maison du Roy, or King's Horse Guards, and the dragoons, were, as 
at Saragossa, with the Count, who flanked the right of the enemy, umou 
which were the Archduke's Guards. And the Count had a terrible 
contest to maintain against Stahremberg, who fought theie, with a 
square body of above (iOOO of his choicest German infantry, supported 
by cavalry and artillery. lu fact, the battle was iu Stahremberg's 



278 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

favour, there, and in tlie centre, until he w;is finally taken in the rear, 
with a reserve of 15 squadrons of Kin-j; Philip's cavalry, under the Mai> 
qnis de Val-de-Canas, and Count O'Mahony. " M. de Vendonie," writes 
Kint? Philip the day after the action, "seeing that our centre gave 
ground, and that our left of cavalry did not make an impression upon 
the right," i. e., of Stahremberg, "believed it was necessary to tliink of 
retiring towards Torrija, and gave the order for that purpose; but, as we 
Avere going tliere with a consiilcraljle poi-tion of the troops, we were 
informed, tliat the Marquis de Val-de-Caiias, and INIahoni, had chargeil 
the enemy's infantry with the cavalry which they liad umler their orders, 
and had" handled it very roughly. . . . Which caused us imme- 
diately to adopt tlie resolution of marcliing back, with the rest of tiie 
ai-iiiy" — that is, tlie rest, except the 15 squadrons under Val-de-Canns, 
and O'Mahony, and also except the right wing under the King himself;* 
•which wing alone had fought successfully, but, as is evident, sliuu'd liave 
retired, as well as the rest, if tlie enemy were victorious in the other 2 
portions of the battle, as the King shows they vj^nihl. have been, from the 
order given to retreat, even by such an experienced commander as 
"Vendome; and which order was actually in jn-ocess of execution, till the 
cause fur counteiniandiiig it. alfnrded by the conduct of the 15 squadron.s, 
under Val-de-C'anas, ami O'Mahony. Indeed, it was only to the inter- 
vention of a night, the more obscure IVom a great mist, to a want of 
f?ome artillery by O'Malnniy, and to liis pursuing dragoon-lim-ses 
being exhausted, without any forage for them, that even Stahremlierg 
himself and tlie troops he still i-i-tained about him, would seem to have 
l)een indebted, through a stratagem on his part, for escaping at all ! Ere 
the night " had entirely set in," says my li'rencli authority, "the brave 
Comte de Malioiii, having no caniiDn ti) tire upon those troo])S, invested 
tliem on one side, and then seait a drnnimcr to M. de Stai-emberg. to 
summon hiin to surrender. This General, who had gotten into very 
advantageous ground with what remained of his infantry and the frag- 
iiunfs ..t several regiments who had retired thither, having [lerceived 
liciw the advantage of this position, the ni^lit, and a very thick fog would 
!•( aider it the mole easy lor him to eti'ect an honourable retreat, kept the 
cIinniMier with him until the following day, and exerted his ntmosfc 
jKissilh^ speed, all that night, to leave the held behind him, by making 
oft' in the direction of Oifuentes." Nevertheles.s, the Irish officer i^nter- 
Ce])ted 700 of the; enemy's most valuably-loaded mule.-;, I'eferred to by a 
British histf>rian, in noting how " M. Malioni took some hundred mules, 
laden with all the ])lunder of Castile !" It is added elsewhere of him — ■ 
*' The Comte de Mahoni acquired a great deal of glory on the battle-day of 
Villaviciosa, at the head of the dragdons. The King was so satisfied 
with him, that he conferred upon him a Commandership of the Order of 
St. Jacques," i. e., Jago, " producing a rent of 15,()t)0 livres." Of Major- 
General Henry Crotton, in this engagement, and at Brihuega, it is 
Stated, that "he was very much distinguished in the 2 actions, where he 
did every thing that could be expected from so valiant a man ; lie 
charged, with an incrediiile ardour, the English and the Germans." Of 
the 3 Irish infantry Regiments of Mac Donnell, Mac Aulitfe, and Conier- 
Ibrd. it is observed — "The Sieurs de Magdonel, Makaoli, Coinbefort, 
Colonels of the Brigade of Irish Infantry of Castelar, each acted at the 
Lead of his battalion with a great deal of courage and conduct, as they 
liatl already done at Saiagussa." 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 279 

The Chevalier de Bellerive sup|)lies these particulars, with respect to 
Lord Kilmallock's Regiment of Dragoons, his Lordship's death, and that 
of the Maiquis d'Albeville, (son of King James II. 's Ambassador ia 
Holhind,) the Chevalier O'Healy, itc. When the 2 armies were so 
near, (or within cai'ahine-shot) that almost every movement of each was 
perce[(tible, " M. de Starembeig cansed to be bionght to his right wing, 
a battery commanded by an officer wearing a red mantle, and mounted 
upon a white hf)rse, who let fly from the van into the Regiment of Irish 
Dragoons of Mylord Kilmaloc, which was upon our left, and which 
nearly closed it n|). This regiment was not long without feelin-' the fire 
of that battery; the 1st ball killing a horse, and then 2 dragoons. Mv- 
lord Kilmaloc, its Colonel, being struck by a cannon-shot, 1 of his sons 
cansed him to be carried to the reaj' of the regiment. The father, tixing 
his eyes upon him, said to him, — 'My dear son, let uie at least ex[)ire 
within your arms, since I have so short a time to live.' — ' Father,' he 
replied to liini, ' it is necessary for me to go, where my duty, and the 
service of Philip V., summon me.'— 'What ! my dear son, you i-efuse ni« 
that consolation, and you abandon m>% at the hour of my death !' — ' My 
dear fatliei", I iro to a\ei)''e it. or to iind my own, with the reariment !' — 
The camion-shot fell tliei'C like hail; the enemy themselves wei-e sur- 
]>rised to see men so firm, as innnoveable and insensible to the terrible 
discharges of tiieir artillery, and they knew by that what was the courage 
and the intrepidity of those brave dragoons. . . . Altiiough this 
regiment had lieen vei-y niucii weakened during the cannonade from the 
I'ight wing of M. de tStaremberg, it did not ce;ise to charge the enemy's 
troo])s with such an impetuous ardour, that they could not resist it. 
The Lieutenant-Colonel of this regiment x'cceived a musket- 
shot through his body while charging the enemy, and the ^Marquis 
d'Ableville, 1 of its brave Captains, sabre in hand, lost his life there, all 
covered wi'.h wounds, after having won admiration by many brave and 
intrepid actions. The Chevalier de Heli. Captain in the same regiuient, 
di.sliiiguished himself in it, having had 2 horses killed under him by the 
eneiny's cannon ; and his brother, a Cadet in his company, was slain 
there." Their Colonel, Lord Kilmallock, is described to have been 1 of 
those officers, whose rare merit, and sincei-e devotion to the service of 
King Philip, caused their deaths to be very much regretted by his 
Cat!)olic Majesty, who testified his sensibility, on that account, to their 
relatives. Uf the old Milesian name of O'Callaghan — which has been 
successively connected with i-oyalty, chiefdom, and nobility, at home, and 
represented by several officers in the service of France, as well as Spain, 
abroad, but most distinguished in that of Great Britain and Ireland — • 
my gallant authority, last cited, in alluding to the conduct of the Spanish 
cavalry Regiment of Milan, and its Colonel, at Yillaviciosa, observes — • 
"The Sienr Ockalagan, being, for the 3rd time, in the thick of the light, 
where he defended the .standards of Milan with a proud intrepidity, 
received a sword-thrn.st through his body, and many wounds, by which 
he was, for some time disfigured." * The Majoi", Iikevvi.se, of the very 

* Of O'Callaghans in the service of Spain, besides the valiant Colonel of the 
Eegiiiient of Milan, wouiuled at Villa viciosa, tliere were various suhoidiuate orticers. 
In I'nuice, several O'L'alhxuhaiis were Captains in the lleuinients of Dillon, of Dor- 
riiigtoii or Ivoth, of U'Brien or Clare, and of Fitz-Janies. Tlie chief modern military 
representative of the (J'Callaijhaiis, referred to as in the service of Great Briraiu and 
lieiaiid, was of the titled or "Lisuiore' branch, Lieuteuaut-General the Honour 



280 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

fine Spanish cavalry Eegiinent of Viillejo, "an Irisliman by nation, 
rendered liiuiself remarkable by his coni-age at Villaviciosa. where he 
received a mnsket-shot in the arm, while cliar<T;ing the enemy." 

Stahreniberg, as he hastened towards Catalonia, was cnntinnally 
harassed by Count O'Mahony, who completed his in\portant services this 
cam]>aign, by capturing, after- a shoi-t resistance, at the Castle of Iliuera, 
(or Illuesca) a Spanish Lieutenant-General, " who had gone over to the 
]ra.rty of the Archduke," and the detachment which tliat Lieutenant- 
General had with him in the Castle — '-consisting," acconling to the 
Marquis de Quincy, "of 6G() men, among whom there were 150 reformed 
officers, wlio had lost their companies, either in the battle of Villa- 
viciosa, or in the retreat of the Comte Staremberg." At Saragossa, too, 
■which was entered by King Philip's troops on tlie night of December 
31st, 1710, an Irish officer ended "this wonderful year" well. Th% 
dismounted .dragoons of the royal foi-ce were oi-dered to oecupy the 
Castle of the Inquisition, in which, as containing a considerable magazine 
that could not be removed, Stahremberg, on i-etiring, had left several 
thousand pounds of powder; with a train lighted, so as to blow up the 
building, and all who might enter it. "And," to use the words of the 
account, " the match, which was in a very forward state, would have 
effected its purpose, but for the precaution of an Irish Lieutenant-Colonel, 
■who had been despatched there to command those dragoons, and who, 
having soon detected this stratagem, rendered it useless." The Irish, in 
King Philip's army, were increased, after the victory of Villaviciosa, by 
rumbei's of their countiymen, who, as having been made prisoners, and 
being Catholics, agreed to pjass into his service. Such were the very- 
remarkable and most decisive results of the contest of 1710, in the 
Peninsula; by which, after having been a defeated fugitive, driven from 
his ca'pital, Philip V. found himself, writes Lord Macaulay, '■'■much safer 
at Madrid than his grandfather at Paris" and " all hope of conquering 
Spain, in Spain, was at an end ! " 

The Wliig Cabinet in England, by its impolitic pi-osecution of the 
High-Church Doctor Sacheverell, in 1710, having elevated him to an 
importance in public opinion, which led to the eventual downfal of that 
Cabinet, and |)roportionately raised the hopes of the Stuarts and their 
friends at home and abroad, it was suggested to Louis XIV., that there 
could not be a more favoiirable op|)oi-tunity for another expedition by 
King James to Scotland, to recover his dominions, even with no larger 
force to accompany him, than the Ii-ish troops in France. Tiie Stuart 
Memorial to Louis's Minister, the Marquis de Torcy, dated August 29th, 
having noted of the attempt on Scotland in 1708, "tliat both friends and 
enemies acknowledged, that, if his Britannic Majesty had lamled, Uteri, all 
Scotland VMidd have declared for him, the Bank of England, vmuld have 
been shut vp, and consequently/ the Gover-nment of England overturned, 
and tJie League dissolved" against France, i-emarks — "If his Most 
Christian Majesty will find this expedition of importance enough to con- 
sider it as a capital object; in that case, money, arms, and ammunition, 
as well as ships and troops, will be found, without any difficulty; and he 

able Sir Robert William O'Callagban, G.C.B., boi-n in October, 1777, deceased in 
June, 1840, Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in Scotland and India, 46 years in 
the army, and s[)ecially decorated for his bravery, during the war against Napoleon 
J., at tiie battles of Maida, Vittoria, the Pyrenees, the Nivelle, the Nive, aud 
Orthez. 1 am of a totally diil'ereut or Uldler race of that name. 



IN THR SERVICE OF FRANCE. 281 

•will likewisn find sea-oflicers, who will nndei-talce it, and who, with 
God's assistance, will accomplish it. . . . His Britannic Majesty, 
considering how ditficult it would be to transport a greater nmnher, h;is 
limited his demand to tJie Irish troops, his oioii subjects ; who, at the 
end of the campaign, will be scaiTe 3000 effective men. What absolutely 
determines his Majesty to ask the Irish is, that they speak the same 
language, and are accustomed to the hardy manner of living of the 
country; and that, of each Irish regiment 2 or 3 may be formed, by 
incor))orating with them the new levies of the counti-y ; besides, that it 
vnll be impossible to A'p^.p tJie Irish in France, after the]/ knoio that the 
King is landed in Scotland. . . . The port of Dunku'k has its 
advantages for the embarkation, on account of the neighbourhood of the 
troo[>H, and the shortness of the passage. But the secret can never be 
kept: for every thing that is done there is known the next day at 
Ostend; and, when once the English and the Dutch have discovered the 
design, they will be always in a condition to thwart it. It appears then, 
that Brest woidd be more suitable, because the enemies could not easily 
hinder the vessels from sailing from that port, as V)as seen by experience, 
during the war in Ireland. In case the preference is given to that 
port, the Irish troops should be put into wintei'-quarters in the neigh- 
bouring pi-ovinces. It might be likewise examined, whether Portpassage, 
near Fontai-abia, was fit for endjarkation. In thnt case, the Irish regi- 
inents might be sent to that quarter, as if they were to go to serve in 
Spain; and his Britannic IMajesty might i-epair thither, under the same 
pretext; and his removing, at a distance from his kingdoms, would con- 
ceal the design. In case the troops embark at Brest, or at Portriassage, 
they may land any where on the west coast of Scotland, from Kirkcud- 
bright to the mouth of the river Clyde. . . . The squadron, sailing 
fi-om Bi-est or from Portpassage, may steer their course thi'ough St. 
George's Channel, or round the west of Ireland ; the 1st is the shortest 
course; but is esteemed the most dangerous. Yet the English merchant- 
ships daily pass thi-ough that Channel, at all seasons. In sailing along 
the coast of Ireland, some Irish officers ma.y he landed, with arms, ckc, 
in order to put the inhabitants in a condition to rise. ... It may 
be added, that tlie Catliolics, who are at least & to \ Protestant, are 
reduced to such despair, by the last persecution of the English Goveryi- 
ment, that they are more disposed titan ever to hazard aU, and to 
undertake every thing, in ordsr to free themselves from the oppression they 
suffer!''* 

The proposed expedition, however, did not take place; it appearing 
better in France, on maturer consideration, not to interrupt, by the 
" disturbing force" of such an enterprise, the favourable consequences to 
be expected from the numerous jtoiitico-religious gatherings of Doctor 
Sacheverell's High-Church followers, with "white ribbons in their hats," 
&c., when, after that damaging termination of his trial for the Whigs, 
which led to their ejection from power, "he made a triumphal j^rogress 

* The editor of the collection of native Irish or Gaelic Jacobite songs, entitled 
"The Poets and Poetry of Man ster," likewise notes, on "the frequent allusions 
to France and Spain throughout these popular songs," how, in consequence of 
the various tyrannical enactments of the Penal Code in Ireland, "the old Irish 
longed for an appeal to arms, and earnestly desired the co-o])eration of their 
expatiiated kinsman, whose mihtary acliievements, in foreign countries, had won 
the admiration of Europe." 



282 nisTORY OF the irish brigades 

throngli England; and was received in college-halls, townlialls, anrl 
private mansions, with the ])om}) of a Sovereign, and the revereiice of a 
Saint." The Marshal de Villars, as a Frenchman and a Jacobite, spoke 
in " ia])tnres" of the Doctor's "monster meetings." (to use a more 
modern designation) sagacionsly terming those assemblages, "tmr ])e(iple." 
For the dissolution of the Wliig Parliament, and the ensuing elections, 
that were owing to those " monster meetings," established in oiKce the 
Tories, or that party which was as favourable to peace, instead of war, 
■with France, as it was attached to the House of Stuart, in preference to 
the House of Hanover. " Although the Whigs left no stone unturned 
to ]>romote their interest," says the contemporary Scotch Jacobite 
loyalist, and T<iry nationalist, Lockhart, "the Tories got the better of them 
by far, in most of the elections in England. Neither were they less 
diligent, on all sides, in Scotland. The Whigs lliere, to the fears of 
Popery and Uhe Pretender, added the danger that Presbytery was in" — 
as the "Established Church" in that country, througli Whig-Revolution- 
ism. '• The Tories spoke little above boai-d. but underhand re])resented, 
that now or never was the time to do something cffHctually for the King, 
and, by reduriny him, dissolve the Union." In Ireland, too, wliile still 
undelivered from the viceregal yoke of that infamous Whig stimulator 
of Penal-Code persecution and spoliation, the Earl of Whaiton, (whose 
chai-acter has been duly damned, in the prose of Swift, and tlie ver.se of 
Pope.) the spirit of Tory hostility to the Whigs, whicli preceded the 
ejection of the hitter from |)Ower there, evinced itself, among other ways, 
by a nocturnal mutilation, in which 2 stmlt'uts of Ti mity College wcfe 
conceined, of the obnoxious statue of William IIT., the great Whig idol 
in College Green, Dublin. "On SuTiday, the 2-lith of June [0. S.] at 
night," complains an exasperated Anglo-Whig authority, "the Tories 
very much defac'd tlie statue of King William, out of spite to the pre- 
sent Government, which paid so profound a respi'cc to his (jhirious 
memory. The statue was erected by the City of Dnl)lin, after the battle 
oftheBoyne; and these ruffians twisted the sword it had in one hand, 
wrested the truncheon out of the otlu^r, daub'd tlie face with dirt, and 
offei-'d it other such indignities" — as, it may be added, nothing better, 
in llieir eye.s, than the representation of another CrmnwsU! The Tory 
successor to the Viceroyalty of Ireland was the great Diike of Ointonde, 
accompanied by the recent legal defender of Dr. Saclieverell, Sir Con- 
stantine Phipps, as Lord Chancellor; who may be noticed here, for 
endeavouring, though unsuccessfully, to put an end to thf)se insulting 
anniversary disphiys of domineei-ing Crou)wello-W^illianiitism, or Whig- 
gery, connected with the Dutchman's statue, which have been unfor- 
tunately continued, under the factions and sectarian moditication of 
Orangeism, to the present century, till at length abolished, as equally 
opposed to cori-ect national feeling, religions y)ro|)riety, and public tran- 
quillity. The Duke likewise gratified the ])o])ular or Jacobite sentiment 
amongst his countrymen, by weai'ing the white i-ose himself on the 
annivei-sary of the birth of the so-called "Pretender," or Janu^s III., in 
June, and by ornamenting the collars of his dogs with i-osettes of 
white satin; as thus alluded to in the soug - 

"Our noble Orniond he is ''rest, 
A r(!S!e is glaiicniL; dii liis lu-enst. 
His famous homuls \\i\y ildll 'd iiis ''iT.st, 
Wliite roses deck iliciii over." 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 2S3 

To tlie prnporti()n;il)le a])preliension and vexation of tlie Wliig oi* 
Ke.volution "ascendancy," vvliosc territorial and ])olitical position was 
s-o incom|)atible with the justice to its victims, ex2)ected from a Stuart 
" restoration." 

In 1711, the 5 battalions of Lee, O'Brien, Doi'ringron. Gaimoy, 
O'Donnell, and the 2 squadrons of Nugent, with Major-Geueral Michael 
riotli, and Brigadiers Murrougli O'Brien and Cliristoplier Nugent, were 
uttached to the ai-my, o[>])osed, in Fhmders, under the Marshal de Villars, 
to the Dnke'of Marlborough ; and the battalion oi Dillon, that of Bourke, 
and the 2 l>attalious of Berwick, witli jjieutenant-Geneial Arthur Dillon 
und Major-General Walter Bi;iu .e, were attached to the army of Dau- 
pliine, op];osed, under the Mars'. al Duke of Berwick, to the Duke of 
Savoy. But, in the published accounts of the general of)eratioi)S of 
either Marshal, no fuller notice occurs of any immediate connexion of 
the Irish with such operations, than has been ])revio\isly given in my 
biogra])hies of the Colonels oi the Irish legiments. In the sketch of the 
military career of Murrough O'Bi-ien, an allusion has been made to an 
excellent manceuvre of liis at Pallue, througli which, after the passing of 
Villars's lines ir. August, by Marlborough, tiie important city ot Cam- 
bray was covered, or saved, "until Villais came up with his u hole army, 
and foiced Marlborough to confine his o))eratii)ns to tiie siege of the 
small town of Bouchain," the reduction of which was his Last achieve- 
ment. In Spain, Count Daniel O'Mahony was engaged in the move- 
ments by which Phili)) V.'s forces, in February, narrowed the enemy's 
t(;rritory in Catalonia by 2-3rds ; and the Count continued to act, during 
tliat campaign, under the Duke of Vendome. In 'lai'cli, Major-General 
ITenry Crofton, beating the famous miquejet leader, Chover, out of 
several mountain-passes, in the Viguej-ie of C'ervera, occupied Solsona, 
where that chief had his quarters, aiul likewi.se se'zecl upon the advan- 
Uigeous post of Ingualada. There, during liis stay, Crofton brought in 
quantities of provisions from the surrounding country, notwithstanding 
the constant opposition of the armed inhabitants ; and, tinaliy, when a 
force of regular and irregular troops, to which his was but a handful, 
vve)-e despatched by Stahremberg to surprise him, he baffled the design, 
and effected a judicious retreat, in spite o such a su])erior enemy.* 
From the scarcity of provisions on the side o. Vendome, and the delay 
ill the aiiival of reinforcements to Stahrembeig, this campaign was 
jiassed merely in irregular warfare, mutual cannonading, and attacks on 
some ])laces, such as Vensi.sque, Castel-Leon, Tortosa and Cardnna, with 
re.'-»dts mostly in favour of Vendcune. In these occurrences, the Irish, 
of course, had their share ; though those of their nation (except O'Mahony 
and Crofton as above-mentioned) are only referred to in tiie account of 
the wintei-quarters, as "the Brigade of the Irish at Tervel," or rather 
"Teruel," enumerated of old among the conquests of the Cid. 

By the close of 1711, and tiie eailier j)ortion of 1712. the Toiy, or 
Jacobite Cabinet in England — partly anxious to terminate a contest with 

* Crofton (with whom tliis is our final nipetin'^ on active military duty) died a 
Lifliiteiiaut-General in Spain in 1722, to the last a Jacobite loyalist ; and, as such, 
considered "a i^reat loss, ' particularly by liis couutryiiiaii, the Duke of Onnomle, 
in the various measiu-es with ■which tliat ex. led iioblemaii was occupied abr.iad, to 
brini;- "the auld Stuarts back aifain.' JJeuteiiaiit-tieneral (jroftou Ici'c, as bis 
hejr, James Talbot, an Irish (JatlidHc ifentleman, n;uch (liHliiiQ;uishe<l in the English 
,I;k-i bite rising against George I. in 1,15, and who. alter SMr\',viii.j t e daugeta 
connccled witli that moveiueut auu its suppitsjiuu, was an olilcor in S[)idu. 



284 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

FraTicP, wliicli tliey considered to have become as unnecessary, as it was 
ruinously expensive, to their country, and p<irt1y desirous for peace, tlie 
better to concert measures for retaining the Stuart line on the throne, 
after Queen Anne's decease, in opposition to the family of Hanover, 
favoured by the Whigs, or Revolutionists — decided upon dismissing 
fmni the command of the British forces the celebrated John Duke of 
JMurlborough, as an obstinate advocate, from selfish or pecuniary motives, 
for a, continuance of the war. Lord Mahon states the yearly income of 
tlie Duke of Marlborough so high as £54,825, and that of his Duchess as 
£0500, making for butlt £64,325 per annum! — to say nothing "of 
Blenheim, of parliamentary grants, of gifts of marriage-portions from 
the Queen for tJieir daughters." Tins £64,325 a year Lord Mahon 
designates as a sum, "infinitely greater than could noiv be awarded to 
the highest favour, or the most eminent achievements ;" since, in Que^ 
Anne's reign, "the rate of salaries, even when nominally no larger than 
at present, was, in fact, 2 or 3 times more consideral)le, from the inter- 
mediate depreciation of money." It ajipeais, likewise, according to the 
able continuation of Sir James Macintosh's history of England, that the 
peace finally concluded with France, in spite of Marlborough, and his 
friends, the Whigs, reduced taxation from £7,000,000 a year to but 
£2,000,000 at most, and that the war cost England £48,500,000; of 
which sum, owing to the neglect of the Dutch, and other so-called Allies, 
to defray their due proportions of the expense England had been obliged 
to contribute £19,000.000 more than her just share! There, says Dr. 
Johnson, "the j»eople, who had been amused with bontires, and 
triumphal processions, and looked with idolatry on the General and his 
friends, who, as they thought, had made England the arbitress of nations, 
were confounded, between ^hame and rage, when they found that ' mines 
had been exhausted, and- millions destroyed,' to secure the Dutch, or 
aggiandize the Emperor, without any advantage to ourselves; that we- 
had been bril)ing our neiglibours to fight their own quarrel ; and that, 
amongst our enemies, we might number our Allies." In short, alleges 
the Doctor, " the war was unnecessarily protracted to fill the pockets of 
Marlborough, and it would have been continued without end, if he could 
liave continued his annual ])lunder." The Whigs, on the other hand, 
did their utmost, to frustrate, if ])ossible, this peace-])()licy of the Tories; 
hoping, if by no other means, to ettect their object, through a great public 
appeal, in London, to sectarian prejudices. They, writes Salmon, "had 
]-ecoui-se to their old expedient of sjtiriting up the mob, and raising an 
insurrection, in order to compel their Sovereign to com|)ly with their 
demands. To this purpose, they provided themselves with the effigies of 
the Devil, the Pope, and the Pretender, to be carried in solemn j)roces- 
sicm, on the 17th ()f November, being the anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's 
accession. But their design was unluckily discover'd, and their poppets 
seiz'd, on the evening Ijcfore they were to have been exposed ; and the 
1'rained Bands were order'd to be under arms, to prevent any disturb- 
ance." Marlborough's Tory and Jacobite successor in command was 
tlie gallant and generous James Butler, 13th Earl and 2nd Duke of 
Ormonde; of whom, as contrasted with his predecessor, it was renrarked, 
in the English House of Lords — " Nobody could doubt the Duke of 
Ormonde's biavery ; but he was not like a certain Lord, who led troo]ts 
to the slaughter, that a great rmmber of officers niigiit he kiuicked ou 
the head in a battle, or against stone walls, in order to fill his pockets, 



IN THE SEUVICE OF FRANCE. 285 

by disposing of their commissions !" * This observation of Earl Powlet 
■was such a severe cut at the bh)od-goaked money-bags of Marlborough, 
that a challenge from the latter was the consequence ; which, however, 
through the iiitei'position of friends, and her Majesty's authority; came 
to nothing. And no wonder that such was the case, as, relates a London 
contemporary, — •' I remember the town was very merry, that our intrepid 
General should pitch upon a man, who could not see to the point of his 
sword, to wreak his vengeance on ! " 

The French army of Flanders in 1712, under the Marshal de Villars, 
and containing the same Irish corps as in 1711, was estimated at 90,000 
men. The Allied army, iinder Prince Eugene of Savoy, though dimin- 
ished by the secession of the British under the Duke of Ormonde, as 
ordered not to act any longer against France, was still, through tlie great 
eflbrts of the Dutch, 110,000 strong, or the more numerous by 20,000 
men. Eugene, having taken Quesnoy in July, proceeded to besiege 
Landrecy, after the reduction of which, he calculated ujjon pi'ostrating 
France at his feet; the line of communication he made for his sup})lies, 
from Maichiennes by Denain, being presumptuously designated, in his 
camp, "the high road to Paris !" But Villars, by a series of successful 
operations, commencing with the M'ell-contrived attack at Denain in July, 
and followed up, till October, by the capture of several military ])Osts, and 
fortified towns, including Marchiennes, Douay, Quesnoy, and Bouchain, 
signally chastised Eugene, as the adversary of peace in Europe; having 
weakened the opposing Allied forces this campaign V)y not less than 45 
battalions, and several squadrons, and having taken considerably more 
than 400 pieces of Allied artillery, besides an enormous amount of 
ammunition, provisions, &c. And all this he achieved at a comparatively 
trifliiig loss; thereby rescuing his country from such a depressed condi- 
tion, that he was styled "the saviour of France!" The Iiish were not 
without sharing in the success at Denain, and were present at the 
reduction of Marchiennes. Major-General Michael Roth mounted the 
trenches against the Fort of Scarpe connected with the siege of Douay, 
in August; and the Lieutenant-General Pierce Butler, Lord Galmoy, 
niso mounted the trenches, and was several times smartly and successfully 
engaged, before Quesno^', in September. 

In Spain, the Austio-Carlists — strengthened by the decease of the great 
Duke of Vendome, + though weakened by the withdrawal of English 

• ])r. Kino; of Oxford, in his "Anecdotes of his Own Times," says of Marl- 
l)oroiio;b, — "The Duke left, at liis death, more than £1,500,000 sterling ! "—or a sum 
double or treble in value ilten to the like amount now. Yet he, "when he was in 
the last stage of life, and very infirm, would walk, from the public rooms in Bath, 
to his lodgings, in a cold, dark night, to save 6 pence in chair-hire f" Could Swift's 
jiowerful pen therefore have been better employed than it was in advocating a 
peace, or exploding the war-dodge for tilling the Marlborough coffers ? 

t A contemjiorary British military historian, after reviewing the earlier services 
of the Duke of Vendome, and then particularly noting, how, in Flanders, in 17u7, 
"he hindred the Allies from making any conquest," and, in 1708, "he made a 
glorious retreat at Audenarde, after the Duke of Burgundy had forced him to lose 
the battle," adds respecting the decease'! General — "To siim up his character in a 
few words, he always deserved victory, and almost always atchieved it. The French 
owe all their reputation in Italy to him. To him S[>ain owes her safety, and the 
i-ost Catholic King his Crown. The King of Spain ordered his corpse to be interred 
in the Monastery of the Escurial ; for, as he revered him living, he was desirous of 
.'ihfivvnig the utmost regard to his memory, after his death." The Irish might justly 
1)0 proud of this renowned Commander's high estimation and repeated eulogies of 
them, as soldiers. 



S8G HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

assistance, — maintained the contest apjainst Philip V. in Catalnnia nmler 
h' fa h rem berg; who, in adilitiou to liis other enterprises, bh)cked up 
Gii'ona so ch)sely, tliat he calculated on famishing it into a surrender. 
J n the irregular warfare of this campaigT>, the name of an Irish officer, 
Avho attaineil to high diplomatic as well as military rank, or Sir Patrick 
Jjiwless, occurs under the disguise of Don Patricio Laules. . His grand- 
father, Richard Lawless, Esq., of Kilkenny, in 1648, or during the great 
ci\il war under King Charles I., was Procurator of the Supreme Couticil 
of the Confederate Catholics of Ireland. His father was Walter LawKss, 
Esq , of Talbot' s-Inch, near Kilkenny, and High-Sheriff of the County; 
his mother, Anne Bryan, sister of James Bryan of Jenkinstown in that 
County, Alderman, and Member for the city of Kilkenny in King James 
II.'s Parliament of 1689. Patrick entered the national army under that 
Monai-ch, and attained, in the war against the Revolutionists, the rani*' 
of Major, when he was taken ])risoner at the battle of Aughrim, in July, 
16'.)1. After the Treaty of Limerick, he followed King James II. into 
France, became Gentleman of the Bedchamber there to Prince James 
Francis Edward Stuart, (or, in Jacoloite language, King Jauies III.,) l)y 
Avhom he was selected as his Envoy to Phiii|) V. He was appninted iiy 
Philip to the command of his Irish Guard with rank as Colonel, (in which 
capacit}'', he was intrusted with the custody and conveyance of the 
I^iarqnis de Leganez to Pampeluna in 1705, and of the Duke of JMediiia- 
Celi to Segovia in 1710,) was also created a Knight (jf the Military 
Order of St. Jago, and a Camp-Marshal or Major-Geueral. Acting as 
Commandant (tins campaign of 1712) at Benavarri, 800 miquelets 
occu])ied Venasque. in order to surprise him. But, instead of their 
surprising him at Benavai-ri, he surprised them at Venasque. They 
wei'e beaten, in great disurd(>r, out of the town, and chased into tlie 
mountains; upwards of 400 of tliem beiiig slain, others made 
prisoners, and iriost of their horses, aliandorjed liy them in their flight, 
being captured. In 1713-14, after the peace of Utrecht, Sir Patrick 
Lawless was Auibassai'or from Philip V. to Queen Anne, and was, at 
the same time, deputed by her brother, Prince James Francis Edward 
Stuart, as his representative to /ler, in oider to make an arrangement with 
her Majesty, for a continuation, after her decease, of the Crowns of Great 
Britain and Ireland in her family, or the Stuart dynasty, as represented 
by the Prince, instead of permitting those Crowns to be transferred, on 
revolutionary principles, to the House of Hanover. The reception of 
Sir Patrick Lawless in state, at the Englisii Court, as the Spanish 
Ambassadoi-, and his admission to the most confidential or private inter- 
course with the Queen, as the agent for her brother, * e.xcited great 

* liaron de Schutz, the Hanoverian Envcy in London, wrltiiio; to Hanover, 
"Feliruary Gth, 1714," how, "the Queen was in a dangerous situation," adds, that 
"Sir Patricia Lawless saw her Majest_y last night, having returned from her about 
miihiight," &c. And, complains a con temporary Georgeite annalist — "The Preten- 
der's Envoy. Sir Patrick Lawless, was ])ul)lickly entertain'd at (Jourt, while the 
Electors," or Hanoveiian, "Minister was disgrac'd, for demanding a Writ, that 
the "Electoi-al Prince might come, and take his place in the House of Lords." Or 
rather "might come," to be, m hunting phraseology, "in at the death" of the poor 
Queen. Dr. de Bargo, in his valuahL Hihernia Doininicana, makes a useful refer- 
ence to Sir Patrick Lawless, as well as to other ennnent Irish e.xiles of the same 
century, serving on the Continent. With tJint reference to Sir Patrick, 1 have con- 
nected the sulistance of the several coutemporary allusions to him lu British and 
Contiueutal publicatious. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 287 

exasperation, and proportionable clamour, outside and inside Parliainent, 
among tlie Whigs, previous to the Queen's death. And this vifilcnt 
Whig feeling continued after the accession of the Elector of Hanover as 
George I., or in 1715, when " receiving Patrick Lawless, an Irish Papist, 
as a Foreiirn Minister, and causing several sums of money to lie jiaid to 
him," was 1 of the Articles of Imjieachment against the Earl of Oxford, 
as head of the Queen's Mirnstry. Sir Patrick Lawless was subsequently 
Ambassador to France from Spain, where he likewise attained the rank 
of Lieutenant-General, and was Governor of the Island of Maj .rc-a,. 

The Dnke of Berwick — in whose army were the 2 battalio'.is of bis 
own regiment, and the battalions of Dilhrn and Bourke— terminated, in 
October, 1712, a campaign of successful manoeuvres against the Pied- 
niontese and Imperialists. At its conclusion, he and his regiment were 
deprived by death of a very gallant officer, Daniel O'Carroll, previously 
mentioned as so distinguished under the Duke of Vendome in Italy. 
O'Carroll came to France with the Irish troops of King James's army, 
that arrived there after the Treaty of Limerick, in 1691, and served 
thenceforward, with the national corps to which he was attached, in all 
its campaigns on the Continent till the Peace of Pyswick in IG'.)7, when 
he was a Lieutenant-Colonel of the Queen's Regiment of Dismounted 
Dragoons. He was ajtpointed Lieutenant-Colonel of the Regiment of 
Berwick, May 4th, 1698. Employed with the French army of Italy in 
1701. he was at the combats of Carpi and Chiari ; in 1702, at the battle 
of Lnzzaia, and reduction of Borgoforte ; in 1703, at the affairs of Stra- 
della, Castel-Nova-de-Bormida, with the force that invaded the Trentin, 
and at the sieges of Nngo and Arco; in 1704 and 170-3, he was engaged 
at the sieges of Vercelli, Ivrea, Verrua, Chivasso, and August 16th, of the 
latter year, at the memorable battle of Cassano ; tor his very creditable 
conduct on wdiich occasion, he was m.ade, on the 30th of the same month, 
a Brigadier. He was present at the unfortunate siege and battle of 
Turin in 1706. Removed to Spain, he .served there at the victory of 
Almanza, and capture of Lerida in 1707; and at that of Tortosa in 1708. 
From 1710 to 1712, he was attached to the army of Dauphine, where he 
ended his honouralde career with the last-mentioned cam[)aign; being 
still Lieutenant-Colonel to the Regiment of Bervvick. After the close of 
ho.stilities tor the season between the Duke of Berwick and his Piedmon- 
tese and Imperial opponents, the Duke was ordered to raise Stahrember-g's 
blockade of Girona ; which he ably did "in the nick of time," just when 
the place could hold out no longer, or early in January, 1713; Stahrem- 
berg being obliged to retire preci])itately from before the town, leaving iu 
his intrenchments several cannon, with much provisions, tools, &c. 
Lieutenant-General Arthur Dillon, despatched, by the Duke, with some 
grenadiers and a good body of horse, to fall, if possible, upon the enemy's 
rear, ])ieked up several stragglers as prisoners; and then attacking, at a 
defile, 250 men, ]iosted there to favour the retreat of their army towards 
Ostalric or Hostalric, he killed, captured, or put to flight, the whole 
detachment, and i^ejuined the Dnke. A French biograjdier of the Duke, 
terming this relief of Gii'ona, "an enterprise wdiich had a[)))pared the 
more difficult, as Count Staremberg had taken all possible precaution to 
render impracticable the avenues of a town which he expected to reduce 
by famine," adds — " But all these obstacles, and all the difficulties which 
arose from the situation of the place, and the rigorous season of the year, 
were surmounted by Marshal Berwick; who, by saving a town of so great 



288 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

importance, did as signal a service, as lie ever rendered, to the King of 
Spain, or the King of France." Having duly provisioned, garrisoned, 
and ammunitioned Girona, the Duke "set out from Catalonia, and came 
])ost to Versailles, where he arrived on the 5th of Februaiy, and was 
received by the King, and the whole Court, with deserved esteem, and 
applause." 

The last affair of arms in this war between Spain and Portugal 
occurred in the campaign of 171:^, under circumstances so creditable to 
an Irish othcer as to deserve notice here, though that gentleman was not 
in the Irish Brigade. Notwithstanding the negociations for peace at 
Utrecht, no truce having taken place by September between the 2 
Peninsular kingdoms, the Marquis de Bay, (styled " the scourge of the 
Portuguese,') appeared, on the 28th, with nearly 20,000 men before 
Campo Mayor in Poi'tugal, and broke ground, October 4th-5th; the plac^ 
being then in anything but a condition to make a suitable resistance. 
As, however, it was of the utmost consequence to preserve it, tlie Count 
de Ribeira, and a gallant French Protestant engineer officer, Brigadier 
de Masse, contrived, a day or 2 after, to make their way into the town 
with 200 or 300 Portuguese grenadiers, and 400 or 500 more Portuguese 
subsequently succeeded in doing so likewise, under an Irish officer, 
Major-General Hogan — apparently the same " M. Hogan, Irlandois," 
Lieutenant-Colonel in the Bavarian Guards, tried by Court Martial in 
1706 at Mons, for killing a Captain and countryman of liis own in a 
duel,* and hence, most probably, obliged to enter another service. 
Having assumed the command of the garrison, the Major-General 
took due measures for the defence. After battering and bombing the 
place from October 14th with 33 cannon or mortars, the Marquis de 
Bay ordered a grand assault to be made on the 27th, in the morning, by 
15 battalions, 32 companies of grenadiers, and a reginient of dismounted 
dragoons, under Lieutenant-General Zuniga. "By the help of a ])io- 
digious fire from their cannon and small arms," observes my English 
narrative of the " Compleat History of Euiope" for 1712, witli respect 
to the enemy, " they made a descent into a part of the ditcli tliat waa 
dry, and gave 3 assaults with a great deal of fury; but tliey were as 
bravely repulsed by the Portuguese under Major-General Hogan, and 
iorced to retire after an obstinate fight th;it lasted 2 hours, though the 
breach was very ])racticable, and so wide, that 30 men might stand 
aV)reast in it. Their disorder was so great, that they left most of their 
arms and 6 ladders behind. This action cost them 700 men killed and 
wounded, whereas the Portuguese loss did not amount to above 100 men 
killed, and 187 wounded; and such was their ardour, that they ])ursued 
the enemy into their very trenches without any manner of order, not- 
withstanding the endeavours used by Major-General Hogan to put a stop 
to them, whicl) might have proved very tatal to them, if the enemy had 
had courage to improve the opportunity." The Spaniards next day 

• Maffei's Memoirs. The O'Hoqans were a sept located aliout Ballyhogan, 
County of Tipperary ; and the name was respectable in the County of Clare, &c. 
During the War of the Revolutiou in Ireland, they sup2ilied oiiicers of the ranks of 
Captain, Lieutenant, and Ensign, or Cornet, to the Jacobite regular army, in the 
infantry Eegiments of Dorrington, Mountcaohel, Bagnall, Grace, and in Lord Clare's 
Dragoons. But the most remarkable representative of the race, in that contest, 
was the famous L'aptuiu oi mounted irregulai's", guerillas, or rapparees, known aa 
"galloping Hogau." 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 289 

raised this siege, stated to have cDst them altogether 3000 killed aix^ 
wounded, to only about 400 Portuguese ; ;i cessation of hostilities took 
place a few days after; and for such an honourable conclusion of this 
war was Portugal indebted to the gallantry of a Hogan, as, a century 
after, for the successful termination of a greater contest, to the discijiline 
of a Beresford, and the generalshiji of a Wellington. 

The Em])eror Charles VI. of Austria not having acceded to the general 
peace concluded with France at Utrecht, in April, 1713, ami having 
collected his forces along the Rhine under Princo Eugene of Savoy, to 
continue the war, Louis XIV. placed under the Marshal de Villars, 
assisted by the Marshal de Be.sons, such a ])owerful army as might 
reduce the Teutonic Kaiser of the so-called Holy Roman Empire to 
reason. 

" Still, Ctesar, wilt thon tread the paths of blood? 
Wilt thou, thou n'lDijly, hate thy country's good? 

Give o'er at lencjth, and let thy labours cease, 
Nor vex the world, but learn to sutler ])eace ! " 

KowES Lucan's Pliarsalia, v., 4iG-7, 450-1. 

Holding Eugene in check, at the lines of Etlingen, and about Muhlbcrg, 
Villars, in June, laid siege to the strong unl well-garrisoned fortress of 
La.ndau, which, after b'o days of open trenches, he comj)elled to capitu- 
late, in August. Meantime, Eugene, though unable to attem])t the 
relief of Landau, and obliged to remain ^bout the lines of Etlingen, 
caused General Vaubonne to occupy, with 17,000 or 18,000 men, and a 
sufficient artillery, 2 lines of such well-con.structed intrench ments in the 
diffisult country leading to the fortress of Friburgh, that, it was con- 
sidered, Villars, if not repulsed before them, could only carry them with 
a loss of half his infantry ; the 2nd line, in particular, of those intreiich- 
ments having b^en so strong by nature and by art, that, we are told, 
4000 determined men behind them might have arrested the progress of 
50,000 opponents. But Vaubonne's troop.s, on being attacked, Sei)tem- 
ber 20th, about 7 in the evening, by Villars, behaved so disgracefully, 
that the Marshal captiu'ed the whole of their works, with a lo.^s men- 
tioned as no more than GO men of all ranks, killed, or wounded ! 
The French, by the end of the month, broke gi-onnd before Fribuigh ; 
which, having had a Governor, garrison, itc, suited to its im])ortance, 
made a very stubborn and sanguinary defence, until foi'ced to surrender, 
about the middle of November. These cf)nqnests of Villars, which 
opened the way for more extensive acquisitions by the French arms in 
Germjiny, obliged the Austrian Court, and its deservedly-humiliated 
General, Eugene of Savoy,* to desist from their unfeeling ])rolongation of 
human misery and bloodshed after a war of so many years, and to enter 
upon negociations for a peace with France, which was concluded the 
following yeai". 

The chief Irish officers, who served under the Marshal de Villars, in 
1713, were Lieutenant-Geueral Andrew Lee, (accompanied by his son, 

* For the aminhle object of preventincj, if possible, the conchision of the Peace of 
Utrecbt, Eugene had been over in England ; and his presence at London was jjr.)- 
portionably welcome to the Wbigs, who were, like himself and Marlboroujrb, lor 
going on with a war, which had certainly beconie unnet^essary. So his iiKJrtilied 
Highness met with no more success, as a negociator there, than, as a couimander, 
ai,ainst V^illars, elsewhere. 

U 



290 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

Colonel Francis Lee,) Lieiitpnant-General Arthur Dillon, Major-General 
Michael Eoth, and Brigadiers Murnmgh O'Brien and Christo[)her 
Nugent. The Irisli corps were Dorrington's, Galmoy's, and O'Donuell's 
3 battalions, Berwick's 2, and Nngeut's 2 squadrons. In the reduction 
of Landau, which cost the French 2980 men, killed or wounded, Lee, 
Dillon, and Roth were employed in their respective ranks, and all the 
above-mentioned Irish battalions, but Berwick's, were attached to the 
like service. Prince Eugene, with a view to passing the Rhine, having 
placed above 740 men, and 10 pieces of artillery in the town and castle 
of Kaiserslautern, Lieutenant-General Dillon was detached, in June, 
with a body of troo[>s, to reduce that place, which he did the same day, 
sending the garrison, as prisoners, into France. He likewise took 
the Castle of Verastein, in which were 80 men; whereby the enemy 
were deprived of eveiy post between Coblentz and Mayence. Tli§ 
Lieutenant-General subsequently mounted the trenches at Landau, 
as well as his regiment ; and Mnjor-General Roth did so too. The 
sharpest affair, in the trenches before that fortress, at which the 
Irish were engaged, was, on the night of Jidy 4th-5th, in assailing 
a work called the Pate. The attack was made by 4 companies of grena- 
diers, 1 of the Swiss Regiment of Villars, and 1 of each of the 3 Irish 
Regiments of Dorrington, O'Donnell, and Galmoy. "Although this 
work," says the account, "was defended by the tire from the redoubt of 
the denii-lune, and from the works overlooking it, it was carried, never- 
theless, with a gi-eat deal of valour. It was occupied by 100 men, a 
Ca])tain, who was made prisoner, and the rest killed, or drowned. 
There were killed, or wounded, at the taking of this post, a Major, a 
Captain, and 150 grenadiei's, or woi-kmen." 

For the operations against Fribnrgh, there were present Nugent's 
liorse, and Galmoy's, O'Donueirs, Berwick's, and O'Brien's infantiy. At 
this harassing siege, in the night of October 6th-7th, by the splinter of a 
rock from a cannon-shot, near the Marshal de Villars in the trenches, 
was wounded the Captain of his Guards, Colonel JSkiddy, Clievaliei- of 
St. Louis, of a family long respectable in Munst^r, where, besides such 
as were the possessors of estates, there wei'e 35 of the name Mayors of 
Cork, between 1364 and 1621; in which city, also, a charitable founda- 
tion, or "Skiddy's Aims-House," has preserved their nieuiory to the 
present century.* On the night of the 14th-15th, Francis Lee, son of 
the Lieutenant-General, headed 2 battalions of the Regiment of Rousil- 
lon, in the grand assault, and stoi-ming of the covered way, and of an 
advanced lunette, under the eye of Villars; which cost the French 1500 
men, killed, and wounded, including 183 officers. About the same time, 

• The name of "Skiddy," usually Frenchified " Sqniddy," is metamorphosed 
by the Marquis de Quiiicy, or his iiriiiter, into "Esquiddy," on tliis occasion. 
In 1703, a .Skiddy was Lieutenant-Colonel of the Regnuent of Clare. In 17-3, 
a "Sir George Skiddy" is alluded to, by an Irisli contem]iorary, as havin;/ 
"acquired a gocd estate in France," as being "a KniL,dit of the Military Order 
of St. Louis, and a CoUmel of Foot;" and as "great-grandson to Sir George 
Skiddy, formerly of Waterford, and also of Skiddy's (Jastle, in the County of 
Cork.' The name is likewise to be seen, among the records of Williamite 
landed proscription, or Jacobite forfeiture, in Miiuster. In the Me'moires de 
Villars, " le Sieiu- de Squiddy" is twice named as Captain of the Guards to the 
Marshal during the campaigns of 1"12 and 1713 ; or first, as sent, after the reduc- 
tion of Marchiennes, "[torter les drajieaux " to Louis XIV.; aud ne.xt, or at 
Fi'iburgh, as ":'ultjss.e,iiifes de moi," or wounded near the Marshal, there. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 201 

or on the 14th, Prince Eugene, advancing at tlie head of 6000 men, to 
within 9 miles of Fiiburgh, and it being given out, that he wouM 
succour it, the Marshal de Villars, among his measures to prevent this^, 
detached Lieutenant-General Dillon witli 1200 infantry and 6 tr()(i]>s of 
cavali'V, to the head of the Valley of Kinderstral, to mark out a camp- 
for 12 battalions there; and no attempt was made by the enemy to save 
the besieged fortress. 

Peace was signed, March 6th, 1714, at Piastadt, between France and 
Germany. Yet Catalonia, though abandoned, since tiie year before, by 
the Allied troops, through wh(>se aid it had supported Charles of Austria 
against Phili]) V., still refused to submit to, and maintiined a very 
obstinate and bloody c(mtest against, Philip, notwithstanding his being 
every where else the acknowledged King of Spain! Philip's domineer- 
ing Ministers required the Catalonians to submit to him at discretion, 
merely on condition of a general amnesty for the past. The Cata- 
lonians would 7101 submit, unless the several rights, immunities, and 
])rivileges, which they had enjoyed under the former or Austrian dynasty 
in Spain, should be specially giiuranteed to them; and, for a contirraitioiv 
of those ancient liberties, they olFered, besides submitting, to pay a very 
large sura, to the King; but otherwise added. tli;it they would oi)pose 
him to the last. The great focus of this resistance was the strong for- 
tress and metropolis of the province, Barcelona, where all possible 
means, political, military, and ecclesiastical, were adopted, in order to 
make a most vigorous defence. All pro[)erty there, church-])late 
included, was voted applicable for that object ; all above 14 years old, 
not excepting priests and monks, were to bear arms at the sound of the 
tocsin ; and tlie garrison amounted to 16,000 men, with about 215 pieces 
of artillery. The stubborn valour of the Catalonians, and the exhaus- 
tion of Spain by so long a war, rendering it impossible for Philip to 
reduce Catalonia merely by his own resources, he was obliged to seek 
assistance, for that [)nrpose. from his grandfather, Louis XIV.; and he 
requested the Duke of BerwiL-k might accompany that assistance, as 
General-in- Chief of the forces of both Crowns. With an army of 
the best of those forces, considerably above 40,0 )0 in nmnher, an 
artillery of 120 pieces, and a profusion of every thing requisite for a 
siege, the Duke opened the trenches, July 12th, before Barcelona. The 
Barcelonese, under the signiticant ensign of a death's-head, made a 
defence worthy of the country of a Suguntum, a Numantia, a Sarago.ssa, 
and a Girona ; holding out until their provisions were exhausted* and 
the town was stormed through 7 breaches! Then, or September 12th, 
they had to surrender, after a total loss, on their part, of about 6000 
killed or wounded, including upwards of 540 ecclesiastics; and on the 
Duke's side, 10,000 men. 

Of the Irish Brigade, at this remarkable siege, there were the bat- 
talions of Lee, Dillon, Berwick, and Bourke. Among the most noted 
British and Irish othcers there, after the Duke of Berwick, were Lieu- 
tenant-General Arthur Dillon, and Major-General Walter Bourke ; the 
Duke's eldest son by his 1st wife, widow of Patrick Sarstield, 1st Earl of 
Lucan, or James Francis Fitz-James, Marquis of Tinmouth, and Colonel 
of the Regiment of Berwick ; and the Duke's ste])-son, James Francis 
Edward SarsHeld, 2nd Earl of Ivucan. The Duke, alter having effected 
such a breach, Viy a tire of sevei'al days from 30 pieces of cannon, that, he 
resolved, July 30tlj, to assault tlie covered way, lepaiied in person to the 



232 HISTORY OF THE lUISII BRIGADES 

tronclios, to inspect the attack, whicli was committed to Lieiitenant- 
G<'neral Dillon. On the appainted signal, at 9 in the evening, 4 com- 
]ianies of grenadiers on the right, and 4 on the left, advanced agjiinst the 
cnvered way, extending from the bastion of the Porta Nova to that of 
Santa Clara. Without wasting tiine at firing, the grenadiers dashed at 
the work they were to master, carried it, and put all they met there to 
tlic sword. The workmen, at hand to avail themselves of this succes.s, 
}iiid pi-otected liy the tire kept up from the trenches, th(ui made good tlie 
joilgcnient; and Dillon's troops were so well dis])osed there, that, although 
the Barcelonese sallied o>it, in great force, the same night, to recover the 
countej'scarp, they hecame discouiaged, and were I'epulsed with a very 
severe loss; white that of the Lieutenant-General's y)arty amounted only 
to GO men. Dillon was also prrniinently engaged in the last great 
assault u])on the place, September llt-h, when 44 companies of grenadieuB, 
and 49 battalions had to be enotloyed against the Barcelonese, who, from 
lialf-past 4 in the morning, deh-mled themselves so long as 11 or 12 hours; 
1 portion of the works, in [)articulMr, where the besiegers suffered most, 
not becoming finally theirs until after it had been taken, atid retaken, 
on both sides, 11 times! At tins assavdt, Dillon, as I^ieutcnant-General, 
])av!ng, under his orders, a Fi-eiich and Spanish Major-G(;neral, and ;) 
Bi'igadiei'S, (2 French and 1 Sp.aiish,) witli 20 companies of grenadicis. 
no battalions, and 5(10 wdrkuuMi, was inti'usted with the attacks to lu; 
made, from the right to the centre. He reserved the great breach of the 
centre for himself and 7 battalions, while 1 of his Major- Generals, M. de 
Guerchois, ascended that, at an angle flanking the bastion of Santa Clara ; 
ami the 2 officers made themselves masters of the whole of an intrench- 
jiicnt behind the Monastery of St. Augustin, and of a portion of that 
(MJilice; killing all whom they encountered. Nevertheless, the Barce- 
lonese, leiiewing the coiobat, with desf)eration, and increased nundiers, 
at 8 in the nK)rning, retook, among other j)osts, part of the Monasteiy of 
tSt. Augustin. and maintained a hmg and terrible fire against Dillon's 
troops, as well as the rest of the Duke's -army. This fire continued, until 
every post was recovered by the final oveipowering and diiving of the 
besieged into the New Town, at between 3 and 4 in the afternoon; when 
signals were displayed for a ces.sation of hf)stilities, that led to the sur- 
render of the jilace, the following day. Of the Duke of Berwick, at thi.s 
equal]}' important and dilhcult siege, it will suffice to state, that the 
ability he manifested was worthy of his ])ievious reputation, and his high 
jiosition, as the General-in-Chief for 2 Monarchs. How he was r(!Com- 
j'eiised by Philip V. has been elsewhere mentioned. Lieutenant-General 
Dillon's conduct, there is descriljed, by the Duke, as "everything that was 
to be expected from an officer of courage and capacity." The Duke's son, 
the Mai-quis of TinmoutJi, who was appointed to deliver the standards ot 
the Barcelonese to Philip V., was I'ewarded with the Order of the Golden 
Fleece. The Duke's steji-son. the Earl of Lucan, who was wounded iu 
the last assault, leceived from the King the Collar of the Golden Fleece, 
and a company of his Guardes du Corp.s. The eulogium of the Irish 
battalions engaged in this trying contest was comprehended in that of 
the army to which they belonged ; generally referred to, as having dis- 
jilayed "numberless proofs of extraordinary intrepidity."* 

" On this shtuirule in rritalniiia. anil siro-e of Barcelona, I have made use of the 
Pul;t ul iJei »vick.'b .^.eliJVlis. ilie L,Ui..L hib.uiy ot Qiuncy, the couteiii|iuiary .Mercure 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 203 

Such were the services of tlie Trisli to the Honse of Bourbon during 
tlu' War of the Spanish Succession, when, from the intimate nature of t lie 
alliance between P'ranco and Spain, tlie Irish in the f)ay of I.ouis XIV., 
jhd (pf his gran<lson Philip V., might be regarded as virtually behmging to 
1 army; numbers of them, including Count O'Mahony, Lord Galmoy, Sir 
Pati'ick Lawless, &c., having passed, with pei-mission, from the service of 
one Monarch into that of the other; and those, in both services, havin'^ 
continually fought together. I have consequently noticed chc acts of rlio 
Iri.sl) in the Spanish sei'vice during tlds wai', as fidly as those of rlii-ir 
countrymen in the French servi-e, my more immediate subject. On the 
Consideration in which the exiled Irish were held in Spain and other 
Continental countries, as well as in France, 1 of my French manuscripla 
observes — "France was not the oidy ]H)wer which gi'anted the riglits of 
citizenship to the Irish. Philij) Y., King of Spain, by a Declaration of 
June 28th, 1721, ])laced the Irish, who were Catholics by birth, and 
resident in Sjiain, upon a footing with all the other subjects of his king- 
dom ; and this favour was, as in France, the recompense for the services 
of tlie officers of this nation. In all tlie states to which t'.ie Irish 
emigrated," adds this document, "they found a country to adopt them; 
and Kveri/ wliere their important sej vices have jrri'Ved. that tJiey deferveil, the 
rank of cilizenxhip which was conferred upon tlvein." As i-egards Spain, 
the Irish Brigade, that was kept up there, still consisteJ, in 17^2, of 240') 
men ; and, of the regiments continued to the present century, were the 3 
of Irlandia, Hibernia, and Ultonia. The l.st, or that of Ir!and:a, was 
formed, in 10:38, fi-om levies niade in Ireland, by permis,<ion of King 
Charles I. The 2nd, <«• that of Hibernia, was created by Philip V., in 
170.3, from soldieis and reformed otKc^ei-s, obtained tlirough France, 
'^rhe 3rd, or that of Ultonia, was established the same year, and from 
similar sources, liy Philip. But, to return. 

In England, the conclusion, by the Tories, in 1713, of the Peace of 
Utrecht with France, was hailed with delight by the Jacobites, as an 
event, which th>iy considered so likely to make way for the successioa of 
the exiled son of James II. to the throne. 

"Too long /(Y»'s Vieen exchuled ; 

Too loiii; M'f ve lieen dehii'.ed ; 
Let '« witli one voice, sing and rejoice, 

Tltr i-crc- in m/w coiicliiilcd. 

The Dutch are disappointed; 

Their Wliiggisli phns di.'^jonited; 
The sun dis|i]a3'.s h,s glorious ra3's, 

Tv crown the Lord a anoiidtd!" 

From the termination of the war, indeed, to the decease of the Queen, 
the prospects of the Whig Jiai-ty, or that in favour of the House of 
Hanover, were veiy discotnaging. The Whig writer, in 1710, of the 
annals of the 1st year of George I., having premised how in England the 
irietids of the preceding Tory Ministry "were in all the chief posts of 
the nation," and that Ministry "had a Parliament which they led as 
they pleased." says— "They had corrupttd great nundjers of the Clergy, 
and f>f our University-men. so as they zealously maintained, and disper.sed 

1 li-itoririrp. Mini l.ottrcs Historiqueg, the resjjectab.e Lit^h histoiian of Ergene 
a.al ^liuibotL..! a, and Fieti'e. 



294 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

tlirougli the nation, those doctrines which were calculated to bring in the 
Pretender. By their Occasioiteil Act, and other methods, they had so 
modelled the greatest i)art of our Corporations, as to get in Magistrates, 
that went along with all their measures. Our metropolis, the City ot" 
London, formerly an imi)regnable bulwark against Popery and Slavery, 
was so corrupteil by a few hot-headed Priests, encouraged by the Court, 
and so poysoned by a Tory Common-Council, imposed upon them Viis 
et .\f(idis, that it became the princip;d scene of rebellious tumults, and 
all Elections there were carried b}' Jacobite mobs. The Commissions 
ot Lieutenancy and Peace, through the nation, were, generally, in tlie 
hands of persons disaffected to the Hanover Succession; and the meaner 
sort of people, thruugli the Kingdom, were so much debauched by the 
iuflnence of such men, of the High-Church Clergy, and of the Officers 
belonging to the Excise and Customs, that the Pretender, and his friends? 
thought their game sure. This he tells us him.self, in his Declaration after 
the Queen's death, and gives it as tlte only rmann of his coritinving quiet 
for S07)ie years, that he rp.ckuned himself sure of tlie fr endship of the Queen,* 
bi/ which v)e mast understand, her Mhiistry. and depended xtpnn their pro- 
onises. The only V)ody of peo})le in Eiiijland, that stood then united in 
his Majesty's interest, was the moderate Church-men and Dissenters; 
but the former were put out of all ]:)ower, and the latter were, by law, 
excluded from it, and put under a new and unnatural hardship by the 
Schism Act, which was to take place the very day tliat her Majesty died." 
After noticing the state of Scotland, where the Tory Ministry, " to 
strengthen their interest, kept the Popish and Jacobite Highlanders in 
]iay," etc., this Whig writer remarks, how circumstances did not seem 
nu)re favouraV)le for his party in L-eland, from the very superior amount 
of the Roman Catholic population, Jacobites to a man, in connexion 
Avith the dominant power of the Toiy or High-Church Protestant party 
there, also averse to a Hanoverian Succession, and proportiouably severe 
upon such as were not so, or Protestants of Whig and Dissenting opinions. 
*' Their Dissenters," he remarks, "who are by much the greatest body of 
Protestants in that nation, were, by the influence of the High-Church 
■j)arty, brought under an incapacity to bear any civil or military commis- 
sion for the defence of themselves, or their country. This was not only 
highly impolitick, as it weakened the English and Protestant interest in 
that Kingdom, but highly ungratefl^l to the L-ish Dissenters, and ]>ar- 
ticulaT-]} to tliose of the Province of Ulster, who had been twice, under 
God, the j)rincipa] instruments of saving that Kingdom to the Crown of 
England, as well as the Established Chnrch of Ireland. Yet, such was 
the rancour of the Hii;h-Church party, that they did all they could to 
persecute and ojjpress, not only their Dissenting brethren in that nation, 
but even the moderate Church-men ; and the Government there was put 
into such hands, and administered in such a manner, as plainly discovered, 
that the d^slf/ns of the Ministry were so Laid and carried on, in all the S 
Nations, as to pave tlie Pretender s ivny to the Tlirone. ... In short, 
tliere was nothing iranting to have entirely delivered up that Kingdom into tlte 
hands of the I^refender. but to have viudefFd (he Troops there to their pur- 
pose, by putting out all the honest Officers, and placing Jacobites in their stead." 

* Queen Ar.ne, "in flying," says Klose, " covfirmcd the belief, that had long pre- 
vnileil, of her partiaHty for the exiled Prince, by exciaiming — " Ou, my dear 
biother, liovv 1 pity you I ' " 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 295 

The accounts of the Queen's illness were accompanied by informatiou 
from Ireland, as to what ettbrts were on foot there, to strengtlKni the 
Brigade in France— " Great numbers of lusty, young fellows, all Papists, 
having gone, siiice last Michaelmas, into France, on assurances given 
them, that they should soon return home, with their lawful Kimj, James 
III. — many recruiting officers being alleged to have arriveil from France 
in various parts of the island, Dublin not excepted, where James Roche, 
a considerable Popish merchant, expended large sums of money in listing 

and vessels, sailing for France, bringing from 20 to GO of the lower 

order of Irish on board, under the pretence, it was affirmed, of emigrating 
merely as agricultural labourers, but, in reality, as so many recruits for 
the Irish regiments abi'oad, in the interest of tlie Pretender. Hence, the 
proceedings of the House of Commons in Dublin on the subject, the 
declaration of the Grand Jury of the County of Dublin, for the adoption 
of immediate measures to st(jp the transpoi-ting of such great numbers of 
Popish youth into the service of the Pretender, and the consequent issuing 
of a Proclamation, against such recruiting, from the Lord Lieutenant and 
Council of Ireland." From the commencement of the, Queen's indisposi- 
tion, the advocates for the accession of the House of Hanover to the 
Sovereignty of Great Britain and Ireland likewise referred, with much 
uneasiness, to the Irish troops in France, as being (quartered too near the 
coasts opposite to England; with a view, it was believed, of being ready 
to come over, in support of her brothers claim to the Grown, as King 
James III. " Upon the first news of the Queen's sickness," writes the 
Hanoverian Envoy, Baron de Schutz, from London, January 25th, 1714, 
"several French battalions had orders to march towards the sea, under 
pretext of changing the garrisons; and they remain there, viz., at Grave- 
ling, Calais, Bei-g, St. Winnox, St. Omens, and Boulogne. Most of the 
Ii'ish i-egiments in the French service, who made the campaign on the 
Upper Rhine, are arrived likewise in the Low Countries. Clare's regi- 
ment is at Douay, Galmoy's at Valenciennes, and Dorrington's, which 
was the late King James's Regin)ent of Guaixls, at Avesnes." February 
6th, tlie Baron notes, of men of rank of the Hanoverian ])arty in England, 
how, under such circumstances, " many of them expected to be sent to the 
Tower, as soon as the French designs were ripe;" and how, con.sequently, 
1 of them "gave £100 to an othcer, for going to France, to learn, with 
certainty, if the Irish troops wei'e assetnbled in the neighbourhood of 
Boulogne?" The alarm at such intelligence from Ireland, and tlie Con- 
tinent, caused pu'jlic credit to suffer very much, for several weeks, in 
London; the funds falling, and a severe run taking place upon the Bank of 
England. With respect to the Jacobite recruiting in Ireland, we likewise 
read, how information being given, in May, to the authorities in Dublin, 
of about 150 men being at the Hill of Howth, in order to sail thence to 
France for the service of James III., some constables, with a file of 
musketeers, were despatched against the Jacobite party. Of the 150, but 
24 were taken; who were imprisoned, tried, and, by one-sided, hostile 
Juries, of course condemned for what was called "high treason;" and, 
.some time after, 3 of the number, " John Reilly, Alexander Bourke, and 
Martin Carrol, were executed for it, at Stephens's- Green " — or where 
poor Captain Nowlan subsequently met the like fate. What became ot 
the other 21 captured Jacobites we do not know, but m»y not unreason- 
ably suspect, that the Dublin hangman could tell. In Harris's W^illiamite 



296 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

account of the notorious Lord Cliicf-Justice, Sir Richard Cox, autlioi' of 
lEiberuia Aui^dieaua — already noticed in connexion with tlie viruh-ut 
proscription, after the batth; of the Boyne, ot all the older Irish having 
Linda in general, and of the unfortunate young Earl of Clancarty in 
particular — we have addiHonal ciix-unistances respecting the prosecutions, 
here referred to, of those enlisting for the Brigade in France. Having 
premised, how in>ich the Irish regiments there recpiired recruits after 
such a long war on the Continent, Harris states — " Therefore as soon as 
the Peace was made, several of the officers catne to Ireland to recruit. 
They, and those whom they employed, the sooner to complete their 
business, and well knowing that the inclinations of the Papists were all 
in the interest of tlie Pretender, made use of his name to inveigle them 
into his service. This ])owerfal argument soon inlistod great numbers, 
who were firmly persuaded they were to return in a year to extirpate alU 
the English. In February, 1713, William Lehy, 1 of the persons so 
inlisted, gave an inf(jrmation of the treason to the Lord Mayor, svho laid 
it before the Government, and the informant and Michael Lehy were 
examined before the Co\nicil. Upon this examination, a Proclamation 
■was immediately issued, to encourage the appi-ehending the inlisters ami 
the inlisted, and several were taken, in dilferent parts of the Kingilom, 
but most about Dublin. In the Spring Circuit in Munster. Lord (Jhief- 
Justice Cox received 2 letters from the Lord Lieutenant," much ap[)roving 
his care to punish persons who inlisted men for the Pretender's, or for 
foreign, service; "and, when he returned to Dublin, his time was chiefly 
employed in taking Informations, sending out Wai-rants, Guards, and 
Constaliles to apprehend, and in examining the inlisted persons, when 
apprehended. So zealous and active were lie, and others lawfully autho- 
rized, that the Goals of Newgate and Kilmainhain were soon full of 
these traytoi's; so that the Government thought it necessary, to send a 
Special Commission to Kilmainham. to try the criminals in custody there. 
Accordingly, Commissioners of Oyer ami Terminer .sat at Kilmairdiani, 
the 2nd of July, 1714, and Lord Chief-Justice Cox gave the Charge to 
the Grand Jury." This charge was. of course, such as might be expected 
from him, who, in addition to so much land, the sjjoil of Irish Jacobite 
loyalists, possessed a portion of what was King James II.'s pro[jerty, and, 
in case of a "restoration," would be King James III.'s;* and, as an 
address to a jury of opinions corresponding with those of the addresser, 
was duly effective, to the prejudice of the accused. Consecpu^ntly, we are 
told, " inany were condemned, and exucutetl^ by virtue of this Commission, 
and 3 in the Queen's Bench, where Sir Richard ])resided." 

The great ajjprehension among the Whigs in England, witli respect to 
the Irish military aln-oad, was the more natural, from Lord Bolingbroke's 
reported design, with regard to the army at home ; which, if not arrested 
by the Queen's ])remature death, must have placed her brother, as James 
III. of England and Ireland, and James VIII. of Scotland upon the 
thrones of his ancestors. On this design of his Lordship, IbberviUe, the 
French Agent in London, writing to Louis XIV. the day following the 

* "Besides," says Harris, of Cox, "he was attainted by King James's Irish Parlia- 
ment, held everj' foot of his estate under the Act of Settlement, (which stands 
repealed by the same Parliament,) or luuler the Trustee Act, (which nuist havethe 
same fate with the Protestant Succession,) so that bis religion, his jiropercy, and hia 
lii'e, all depended on the House of Hanover." 



n< THE SEnVIOE OF FRANCE. 2'J7 

Qneen's decPMse, and after expressing lu>w penetrated with grief Lord 
]ji)iingl)roke was at tliat fatal circumstance, observes of his Lordship — 
" He has assured me, ■iiieaaures we e so we I taken, tluit, in 6 weeks tiiae^ 
tilings would huve been put into fuch a co)idit.ion, as tliere vimld hare been 
■nutliiiKj to fear from, ioJkU h'ls just occurred." * Of tlie same design, 
(Jldniixnii informs ns — " 'IMiat the army, in both England and IreUind, 
was to V)e modell'd, is most certain. Major-General Devenfjort, (Lieu- 
tenant of the 1st Troop of Life-Guards, who was ordered to sell,) shew'd 
myself, and others, the next day after the Queen dy'd, a list of 60 or 70 
otEcers, most of them of the Guards, that were to be cashier'd, with the 
names of those that were to have their commissions," ifec. Another 
Anglo- Whig contem])orary alleges --" The army was to be new modell'd, 
in such a manner, that all the troops in Great Britain might be blindly 
devoted to the Ministry. Que br'anch of this scheme was, to break 9 o/* 
the batttdions in Ireland; entirely to lay aside 72 officers, that were 
thought improper instruments for the designs in hand ; and to raise L5 
otlter battalions, that should be sure to obeij all commands,^' ikc. And we 
are informed, how the "other branch of his scheme was, to remove such 
officers of the Guards as were eminently well effected to the most Serene 
House of Hanover ;" among whom were the names of 3 Major-Generals, 3 
Brigadiers, and 21 Colonels, as men who would not consent "to serve the 
Queen, without asking questions!'''''^ — while, of those who were to be commis- 
sioned instead of them, it was given out, that "some were Irish Papists," 
besides "a Po[)ish Lord!" Even as matters stood at the Queen's death, 
or although it occurred before those military precautious could be taken, 
the moment she expired, Dr. Francis Atterbury, the famous High-Church 
Bishop of Rochester, proposed " to go, in his lawn-sleeces, and -proclaim 
James III., &c., at Charing Cross!" On which, " Bolinbroke's heart 
failing him," writes Horace Walpole, "Atterbury swore — Tuere was the 
best cause in Europe lost, for vxi.ntofs/jmtl" With reference to such 
Tory plans in favour of the accession of the Queen's brother, as King 
James, and to the particidar apprehension, by Whiggisra, of the Irish 

* Of Louis XIV. 's sincere attachment to the cause of James TT.'s son. Lord 
Bolingbroke, in noticing the circumstances of his own flight to Fran(;e after Queen 
Anne's death, and his taking otKce tiiere under James, alleges — " If the late Kni'j," 
Louis XIV., "had lived 6 months longer, I verily believe, there had been war 
again, between England and France." But, continues his Lordship, "when [ 
arrived at Paris, the King was already gone to Marly, where the nudispositioxi 
which he had begun to feel at Versailles, increased upon him. He was the hr-it 
J'rienii the Chevalier had ; and, when I engaged in this business, my princi])al 
dependence was upon his i)ersonal character; this failed me, in a great degree— he 
was not in a condition to exert the same vigour as formerly." In short, concludes 
his Lordship, "all I had to negociate -by myself hrst, and, in conjunction with 
the Duke of Ormond, soon afterwards, — languished with the King. AI;/ luipes fsuii.h 
(IS lie declined, and died lulien he expired.'''' Of Iblierville, it is amusing to read, 
under the head of "St. James's, November 16," this |)ara'.iraph, with reference to 
King George I., in.stead of King James III., in the London Gazette for 1714, No. 
o277. " Yesterday, Monsieur d'Ibberville, Envoy Extraordinary from his Most 
(.Christian Majesty, had a i)rivate audience of the King, to congratulate his Majesty's 
ha]ppy accession to the throne." Such are ])olitics and jioliticians ! 

t With such a large majority of the jjopulation of (ireat Britain opposed to a 
Hanoverian succession, as will be seen in the ne.\t Eu.>k, mu.'il not James have 
succeeded his sister, had she only lived till such a remodelling of the army, as Lord 
Bolingbroke planned, should have been completed, to render any Whig opposition 
hopelesn ? 



298 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 

Brigade, as the especial cluunjnons of that succession, the zealous Irish 
Whig. Captain Parker, adds ui his Memoirs — "It is most certain, that, 
was it not for the brave defence the Catalans made at Barcelona, (for 
tliey still held out) llie Duke of Berwick^ with his Irish regiments, would 
have lauded among us, before the Queen's death; and then, ivhat a scene 
of blood must have follou:ed ! Surely the hand of Providence appeared 
visibly, at that very critical juncture, in favour of the religion, laws, and 
liberty of England I " 



liWMi 



iMta 




i>c.<- <-. ■ ■>.- 



^ 



PRINCE CHARLES STUART. 



HISTOEY OF THE lEISH BEIGADES 



THE SERVICE OF FEANCE. 



BOOK VI. 



George Guelph, Elector of Hanover, Vieing, as George L, Tnade King 
of Great Britain and Ireland, in August, 1714, on Whig or Revolution 
principles ; accoi'ding to which King James II. 's son, James Francis 
Edward Stuart, born Prince of Wales at St. James's Palace, London, in 
June, 1688, was styled a Pretender, and his claim to the throne, upon 
legitimate or hereditary grounds, was, on account of his religion as a 
Catholic, passed over, and set aside ; that Prince, who, nevertheless, 
regarded himself, and was also regarded by far the larger jjoi'tion of the 
population of Great Britain and Ireland, as, by right. King James III., 
ordered his adherents in Great Britain, in 1715, to rise against the 
Hanoverian, as a usui'per.* Nor, while George appeared to so many, as 

* The popular feeling in Great Britain respecting the rival dynasties is expressed 
in the verse of the Jacohite song — 

"Gort prosper Kinfr Jiimes, and the Geiinan confounri, 
Aud mail nur.e but true Britons ttr rule Brttish yround!" 

The Marshal Duke of Berwick, in 1715, from the intelligence he had, asserts, that, 
beyond tlispiite, o out of 6 persons in England were for James III. " Le gros de la 
nation Angloise est si bien dispose, qn'oii pent avancer hardiment que, de 6, 11 y 
en a 5, pour le Eoi Jacques." And this he might safely write, since he tells us, 
he was informed by the Duke of Ormonde, the Earl of Mar, &c., how the English 
were never better disposed towards the Stuart cause, 9 out of 10 being for .James 
against George. " Ormond, Marr, &c., nous assuroaent, que ja7nais les ])euple3 
n'avoient ete s? bien dis])oses ; que, de 10, il y en avoit 9, contre George, et par 
consequent pour Jacques. " Dr. Johnson, likewise, who was born ])revious to the 
accession of the House of Hanover, observed to Mr. Boswell, on the subject, in the 
reign of George HI., or 1773 — "The present family on the throne came to the 
crown against the will of 9-lOtbs of the people. Whether these 9-lOtlis were right, 
or wrong, it is not our business now to inquire." In fact, with the great Country, 
Church, or Toiy party, a vast majority of the population of England, generally in 
favour of the Stuarts, as well as the Episcopalians and Highlanders in Scotland, and 
the C'atholies in Ireland, similarly inclined, how uninU a niimerical minority of the 
jiopulation of these islands muftt the supporters of a change of r/> nasty have been, 
consisting, as they almost universally did, merely of the Wh/gs in England, the 
I'resbyterians in Scotland, and the comparatively few Protestants in Ireland — 
these last, too, not being without sovie Jacohites among them! It was oidy in the 
least-peopled of the 3 kingdoms, or in Scotland, that Whiggery could pretend to 
claim a majoiity, and even there, that majority was weakened by the disafl'ectiou 
of many, who were Whigs, indeed, by party inclination, but, as nationalists, were 
altogether opposed to the Union, and. so far, friendly to the cause of the Stuarts, 
since their " ?v.s/o?-fl^om'' would have been attended by that of the Parliament cf 
Scotland. Writing as an English historian, Lord Mahon says — " Wc. on our part. 
sluniUl do well to remember, that the Pevolution of 1( 88 was not ••<' mjlit, but 
jorctd upon us." But, in whatever light, the cause of the Stuarts niay be viewed a» 



300 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

no better than a usurper, did lie seem entitled to any more respect, from 
a view of his moral character, mental attainments, and personal endow- 
ments. " He," says Mr. Jesse, " was indebted for his aggrandizement 
merely to the accidental circumstance of his having been educated in the 
Protestant faith ; there being, at the period of his accession, so many 
as 57 individuals of the blood royal, who possessed superior heredi- 
tary claims." Married, in 1682, to his young, beautiful, and accom- 
plished cousin, Sophia Dorothea. Duchess of Zell, who, by bringing him 
that Sovereign Duchy as her dowry, so much enlarged his Hanoverian 
dominions, he, nevertheless, only " a few months aftei-, attaclied himself 
to undeserving mistresses, and even insulted his young wife, by con- 
stantly introducing them into her presence." In short, " he was himself 
the most notoiious adulterer, and the most unscrupulous libertine, in his 
dominions." Yet, though claiming such a wide and shameless range of 
animal indulgence for himself, he, on a single charge of matrimonial 
infidelity,* shut up in the Castle of Alden, in the river Aller, in Zell, his 
unfortunate wife ; keeping her there, under the name of Duchess of 
Halle, nntil her death; after "a long captivity of 32 years, deprived of 
the society of her children, and snatched from the pleasures of life, when 
ahe was best qualified to enjoy them." While thus debauched and cruel, 
he was likewi.se " ignorant and illiterate, inelegant in his person, and 
ungraceful in his manners;" and, though in his SSth year, when he came 
over to rule these islands, he was encumbered with "a seraglio of hideous 
German prostitutes, who rendered him equally ludicrous by their 
absurdities, and uni)opular by their rapacity." To this sufficiently 
repulsive specimen of Whig-Hanoverian royalty, the Tories, or Jacobites, 
preferred the young representative of the House of Stuart, although a 

Catholict 

" Let our great .James come over, 
And battle Prince H;inover, 
With hearts and hands, in loyal bands, 
We'll welcome him at Dover. 

regards England, in Scotland, as involving, if successful, a Repeal of the hated Union, 
and in Ireland, a dissolution of the j>erjury -enacted Penal ( Jode, by a fulhlment of 
the violatrd Treaty of Limerick, that cause ivns the representative of nationality, 
in opjiosition to provincialism, and of religious emancipation in opposition to sec- 
tarian oppression, and, -so far, was the cause of justice verniis in.tustice. Great 
historic events have varioy.f aspects, from which they 7)mst be contemplated, and 
studied, in order to be duly understood. 

* The object of George's jealousy was the famous Swedish Count Konigsmark, 
who, iu desiX)t-fashion, was privately made away with. When George II., after 
his accession, "first visited Hanover, he ordered some alterations in the Palace, 
and, while repairing the dressing-room which belonged to his mother, the Princess 
Dorothea, the body of Konigsmark was discovered under the pavement, where he 
is supposed to have been strangled, and buried." 

+ Lord Mahon justly considers the Jacobites to have been wrong, "in seeking 
to impf!se a Eomnn Catholic head upon the Protestant Church of England." In 
tltaf objection to the Stuart family, the strength of the party for the Revolution 
vnquistiointbl II lay. Yet political measures, like the Revolution, however desirable 
in one point of view, niay seem most objectionable from others; and men loill act 
accordingly. Hence, though the Stnarts were driven out, as has been observed, 
"to keep them out required a standing army, ni;n y campaigns and battles, the 
decapitation of many honourable heals, the confiscaiion of estates, the imposition 
of taxes on almost every useful commodity, and the borrowing of millions of money, 
which lai 1 the foundation of the present enormous national debt; which swalluwed 
up, year after year, wealth as it was made ; and prevented much of the best capital, 
and the most skilful hautls, from engaging in tke jtroduction of wealth." 



IN THR SERVICE OF FKANCX 

Of royal birth and hreedins;, 
, 111 ev'ry grace exceediiis;, 

Onr hearts will monni, till /i'.s retnu^ 
O'er lands tliat lie a-bleediug." 

And again, after exclaiming, that 

" Eiiylaud musf, s'Trender 



SOI 



To him, they cad Pketendbb,' 



t» 



it was alleged — 



" The royal youth deserveth 

To fill the sacred place ; 
'Tis he aJon/', y)reserveth 

The Stuarts' ancient race. 
Since 'tis onr inclination, 
To call him to the nation. 
Let each niMn, in his station, 

Eeceive liis King in peace!" 

As the Stuarts, previous to th*^ junction of tlie 2 British Crowns, 
in 1603, had l>een the national Sovereigns of Scotland, and, as the 
so-called Act of Union, recently imposed n])on the Scotch by corruption 
and terrorism, for the special purpose of excluding their ancient dynasty 
from the tin-one,* was to be i-ene ded, if that dynasty could be restored, 
the Stuart interest was proportionably f)Owerful there, and its policy 
duly directed, to excite a popular insurrection against the Hanoverian. 
" We," says the Declaration of James to the Scotch, as James VIII., "are 
come to relieve our subjects of Scotland from the hardshi])s they groan 
under, on account of the late unhappy Union ; and to restore the Kingdom 
to its ancient free and independent state." And subsequently, *' We hope," 
adds the document, "to see Our just rights, and those of the Chtirch, and 
P<-o]ile of Scotland, once more settled, in a free and indei)endent Scutfi 
Parliament, on their aneifnt foundation. To such a Parliament, (which 
we will immediately call.) shall we entirely refer both our and their 
interests; being sensible that theae iuterp.sts. rujklly understood, are a'toaya 
the same." The 1st movement against the German consequently occurred 
in Scotland, where the Earl of Mar, (late Secretary of State under Queen 
Anne,) with other noblemen, assembled, in September, 1715, a Jacobite 
force in the Highlands, and jiroclaimed the Stuart Prince, at Brae-Mai-, 
and elsewhere, as King James. The national and Tory feeling, against 
tlie English and Whigs, for su])planting tiie old native royal line by a 
*' foreign brood," was suitably expressed in the songs of the day : — 

**Oiir King they do despise, boys, 
Because of .Scottish blood ; 
But, for all their <ia.f.h,% and lies, boys, 
IJin title still is good." 

" How lang shall our old, and once brave, warlike nation, 
Thus tamely submit to a base usurpation? 

How lang shall the Whiss, pervprtinf] nil rrnson. 
Call lioniist men knaves, and loijaUi/ treason?" 

* See, uniler the year 1708, the account already given of the passing of the 
Act of Union for Scotland, denounced at the time, or February. 1707, by Sir 
Charles Ff.ckinuton, in the English Parliament, as "a Union, that was carried by 
coriuplion and bribery within doors, by force and violence without." 



302 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

The general hostility to the Union, noticed in the same powerful effusions 
of popular opinion, — 

"All Umions we'll o'erturn, boys. 
Like Bruce at Banndcklmrn, boys, 
The English home we'll chase! " — ■ 

likewise appeared upon the Stuart standard at Brae-Mar; of which, 
says the description, "the colour was blue, having, on the one 
side, the Scottish arms, wrought in gold, and, on the other, the 
Scottish thistle, with these words beneath, No Union" Mar, soon after 
he took the field, was to have been joined by James from the Continent; 
but that Prince's arrival was prevented, by various unfavourable circum- 
stances, until January, 171G. Meanwhile George's Commander in 
Scotland, the Duke of Argyle, engaged Mar at the battle of Sheriff- Muirj* 
or Dumblain, in JSTovember, with such a result, as to arrest any ])ri)gress 
of the main Stuart force southwards; and subsequent reinforcements, 
with an importati(m of several thousand Dutch troops (as in 1688, &c.) 
so strengthened the side of the foreign Prince, against the English 
Prince and his P>ritish supporters,* that the latter was obliged to retire 
northwards, until, in February, 1716, he had to embark by night with 
Mar, and other noblemen, for the Continent, and the Jacobite force had 
to disperse. 

During the short stay he was able to make in Scotland against his 
Geoi-geite op|)onents and their Dutch sup])orters, James expressed how 
solicitous he was to obtain the Irish BiiLcade fron\ France; which, how- 
ever, after a peace, so very recently concluded, and so very necessary to 
be maintained, with England, could not be sent to him. From " Kin- 
naird, Jan. 2, 1716," he wrote to his Minister, Lord Bolingbroke, at 
Paris — "What is absolutely necessary for us, and that without loss of 
time, is, a competent number of arms, with all that belongs to them;" 
am! "our 5 Irish regiments, with all the officers of the D." of '' Berwick 
at their head." Then, alluding to the Recent of France, he states of 
the Duke of Oruionde and the veteran Lieutenant-Grenerals Michael 
Roth,+ and Artiiur Dillon— " Could the Regent send him," Ormonde, 
"with troops iKto England, at the same time that our Irish regiments 

* Anionic the circumstances, which Lord Macaulay reckons the least "glorions" 
connected "with the Revolution of 1(>88, was that of James II. havin'^; only been 
dethroned through the aid of a foreign or Dutch army. AL';ain, or in 171'")-l<5, 
we see the foreign occui)ant of James's throne excludiug that Monarch's son from 
it, throngh a treaty for obtaining GOlJO foreignens from Holland, "who," says a 
contemporary English historian of tl)e Hanoverian i)arty, "did very good service 
in North Britaui, and were more terrible to the rebels, than the native Bntons 
in the King's army." Finally, or in 1745, George II. also claimed Dutch aid, 
which he oi)tained, even to a more considerable amount. And, though such aid 
was afterwards withdrawn, and though the army with which his son, the Duke 
of Cumberland, decided the contest against Pruice Charles Stuart at Culloden, 
in 1741), was not composed of foreigners, yet this army was enabled to advance 
and fight that decisive battle in" Scotland, by having had about 6000 foreign 
auxiliaries, or Hessians, to serve elsewhere in the country. Hence, the offer of 
Piuice Charles, acting as Regent for his fiither in Scotland, in opposition to the 
Elector of Hanover, a^s George 11. — "Let him, if he pleases, try the ex]ieriment; 
let him send off his foreign hirelings, and put all upon the issue of a battle, and 
1 will trust only to the King my father's subjects!" But the largest amount of 
/oreiijners was employed to foi-ce the Ptevolutiou upon Ireland, under William IIL, 
as shown in Book III., imder the year 169S. 

t Ab also spelled " Rothe," mistaken, by Lord Mahon, for "Roche." 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 303 

come here, it would end the riisj)ute very soon. ... I should have 
mentioned before, that Rothe, or Dillon, I must have. One I caa 
spare you, but not both ; and may be Dillon would be useful in 
Ireland," &c. Several other Irish officers evinced their loyalty to 
James, as their King, although they were not able to arrive, from 
Fi-ance in Scotland, soon enough to be of service in any combat. 
" They," observes a contemporary, " were seen abandoning all eno;age- 
ments, and certainties, to follow him, Avithout the least hesitation, into 
Scotland, as fast as they could ship off. notwith.standing the rigours of a 
most hard and rigid season, and the many dangers they were to run, by 
sea, and land, as well as the hardships, and hard shifts, they might guess 
they should meet with in the service" — which, it will be noted, exposed 
those engaged in it, if taken ])nsoiiers, to the savage mode of execution, 
(or half-hanging and disembowelling alive !) appointed, by the law of 
England, for " high treason." Among the officers of King James II. 
with his son, as King, in Scotland, were Lieutenant-General Don)inick 
Sheldon, and Brigadier Christopher Nugent of Dardistown. The Mar- 
quis of Tinmoutli, son of the Mai'shal Duke of Berwick, and then 
Cohmel of the Eegiment of Berwick, and the Marquis's kinsnuui, the 
Honourable Fi'ancis Bulkeley, reformed Oolonel of the same Irish regi- 
ment, likewise came to serve there. Sheldon was 1 of those who 
departed, along with .James himself, for the Continent. The Marquis of 
Tinmoutli, and C^ilonel Bulkeley, had sailed together for Scotland, with 
100,000 c7-owns in gfoW, contributed by Fhilij) V. of Spain; but were 
unluckily shipwrecked by night off the Scotch coast, and lost a'l the 
m >nei/, as they only had time, to make for land, in a boat.* The Mar- 
quis, and the Colonel, being finally left behind with the Jacobite force 
when it was obliged t.o disperse, ventured, instead of seeking a conceal- 
ment in the Highlands, or Western Isles, to proceed from the north to 
Edinburgh; passed undiscovered, though 8 days there; embai-ked for 
Holland ; and thence reached France. They, and the re.st of the officers, 
who -were with James in Scotland, upon the complaint of George's 
Ambassador at Paris, were deprived, by the French Government, of 
their employments, but only to save appearances; the Regiment of 
Berwick, for instance, though taken from the Marquis of Tinmouth, 
b"ing given back to his father, the Duke of Berwick, who made 
another of his sons its Colonel; and the Regiment of Nugent being 
taken from the Brigadier, but transferred to his son, though then a 
mere youth. 

Some of this regiment had gone over with their countryman, James 
Butler, 2iid Duke of Ormonde, to England. This Irish nobleman, from 
the antiquity of his family, from the magnitude of his rent-roll, among 
the laigest in Great Britain and Ireland, besides the emoluments of 
several high civil and military appointments, from his public spirit, his 
]iersonal bravery, affability, magnificence, benevolence, and hos[)itality, 
was the head and idol of the great Tory or Jacobite party in England,t 
w hose cry was, we are told, " an Ormond! in opposition to King George," 

• The Duke of Berwick is the authoritj' for Philip V.'s contribution, thus, as 
regards James, and .Scotland, destined to be "neither good for king nor country," 
or " in the deep bosom of the ocean buried ! " James's son, Prince Charles, was 
likewise very unlurku, with reference to remittances for him, in Scotland, from 
Spain, as will be seen farther on. 

t Ou the Whig or Georgeite attainder of the Duke, his friend, Dean Swift, writes 



304 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGAlffes 

or " High Church and Orinond!''' Their feelings of hostility to Hano- 
verianisiu, and of ])ro|)ortiouable attachment to the exiled and attainted 
Duke, were ))articn]arly displayed this year, 1715, in London, with 
j-et't rence to the 1st celeV)ration there of George's hirth-day as King — 
the Hanoverian's entrance into this world ha])pening, awkwardly enough, 
to date fi-oni the day immediately previous to that ap|)ointed for coni- 
niemoratiiig the re-establishment of the House of Stuart on the thrones 
of Great Br-itain and Ireland, in the jierson of King Charles II. "The 
ilSth of jMay being the King's birth-day." says an Anglo-Whig annalist 
with respect to George I., "the great Officers of StHt(»> the Foreign 
JSIinisters. and Nobility, waited on his Majesty at St. James's, the guns 
Avere fired, and the flags displayed, itc." But " the Jacobites reserved 
the demonstrations both of their Jo?/ and iu.w!cnce for the next day, (29th) 
which, being the Anniversary of the Restoration of the Eoyal Fauiijy, 
they celebrated in a most extraordinary manner; not so much out of 
compliment to the. former, as in hopes of what they call -Afnture, Restor- 
ati(m. Their mobbs in the city broke the windows of such houses as 
were not illuminated, and, among 'em, those of the Lord Mayor. Tlieir 
ci"y was, High Church and the Duhe of Oniiond! In Smithtiekl, there 
was 1 of the greatest mobbs that has been known since SachevercU's 
Trial, where they burnt a print of King Widia.m, &c." Another Georgite 
writer of the day, after noting of the Jacobites on this occasion, how 
" they made greater illuminations and more bonfires than were seen the 
day before, especially in the City of London," adds, " they insulted 4 
liife-Guards who were patrolling, and oblig'd them to cry out, as theij 
did, High Church and Ormond!" Although the Duke (as above 
intimated) had found it necessary, soon after the Hanoverian accession, 
t*o retire to France, where he was at the time of those manifestations, 
and others of the kind, by his party, he was confidently expected, by 
that party, to return before long, in spite of his enemies, the Whigs, to get 
the better of them, and to send their odious foreign importation, George 
the Elector, packing home again to Hanover! As the Jacobite ballad 
exclaimed — 

" What tbo' th' U.mrprrs cause prevail? 
Renew your constitution I — 
Exjiel that race, the curst entail 
(>f Wiiig^'ish I'evolution ! — 

Be bought and sold no more 

By a sordid German power, 
Is it like our old proud-hearted nation? 

Let King James then he. the toas'. 

Mail ^''^ tde.ss our loHf/iiH/ cuaM 
With a speedy and a just kkstoration ! '' 

In James's court, " over the water," to which, as well as the Duke, 
Lord Bolingbroke had fled from England, the accounts of siich public 

— " Now it is done, it looks like a dream to those, who consider the nobleness of 
his birth, the great merits of his ancestors, and his own ; bis long unspotted loyalty, 
bis affability, generositj', and sweetness of nature. I knew him long and well, and, 
excepting the frailties of his youth, which bad been for some years o\'er, and that 
easiness of teniiier which did sometimes lead him to follow the judgment of those, 
who bad, by many degrees, less understanding than himself, 1 liave not conversed 
with a moie faultless person ; of great justice and charity ; a true sense of religion, 
without ostentation ; of undoul)ted valour, thoroughlj' skilled in bis trade of a 
soldier; a quick and ready ai>ijrehensiou, with a good share of understanding, and 
a general knowledge in men and history ; although inider some disadvantage by an 
uiviiicible modesty, which, however, could not but render him yet more amiabia 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 305 

displays of sympathy in England with the " trne King," excited duly 
favourable anticipations amongst his exiled followers. At that court, 
writes Lord Bolingbroke, " the Jacobites had wrought one another up, 
to look upon the success of the pi-esent designs as infallible; every 
meeting-house which the populace demolished,* every drunken riot 
which happened, served to confirm them in these sanguine ex))ectatioos; 
and there was hardly one amongst them, who would lose the air ot con- 
tributing, by his intrigues, to the restoration, which, he took for granted, 
would be brought about, without lain, in a very few weeks. Care and 
hope sat on every busy Irish face." Accordingly, in autumn, the 
Duke of Ormonde, accomjmnied by 20 officers, and 25 select troopers, 
of the Eegiuient of Nugent, from their quarters in Normandy, sailed for 
the op[)Osite coast of England, in order to act upon the extensive arrange- 
ments which he had made there, for a rising against the new dynasty. 
On reaching his destination, however, he found nothing could be 
attempted in the west against the Elector of Hanover, owing to the 
various measures that Prince had been enaVjled to take for his defence, 
])rincipally through the aid of a Colonel Mac Lean. That officer (of a 
Highland name, most illustii(jus in the annals of loyalty to the Stuarts,) 
had been the contidant of the Duke with respect to all his plans and 
dispositions for the rising in question, but turned out such a villain, as 
to become an inwnner ! 

" Oh for a tongue to cnrse the plave. 

Whose treason, like a deailly blight, 
Comes o'er the cdiuicils of the brave. 

And blasts them, in their hour of might I " — ^Ioore. 

In consequence of this baseness. " the principal friends of Ormond," savs 
Lord Malion, " were arrested ; the others dispersed; ami when the Duke 
came to the appointed ])lace, he found no signs of a rising — not a single 
man to meet him, instead of the thousands he ex})ected ; and he was 
comi)elled to steer again towards France!" After a conference tliei'e, at 
8t. Malo, with his young Sovereign, the Duke re-embarked, it is added, 
" with the daring and indeed des})erate project of throwing himself upon 
the English coast, and taking the chance of some favourable circum- 
stances; but a violent tempest forced him back a second time." The 
Duke eventually retired to Avignon, with his young Sovereign ; and, 
when that Prince left France, continued to reside at Avignon under the 
appellation of Colonel Comerford, until invited by Philip V. into Spain, 
for the purpose to be soon related. 

Not long after the Earl of Mar had i*isen in Scotland, the English 
Jacobites of Northumberland, and Cumberland, under Thomas Forster, 
Esq-., Meinber for the former County, the Earl of Derwentwater and 
others, joined by a bod}' of Scotch, under the stout Brigadier William 

to those, who had the honour and ha^jpiness of being thoroughly aoquaifitcd with 
him. This is a short, imjierfect character of that great person, tlie Duke of Ormond, 
who is now attainted for high trfason." 

* Of the Anti-Hanover;an Torj'ism, or High Church Jacobitism, displayed at 
such deiuolitious, the following sjiecimeii occurs, in a letter, of July, ITlo, from 
Mr. iSaily of Statfordshiie. " When the mobb puU'd down the Meetin4-H0r.se at 
Wolverhampton, one of their Leaders, getting on the top of the same, tlourish'd his 

hat round his head, and cry'd, ' G d Kiny G ge, and the Duke of 

MarUioronnh ! ^ A fellow, at the same jilace, standing by as an idle spectator, was 
charu'd by the rioters, with being a spy ; and, to attone for his supposed ofTejuU', 
they made him go down ou his knees, and cry, ' (Jud bltss King Jaiutio III, !"' 

X 



306 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

Mac Intosh of Borhnn, took iij» arms in the name of King Jamas ; and, 
having caused a much more numerous gathering of Cumbei-land and 
Westmoreland Militia, tkc, to disperse with disgrace,* advanced, j)ro- 
claiming James, as far as Preston, in Lancashire. They, however, were 
finally i-educed to surrender at that ]>lace in November, by a superior 
corj)s of regular troops, under Lieutenant-Ueneral George Cai'])enter 
and Major-Genei'al C-harles Wills. With this ca])tured Jacobite force, 
th(M'e was an Irish gentleman of a most honourable nume, Charles Wogan, 
of the house of RathcoHy, in the County of Kihlare. By this name, that 
County was representetl in the Supreme (Jouncil of the Confederate 
Catholics of Ireland, at Kilkenny, during the great civil war under King 
Charles I., as well as in the Pai'liament of King James II. during the 
subsequent War of the Revolution in Ireland. Against the Croui- 
wellians, the name of Wogan was distinguislied in the annals of cavall-r 
gallantry by the defence of Duncannon in 1G19, which coinpelled those 
revolutionists, or rebels, to raise the siege with loss; and, in 1050, that 
name was still more distingiiisluHl by the unp:iralleled coin-age and 
devotedness of the hero who, having undertaken "the desperate task of 
inarching through England with a party of royalist cavalry," in order to 
join a body of King Chailes II. 's adherents in the Highlands of Scot- 
land, "made good his romantic undertaking, though all England had 
then submitted to the Pailianunit ;" and who afterwards "saved the 
King's life, at the battle, or rather l^ight, of Worcester, by the desj)erate 
stand he made,, at the head of 300 horse, against Cromwell's whole ai-my," 
(consisting of 30,000 men,) '* in the suburbs of that town, till the King 
and Colonel Careless were out of sight !"t With such glorious family 
recollections before him, and, to use his own words, "as a good subject, 
■who despised dangers, and death itself, when he had to execute the orders, 
or to av(,'nge the honour, of his Prince," Cliarles Wogan did not hesitate 
to join the Jacobite rising in the north of England; considering Prince 
James Francis Edward Stuart, as, by hereditary right, Kiny James III., 
to be denounced, with no more justice, by George of Hanover, and one 
' Parliament, than Prince Charles Stuart, or King Charles II., had been 
denounced by Oliver Cromwell, and anotlter Parliament; both of the 
Princes, so denounced, having the like title to the Ci-own by birth, as both 
Princes of Wales; and the denunciation, in the case of Charles, being 
afterwards reversed, as illegal, by his " Restoi-ation." Upon the forming, 
early in 1715, of the extensive secret confederacy in England, in favour 
of James III., with London as its head-quarters, "from which metro- 
politan and central site, a correspondence was conducteul with the 
Jacobites who dwelt in different parts of the kingdom," Charles Wogan, 
his brother. Captain Nicholas Wogan, Colonel Henry Oxburgh, who had 
long served in King James II. 's army, and James Talbot, Esq., were the 
Irish Catholic gentlemen delegated to Northumberland, to arrange for 

•The Cumberland And Westmoreland Mihtia behaved no better, in 1745, at 
Carlisle. 

i- Charles Wo^an, commentincr, (as the Chevalier, or Sir Ciiai'les, Wogan,) in his 
letter to Dean Swift, on the historical nnfairness of Clarendon towards Colonel 
AVogan, remarks, how Clarendt)n sinks all mention of the (Jolonel's country, and 
"omits giving hini the honour of having sa\od the Kiii'i's life," as above recited. 
Abbe Mac Geoghegan, xuidcr "le Comte dc KiMare," notices "la noble famille des 
Wogans de Rathcotfy;" and, for additional information on this old name, see 
Dalton"s Irish Army List of King .James II., under Lieuteuaut-CoioiiclJoliu VVogaa 
of the Ijifantiy .Regiiueut oi Sir Maurice Eustace. 



IX THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. SC? 

the insnrrpctinn there. Of those 4 Ii'ish Catholics, and 3 English 
gentletnen, of wlioiu 1 was a Protestant clergyman,* desi)atchetl on the 
same design in that quarter, we are told — "These gentlemen, under the 
pretence of being tourists, anxious to examine objects of nature and art, 
dispersed themselves in every direction. For the alleged protection of 
their equipments as scientific travellers, yet with the view of jn-eventing 
surprise froui tlieir ])f<litica] opponents, they armed themselves with svvonls 
and pistols. In thus riding from place to place, they contrived to visit 
tlie various sites of their Jacobite partiznns, in order to stimulate tlum 
to a' general and simultaneous rising." The English movement, however, 
for a 2nd "Eestoration," in favour of the nephew of King Charles 11., and 
the son of King James II., being ])ut down hj' superior foi'ce at Preston, 
Cliaries Wogan, with the principal prisoners, was brought pinioned ou 
horseback, to London, under a military escort, and committed to Nev/- 
gate. He was cast into irons there with the veteran Brigadier Mac In tosh 
(who, having served in King James II. 's Guards and in Holland, had 
been for fighting, instead of surrendering, at Preston,) his son Jan)es 
j\1ac Intosh, Robert and William Dahnahoy, (sons of Sir Alexandi^r 
Dalmahoy) FTepburne of Keith, ttc. The Grand Jury of Westminster, 
in April, 1716, found Bills of Indictment against Wogan and the Briga- 
dier; and the latter, and some of his companions in arms, were apj)ointe(l 
to be tried for their lives, at Westminster Plall, in May. But, l:)etweeii 
11 and 12 o'clock, the niglit before those ti-ials were to have taken ])lace, 
Wogan, and the 2 Mac Intoshes, the 2 Dalmahoys, Hepluirne, James 
Tall)ot, and a gallant servant, John Tasker, in all 8, mastered the Keeper 
and Turnkey, and in spite of 9 armed grenadiers through whom it was 
necessary to eflfect a ])assago out of the prison, succeeded in doing so, and 
regained their liberty. Six other "imprisoned rebels" in Hanoverian, 
but " sufierinf^, loyalists" in Jacobite language, seized the opportunity of 
getting out av the same time. But, unacquainted with the streets, and 
running into Warwick Coni't, beyond which they could not pass, they 
were oblicred to i-eturn by Warwick Lane, and were consequently recap- 
tured. James Tall)ot, 1 of the gallant 8, who commenced the work 
against the Keejier, Tui*nkey, and grenadiers, and got oft", was unfor- 
tunately taken, 2 days afcer, at a house in Windmill Street, near 

* The Rev. Mr. Buxton. " This is not very strange," says the zealous contempo- 
rary Whi'j;- Hanoverian writer, Oldmixon ; "for who of all the Epi.scopa.1 Clergy in 
the North of Eni;laiul, excejit the reverend and worthy Mr. Pe])loe, Minister of 
Preston, distinguish'd themselves by the least oj)p(isition the rebels met with from 
them, in deed, or in wonlV If there were some that did so, 1 should have been glad 
to have known it, and would, with jileasure, have done as much justice to their 
loyalty, as the giving it ])lace in my History could do it." Of the Scotch E|ascopal 
Church, he alleges, "there were but 2 Episcopal Clergymen who behav'd wif,h 
loyalty to Kiug Ceorge, and who thereby made themselves odious to their whole 
jiarty " Hence, (ai the .'/CHi?rtt/ Jacobitism, or aversion to the House of Hanover, 
which existed, ac its accession to the Crown, among the Protestant Episcopal Clergy 
in Britain, Dr. Johnson has remarked— " The Church was all against this family." 
Of the 2 classes of religionists to whom they were opjiosed, the Catholics, and the 
Dissenters, those Jacobite Churchmen feared the Catholics l('sn than the Dissenters, 
and symjiatliized with them more, as supporters of monarchy, than they couid 
sympathize with the latter, as representatives of the Puritan, democratic, or 
republican jirincip'es, whose triumph, uuder the Parliamentarian and Cromwellian 
ri'i/ime, was attended by the subversion of the Established Church, as well as tUe 
execution of one Monarch, and proscri[ition of another; whereas, in the great con- 
test connected with these events, the members of the Established and CatLioiia 
ciiurches were equally royalists, and suli'erers for having been so. 



308 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

Piccadilly, and again lodged in Newgate.* This, howevor. was ,dl ', ho 
siiccet;s obtained against the Jacohite fugitives. As tor Wogan, iMOt) 
being offered for apprehending him, tiie asylum which lie uiade out. in 
what he calls "the thick forest of the city of Lcnidon," in some davs 
became known to the Hanoverian "detectives;" so tliafc "he found hi:n- 
Kelf driven to take refuge, at noon-day. u|)on tlie idof fif the liouse where 
1;(! lodged; whence, (in s])ite of tlie rage of his persecutors, and of an 
iiiuiirnerable crowd of people,) Providence enabled him to escape, as well 
as from other crosses by sea and land, until he i-eached, towards the 
etid of June, a countiy where he had no longer any thing to fear, or 
Fi-ance." 

Tlie outbreak, in 171 5, of the Jacobite insurrections in Great Britain 
was productive of suitable apprehensions on the part of the colonial and 
Rcrtarian "ascendancy" in Ii'eiand; whose existence there depended on 
the inaintenance of the nnnatui-al order of things, established in the 
country, by Oliver Cromwell, and William of Orange, upon the landeil 
K]ioliation. religious persecution, and legalized depression, of the nation at 
lai-ge. "The Government, conscious of its own harshness, and dreading 
the workings of revenge or desfiair," says Mr. O'C-onoi-, the learned 
"historian of the Irish Catholics, "took the j^recaution of arresting the 
)irinci)ial leaders of the Catholics, and holding them in confinement, until 
the storm of rebellion subsided. The Comuious addressed the Lords 
Justices, praying that 'they would give directions for apprehending the 
persons of all suspected Papists;' and the Justices accordingly issued 
oi'ders, for the rigid execution of the laws ajjainst the priests, and for the 
appi-ehension of the Earls of Antrim and Westmeath, the Lords Netter- 
ville, Cahii-, and Dillon, and most of the principal Catholics. This 
measure, however arbitraiy or illt^gal, might derive some justification, or 
at least palliation, tVom the instability of the Government, and the pro- 
vocation given to the Catholics ; but the wauton persecution of pi-iests, 
and the base and detestable artihces resorted to for their detection and 
fN[)ulsion, admit of no a[)ology, or extenuation. . . . The Popery 
Code was not only ligidly enfoi-ced, but a race of men, hostile to the very 
iKUue of Christianity, were em|)loyed, to hunt Catholic priests out of their 
liiding-))laces, and drag them from their lurking-holes. These agents of 
}M')-secution, mostly foreign Jew.s, whose love of money, and hatred of 
Christianity, animated them to the darkest deeds of treachery, assumed 
th(> character of clergymen,+ and perlornied the cereiiKmies of the Catholic 
leligion. Under this mask of dissimulation, they insinuated themselves 
into the confidence of the unwary and unsuspicious, through whom they 
were introduced to the concealed priests; and, a.«( soon as they had fully 
ascertained their haunts, and di vi.sed means for their caption, they thiew 
off the mask, and proceeded, at the head of a licentious sohbery, to com- 
jilete the work of theii- detestable treachery. Priests were thus dragged 
ironi their altars whilst celebrating the most solemn ceremony of their 
leligion. and exposed, in their vestuii nts to deiision and insult, shut up 
in dungeons, and condemned to perpetual exile." 

The prosciibed Stuart chiiniant of the Crowns of Great P>ritain and 
Irelan<l, having resolved to marry among the Catholic Princesses in 

* T.-il'iiot's subsequent career has been referred to in Book V., under the year 
171), as an officer in S|iaiii. 

tl sul)stinite "ck^iLiymeii," for the more douljfiil term "uiiuisters," in Mr. 
O'Conor'fa tesct— not iuiprobal-iy by a aiis|>riut. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 309 

OoniiaTiv, iTltrns^ecl the selection of his future brirle there to his (lashing 
]nsli cavalier, Cliarles Wogaii, wlio, in 1718, fixed, with excellent taste, 
Tipnn the Princess Maria Clementina Sohieslii, dangliter of Prince Jame* 
Louis Sohii ski. son of John Sobieski, King of Poland, so famous for hi.Sj 
■wars against the Turks. l>ut, especially, for the great victory, by which, 
h;i\ing saved Vienna in l(i83, he was designated, in the language of 
Sri-i])tui-e. "a man sent tioni God. whose name was John." The match 
j>riv itely agreed to, was, for fiolitical reasons, to be similarly carried into 
eflect. But the completion of the arrangements for that pur[;ose being 
taken, by a Scotch ])olitical intrigue in the Stuart court, out of the hands 
of Wogan, and transfei-ird to '2 Scotch Protestants, the HonouraVile 
James Murray, and the Honourable John Hay, (subsequently created by. 
James ICarls of Dunliar and Inverness,) the Elector of Hanover got 
intelligence of the contemj)lated match. Alarmed at the great additional 
prestige which his injured competitor for the Crowns of Great Britain and 
Irehmd would derive from such a connexion with the race of Sobieski, a8 
well as at the dangei-oua relationship wdiich that connexion would estab- 
lish iietween the excluded Prince and the Houses of Austria, Spain, 
P.ivaiia, itc, the Elector, whom the power and juirse of England enableil 
to bully and bribe upon the Continent,* resolved, by his inlluence there, 
to prevent the match, if possible. The Anglo-Hanoverian Minister.s, on 
the i.ne hand, frightened the Emperor Charles VI. with the prospect of 
Idsing his extensi\e dominions in southern Italy and Sicily, then, or in 
\1\^. principally defended against S[)ain by the maritime aid of England, 
unless he wouhi undertake to stop the accomplishment of that match witiv 
])is relative by force; and. on the other hand, the large sum of £100,000 
(English money, of course,) was ojOfered as an increase to the Princess 
Sobiefki's dowry, if she would agree to marry the Prince of Baden-Baden, 
or any other Prince, than the Head of the House of Stuart, to whom she 
was atiia need. Tlie Emperor, under tliis " jn-essure from without," had 
his cousin-german and aunt, the Princess and her mother, arrested, ia 
September, 1718, and detained, under the guaixl of General Heister, at 
Inspruck, in the Tyrol; with no more right than Elizabeth Tudor of 
England had to shut up Mary Stuart. Queen of Scotland; though with 
suflicient for the satisfaction of the Hanoverian, who had provided for 
his t)wn unlia|)y)y cousin and wife, in a similar manner! No course now 
remained to be adopted in the Stuai-t Court, but to apologize to Wogan, 
for not having left him to conclude tlie business which he had commenced 
so well; and to induce him. if possilde, to extricate the Princess from her 
confinement. Though such an attempt, on his part, seemed so little 
likely to succeed, as to be deemed, by t\\i^. wisest heads to whom it was 
mentioned, an affair of mere Don Quixotism; and though, if he should 
fail, and be arrested in striving to liberate the Princess, his own clooia 

* The subsidies, accompanying treaties with Continental powers, for Hanoverian 
interests, speak for themselves. At home, it will suffice to cite from Waljioliaiia, 
under "secret services," with respect to the Hanoverian family. "Some have 
confidently asserted, that Sir Eoiieit Walpole's /ur(/e secret srrvic inoncy went to 
iiewspa])ers ; while, ia fact, it vn.s ncccxHary, in order to fix flan family on. tl,e 
throii,'. Lord Orrery, ^Jecretary to tlie Pretender, ha.d a pension-, fmrn ISir Robert 
Walpnle, (;/'£20il0 a year.'' This was Charles Boyle, 4th Earl of Orrery; and thug 
was the cause of James in Ensland sod to George! That the unscrupulous news- 
paper suuporter of HaiioveriauisMi was oAsY> well remembered is apjiarent from tlie 
ease of Arnall, already uieiitioued, in a note, under tlie battle of Blenheim, ia 



^^10 HISTORY OP THE IRISH BRIOADTCS 

ir;i|j;lit 1)P death, eitlier upon an Austrian scatiold, or liy lii.s lieiri<^ luiiulcil 
ftvci- to the Elector of Hanover tor execiition in England, on tlie ))lea (jf 
liaving been "guilty of high ti-eason " thert^; Wogan, nevertheless, agreed 
to take the matter in hands, if his Sovereign would ,t;i»'e him such a letter 
to the Prince Sobieski, as might induce that Prince to write; to his 
daughter, tliat, with the beai'er of the coininunication. as eijually tlie 
envoy of her father and her intended husband, she sliould ts(;a])e, if 
j)ossil»l(!, from Insf)ruck. Wogan, after having had, under a due disguise, 
H ])er.sonal communication with the Princess Sohieski, and her mother, at 
]ns))ruck, to wliom he delivered suitable letters from his young Sovereign, 
jiroceeded, towards the end of the year 17 PS, to the Prince Sobieski, ab 
Olilau m Silesia, to obtain the requisite orders from the Prince to his 
daughtei'. But, from the utttir disbi^lief of the Prince in the possibility 
of liis daughter being ever rescued nnder the circumstances, it was, wit4i 
much ditliculty, he could be gotten to put pen to pa|)er on the matter, 
although he did so at last, in the most satistactoiy manner; presenting, 
asatistimony of Ids special regard, to Wogan, a uidcpie and beautiful 
Kuuff-box, formed of a single tui-quois, so admirably enchased in gold as 
to lie pronounced by jt;w(;llers of an inestimable value; particularly as 
having formed a portion of the spoil of th(> (Jrand Vizier's sphmdid searif^t 
j>avilion, in which it was taken, by the great John Sobieski, the day of 
ins famous ti'iumph at Vienna. 

Having obti'.ined the documetits reepiested by March, 1719, and Hke- 
v/ise gotten fictitious passports, Wogan selected, for his enter|)rise, 
from the oilicers of the regiment of his near relative, Lieutenant-General 
OiHint Arthur Dillon, 3 kinsmen of his own, namely, Richai-d Gaydou 
of Jrishtown, its Major, and a Knight of St. Louis, and (Jaj)tains Luke 
O'Tc.fple of Victoria, and John Mis.set of Kildare. These, with W<»gan 
luniseb, and a trusty Florentine valet of his young Soveieign, named 
]\'iiliil V(//()si, were to Ibrm the men of the party. They were to be 
iu iduipauicd by 2 women, Madame Missefc, the Captain's wife, then 
KeNciul months gone with child,* and hei- maid, Jannettun; the former, 

* T subjoin, as containing various characteristic circumstances, this extract from 
"Female Fortitude JOxemplify'd, in an Impartial Nyrrativc of tlic Seizure, Esca|>e, 
ami Marria'^e df the Pi-incess 8ol>iGs!iy," tkc, havn)g inerely "I.cnidon: Printed in 
tlie Year 1722," at the bottom of the title-page, since it iniylit l)e the riii)i of a 

EuV)lisher, who should venture to put liis name there, "(jeneral Dillon's i'e;;iment 
ly tlien in ^urnsnn at Sceietat, within 'J leagues of Strasbour<;li. Mr. Wo:raii 
went thither, not (louhtinLC but that hesiiould lind some of his,'' Dillon's, " olhcers, 
who should asr.ist liiin in the undeitaking. U)>on his arrival, he comnuudcaled hi.s 
dcsiji,n to Major (Jaydon, Captain Tool, and (Ja[)tain Missett, all 3 his relations, 
find persons who had given sover.il sulhcient proofs of their conduct ami resolution. 
They i-eadily end)raced the projiosal, and icarudy ein/ngcd to aeriK luiti irit.h t.linr liv/'it 
and J'ortuiie.f! in si> 'iixirZ/i;/ an cnierprtx, ni)lwi.tlinltind mj an (irdcr iiroluhiJunj all Jri^ih 
vfficcr/i to lean; l/n-ir jioMs ■upon pa'i.ii </ hriiaj ca..sJii.('.r'd ; there licuig then a report, 
that ])reparations wore malting in Sjiain, to enable tlie Chevalier,' as James Hb, 
"to make a descent on Kn.land. They ail spoke French very well, and Tool 
was master of Mi'di Dutch, which proved of great use. Missett was married to a 
gentlewoman of bisli birth and extraction, but bred in France. She was young, 
liad a si)nghtly turn of wit, and a conversation so engaging, as could not fail to 
make her an accc'iitable companion to the Princess. ]>ut as she was, on tlu; other 
Land, timorous in. lo-r nature, of a very toid'-r const tution, unit 4 montliH (joni' iri'k 
Cn'dil, the greatest dilJiculty was, how to break so nice an a.Tair to her. Tida the 
luisl.and undertook; laying before her the gloi-}' of the enteiprize, with this ])ro- 
Viiiliu'c iu'lucenieiit, that he himself was cng.'iued in it. Mr. Woyaa and tlie rd. jwr 
bacii. d w'iiiiL lie sj,iu, vuLti aU that »us pjuper to be ur^ed on aucli au occas ou. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FHANX'E. 311 

designed to attend upon the Princess Snbieski, during her joui'ney into 
Italy, after leaving Inspruck ; the latter, to cliange elothes uitli tlie 
Princess at. luspruck, and occupy hei- bed for some time alter her !light, 
in order to make the Austrian keepers tiiink, till the substitution shouiil 
be discovered, that they had her still; and thus i)ostpone the coniuience- 
nient of a pursuit. But Jannetton, not being made aware of the real 
object of the journey, accompanied the party merely under an impression, 
that it was an ai-rangement to enable her friend, Captain Luke O'Toole, 
(nearly 6 feet high, and the finest man in his regiment!) to rescue a rich 
heiress, to whom he was engaged, from her relatives who detained her 
by foi-ce; and, for aiding in which mei-itori(jus design, she, Jannetton, 
was, of course, not to be a loser. The equij^age prepared at Strasburgli 
for the undertaking was to consist of a travelling-cari-iage of strong 
construction to stand the wear and tear of sucli a long and rougli 
journey, and y)rovided with double braces and S])are tackle of all sorts in 
ca.ie of accidents; it was to be diawn by G postdiorses, and attended by 
3 outriders well-armed. In this vehicle were to l)e M;ijor Gaydon and 
Madame Misset, with Wogan and Jannetton. The Major and JMadamo 
had passports, procured by Wogan at Rome, as for the Count and 
Countess de Cernes, of a noble house in Flanders, travelling, with their 
family, to visit the Santa Casa of Our Lady of Loretto ; Wogan being 
included as a Virother to the so-called Countess; the Princess Sobieski, 
after taking Jannetton's place (as " the girl she'd leave behind her!") 
being intended to j)ass for the Countess's sister; wdiile Captains O'Toole 
anfl Misset, with the valet Yezzusi, were to act as the 3 mounted and 
«rmed attendants, or outridei'.s. 

Wogan, and his adventurous little party, set out, Api'il Ifith, from 
Strasl)urgh, where, in passing the bridge, and taking leave of their 
veteran friend, Lieutenant-Colonel Lally of the Regiment of Dillon, 
(father of the suV)sequentIy faujous and unfortunate Count Lally) tho 
Lieutenant-Colonel, "brave as he was," they remarked, "could not 
I'efraiTi from tears in bidding farewell t > those, whom, from the rashness 
of their enterprise, there seemed to be no likelihood of his ever beholding 
again !" Proceeding on their apparent " road to ruin," or "journey," as 
the Intendant of Strasbnrgh said, " to Wft^e a Jwle m f.Jie iuodil !" they 
reached, in about a week, the vicinity of Inspruck. There, after a due 
correspondence with the 2 Princes.ses, it was arranged that, the 27th, at 
night, Jannetton, having been ])rivately admitted into their apartment, 
in a shabby ridins-iuiod or female surtout of the English fashion, the 
Princess Maria Clementina should put it on, and slip down with her 
Polish Page, Konska, to the door leading into the street, near which 
Wogan, in waiting to receive tlnun, was to bring them to the inn, and 
the carriage there; that, the better to deceive General Heister. and the 
Magistrates of Inspruck, if possilde for 24 hours, the Princess, 2 d;iy.s 
]irevious to her elopement, should keep her bed as very unwell, and, 
Irom the time of her departm-e, Jannetton .shoidd occupy the bed, having 
the curtains closed the ensuing day, under the pretext of the; patient 
being so much worse, as to render this nece.ssarv; and, in line, that, the 
Princess, the 'oetter to pi-otect her mother against the imputMtion of 
having connived at the escape, slu)uld leave a letter on her toilet asking 

She heard them all very a'tcntivcly, and, after pausing some tiirie. briskly mae up, 
and said. What would slic not Uojor a King and QueliN, and a Husband, aht loved 
6u wfiiy^' 



312 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

pardon for her flight, on the plea of being obliged by all laws, human 
and divine, to follow her husband, rather than remain with her parents. 
April 27th-28th, about 1 o'clock in the morning, amidst a tempest of 
■wind, hail, and snow, so severe, that the sentinel on the Princess's resi- 
dence at Inspmck, being without a sentry-Vjox, was obliged by the wet 
and cold to seek shelter, for inside and outside warmth, in a little tavern 
opposite, the grand-(hiugiiter of John Sobieski made her way out in the 
dark to a corner of the street, where the Irish cavalier (or her " Papa 
Warner," as she used to call him in Germany.) was waiting, beyond the 
time appointed, in such uneasiness as may be easily supposed, to receive 
her; and, followed by her Page carrying a parcel of some articles of 
dress, with jewels to the value of 150, 000 pistoles, she proceeded with her 
deliverer to his inn. There she put on a dry suit, which Madam Misset 
had for her; all were on the road by about 2 o'clock; and they were 
15 miles from rns])ruck at sun-rise. By the ft)llowing night, they were 
beyond the danger of any arrest, except what was to be apprehended, 
should they be overtaken by a special courier from Ins|)ruck, to alarm 
the Governors of Trent and Roveredo. The Chevalier provided against 
this, by directing O'Toole and Misset, to keep at a considerable distance 
in the rear of the carriage, to intercept any such couiier. If necessary, 
they, after stfi[)ping him of his papei-s, were to kill his horse, and leave 
himself securely tied, at some place off the road, with ropes, of which 
they had a supply for the purpose ; but they were not to take his life, if 
they could avoid doing so. The courier from Inspruck was. however, 
more easily disposed of by the Irish Captains, 2 posts from Trent, at a 
village named Wellishmile. There, having ordered supper, about 2 
o'clock in the morning, they fell in with the very man, greatly knocked 
lip by the road ; invited him to supj^er with them; and amused and plied 
him so well with liquor, that he blaV)bed out the object of his journey, 
viz., to have the banditti who carried off the Princess Sobieski inter- 
cepted ; and produced to them his despatch to that effect. Tiiis, they, 
after making him still more drunk, purloined from him, tore to pieces, 
and left him in bed in such a state, the wine they gave him having been 
■well mixed with eau-de-vie, that he was incapable of travelling larther 
for 24 hours ! 

Thus, notwithstanding several mischances, or breakings-down, and 
delays for horses, which might have been fatal to the undertaking, the 
Prince.ss was able to proceed on her journey, during which slie charmed 
her companions by her atlability and cheerfulness. "They otler'd," it is 
observed, "to place a cushion under the Princess's head, in hopes she 
might take a little rest; but she seem'd to take pleasure in nothing so 
much as to inform herself in everything relating to England, liieir man- 
ners, the most considerable families, the dress and beauty of the ladiis; 
at the same time learning some English words. Thus she diverted her- 
self all the journey, and, as she had a very happy memory, she retain'd 
everything they had told her, to every one's admiration. 8he made Mr. 
Wogan relate the adventure at Preston (he having acted a principal |)ait 
in that atl'air,) and tell her the names of all those who suffered upon that 
occasion, whose misfortunes touched her very sensibly; but, more ])arti- 
cularly, the Chevalier's," her intended husband's, "voyage into Scotland, 
■what passed whilst he was tliere, and the many dangers he ran through, 
during the time of that adventurous expedition. After this, the Majoi-." 
Ga^dou, " cutertaiu'd her with the many sieges and battles General 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 313 

Dillon's regiment had been engaged in, particularly the battle of 
Ciemona," and "the ])l('a.sni-e she took in hearing those martial stories 
showed her to he the genuine off-spring of the great Sobiesky.'' By 
April 30th, she was safe out of the Imperial, or in the Venetian, terri- 
tory ; May 15th, entered Rome in great state, amidst the acclamations 
of all theie, excej)t those of the Austrian or Hanoverian party; and was 
married, Hejttember 2nd. to the Stuart Prince, as King James III. By 
him, at her decease, in January, 173.5, (when only in her 33rd year, as 
born in July, 1702,) she was tlie mother of the 2 last direct, legitimate, 
male representatives of the royal House of Stuart — Charles-Edward- 
Louis-Philip-Casiniir, born at Home, in December, 1720, named, at his 
birth. Prince of Wales, afterwards, or in 174o-6, so famous in Scotland, 
and deceased at Albano, in January, 1788 — Henry- Benedict-Edward- 
Alfred-Louis-Ti]on)as, born at Pome, in March, 172-5, Duke and Cardinal 
of York, Bishop of Ostia and Velletri, &c., and deceased at Eome, ia 
July, 1807. 

The Emperor Charles VI., lest he should be suspected by his Han- 
overian confederate at London, not to have acted with good faith as the 
bailiff and jailer of his own cousin-gernian at Inspruck, ])roceeded to 
vindicate his Imperial honour on that jioint. by conduct most worthy of 
such honour. The 2 Duchies of Ohlau and Bricg in Silesia, which his 
own uncle and the fugitive Princess's father. Prince James Lotus Sobieski, 
held, in consideration of a large sum of money advanced to the Emperor 
Leopold by King John Sobieski in 1GS3 for the war against the Turks — 
in which, as has been observed, that hero likewise delivered Vienna ! — 
were sequestered, without any re]iayment of the capital advanced. The 
Prince himself was exiled to Passau. His wife, the aunt of the despicable 
Austrian despot, was, moreover, treated so tyrannically by him, that the 
harassing of body and mind which she endured threw her into a violent 
fever. And then, we are told, authentic testimonials of all these proceed- 
ings were forwarded, with due punctuality, to the Court at London, "as 
a proof of the sincerity with which the Emperor sacrificed the most sacred 
ties of nature to his politics!" Verily, as Achilles observes iu Homer, . 

. "Kiiiirs of snch a kind 



Stand but as slaves before a iioljle mind." 
, Pope's Homer, Iliad ix., 494-4C5. 

At Eome, on the contrary, Pope Clement XL, in order to mark Ins 
admiration of such a bold and singular entei-prise as the liberation of the 
Princess to whom he himself was god-fVtther,* ordered a patent to be 
made out, for the gallant Wogan, as a Roman Senator. Wogan, how- 
ever, being unwilling to receive any title, unless the sanie should Le 
conferred upon his brave countrymen, who had left tiieir einploynients 
and risked their lives to share the liazard a\id gh)ry of his undeiiaking, 

* John Frarcis All)ani was horn in July, 1G49. at Tesaro, in the Dnoliy of Uihino. 
ITavino: embraced the ecclesiastical state, he was made Secretary of the fiviefs ly 




there ; that James should be allowed to reside in the t'alace. winch had been assigi.td 
Li7n ; that the pulsion, which had 1 cen otnnted liini, to niaii.taiu the royal dignit_\- 
till restoied to liis kincdcnis, should V'e ccntiiiued ; ;iiid that he iiiiyUt Le sui'poited 
ill all things, against his enemies, Ly the succeeding i ope. 



314 llISTOItY OF THE IHIsll I'.IUCADKS 

|)('titi()iH'(l t.lii' l\))i(' to fcwanl tlii'iii. ill like mainicr. Wo2;an, witli \\''.a 
(•oin)iaiii(ms, Major (iaydoii ami ('a|itaiiiH (J'Took^ an<l JMi.ssct,, wno 
su'cordiiiifly received, June l-nii, by tlie Senate as.seiuliled in state at tlio 
(.'a|pi(nl, amidst tli(^ sound of ancient Jlonian I'lliii and liiU,t:; ami, in tin^ 
]>resenee ol' an immense mnltitu(l(>, were; liononred liy the ( 'oiint 1 1 i|iii(ilil() 
i\ll>ani, J'liniHi of I lie Senate, with a suitalile oration, in praise of the 
I'lineess Soliieski, and oi' tln^msi'lveH as her libei'ator.s. 'J'liis title of 
Konian Senator, though so niueh lessened in iiii)tortane(i i'rom what it 
■was of old, was still that of tlu^ liijj;liest civic; distinetion at Itonie; was 
never venal, nor granted to any lait Kings, I'rinces, nephews of Sovereign 
Pontill's, or persons eminent for bravery, or otlnu- merit; and each Senator 
was addressed (hroiighout Italy as " Your Excellency." On the i-etiini 
of his young So\ ireiL.'n from Spain, VVogan was also received by him as 
lie deserved to lie. 'I hat I'liiiee, after nuHiting, and salniiiig with trans- 
jiorts of jo\', his bi ide, on the road lo l\loiitefias(;oiie, where the nii])tials 
were to l:d--e plare, I uiiied to her deliverer who accompanied her, and said 
to him, in the kindest and most impiessive, manner —'• VVogan, you have 
behav((l \ (iiiiscl f in such a way as I e.\pecte(l fiom your /.eal, from your 
address, and lidiii vour eouiag( ; and yon may feel assiiied, I hat, if I (lesir(» 
to occupy the tlimne whii'h is my right, it is partly thai- 1 may likewise 
i"en<ler von, it possible, eonlentrd and happy im piopoi tion to my power, 
and to what voii so well descive from mc" The I'riiice made Wogaii a 
Knight- liaroiiel, and Ik' knighted <Jaydon, ( )"roole, and Misset; ex|iress- 
ing his gratitude to them in tlie handsomest terms. All, too, wcie granted 
lireveis of miliiaiy ;id \ aiieciiient, which were t<i b(^ inaih; good in Great 
JJritain or liclaiid in ea^;e oi a " liestoi at imi ;" and, should a disniissioii 
I'roni the French army l)e pidiionneed tlie penalty for Ixuiig absent to 
liberate the I'riimess, such brevets would he available for obtaining 
einploynieiit in the services of other Catholic ])owers on the CJoiitinent, 
who acknowledged th(; I'liiice as tie jure, thougli not de facto. King of 
ICngland. Uaydon was created a lirigadirr, and O'TooUs ami Misset 
(Colonels, as well as Mailaiiie Misset's Hither, who was a Captain, lilcewise, 
ill the ItcgiiiH lit ot hilldii. ((aydoii and ()"!'o<ile, liuwcvcr, cmisidercMl 
themselves siillieieiitjy fdiimiale, under the hostile pdlitjc.il circumstances 
of the times in Kiaiiee. t,o be able to resume tJu; posts they had in their 
i-eginieiii,, liel'ore theji- adventure to I nspruel:. 'I'lie former, i'rom Major, 
becaiiK! Lieutciianl-Cohiiiel, and died, very old, about; 17b"». 'J'Ik; latter, 
serving as ( 'apfaiii of ( «ri nadieis, I'eil, in t he last act ion bet, ween t he troops 
of France and thoscdf tin; iMnperor ( 'haih's VI. under Ceneral Seckeii- 
(lorf, on tli<^ Moselle. The ( 'licvalii r d(^ Misset, the companion of those 
ollieeis in rescuing the i'lincess, instead of retui'ning wilh them to his 
regiment in F'rancc;, decided on seeking service with the ('hevalier <le 
Wogan ill Spain; for which they ])rocccdcd to embark, at (Jeiioa, in 
Novt'inbcr, 1 7 I 'J. While detained there soim; days waiting for a favour- 
able wind, the A iiglo Hanoverian Jaivoy Davenant, in order to have the 
Chevalier dc; Wogan given up to hini, presented to the Senate of tlu! 
Kepublic a memorial againsl, {\\v. ('hevalier, liased \\\hi\\ Jnlsclidoil ; or 
I'epreseiil ing him as no better than au (isnd.ssui. irlin InuL to <tiisi(xr fur thti 
lives ()/ .) Ill- (i coiincrs bclrcncn Jti^iirnck and 'I'mul!'' The (Jenoese 
Senate, however, tnattd this memorial with the contempt whic:h its 

* A due oxeni]ililieati<in, at (^ciiiia, efv. Ii.i.t ]i;el been said liy a siiiiii.ir l-aiLiIi.^li 
olficial ill. \ eiiice, tliaL "an auil'iitiisador Wit^ one hint to i«;ie.^ii cuuiis, to tell lies la 
tuu cause ot law cuuiiLiy! " 



IN THE SERVICE OP FRANCE, 315 

calnmiiieH deserved, and consequently refused to witlidraw their protection 
IVoiu the Chevalier; who thus managed there, as elsewhere, to "contbuuil 
the jxilitics," and "frustrate the knavish tricks," of his enemies. 

In Spain, Wogan met with the kindest reception from Philip V., 
who made him and his bi-other Chevalier both Colonels. Misset died 
Governor of Oran, in Barbary. in 1733; and his widow retired to Bar- 
celona, whei-e she was still living in 1741 ; having been long rejoined by 
Jannetton, who died in her service there, about 1739. Wogan signalized 
himself against the Infidels of Barbary, especially in 1733, when heading, 
(acciirding to the contemporary S[)anish official account,) a detachment of 
13U() Spaniards from Oran, to relieve the fortress of Santa Cruz, in 
opposition to 1.5,000 Moors, he, although 544 of his l)ai'ty were killed or 
wounded, liimself being among the latter, defeated the efforts made to 
cut him off, with a loss to the enemy, estimated at not less than 2000 
men, slain or disabled; including 19 Agas of Janissaries, and the son of 
their General, the ferocious Bey Bigotillos. The Chevalier was rewarded 
for his bravery with a Government; and, as he united a love of literaiy 
■with military pursuits, he c.)rres[>onded with the illustrious Dr. Jona- 
than Swift, Dean of St. Patrick's, whom he admii-ed, as the .shar[)esb 
.scourge of the antinational op})ression. then imposed ujion In-land, as 
government. The Chevalier sent from Spain a present of Cassala wine 
to the Dean, and a green velvet bag, with strings of silk and gold, con- 
taining various compositions in prose and verse, for the perusal and 
criticism of the Dean; who, when he ojiened the bag, "little expecting 
a history, a dedication, poetical translations of the seven penitential 
j>salms. Latin poems, and the like, and all from a soldier!" observed iu 
liis i-eply — " In //tese kingdoms, you woidd be a most unfortunate niili- 
taiy man, among troops, where the least pretension to leariiing, or piety, or 
coniniun morals, would endaiLger the owner to he cashiered,. Although I 
have ')io regard for your trade from the judgment I make of those who 
jirofess it in these, kingdoms, yet / cannot hut Idghly esteem those genfJemen 
of Ireland, who, loith, all the disadcantages of being exiles and strangers, 
hare been able to distinguish t/ie/nselves, by their valour and conduct, in so 
'iiiany parts of Europe, I thirdc, above all oth<',r 7iafions."* The Dean 
sent Dublin editions of his own works, and those of Popp, Gay, &c., to 
the Chevalier, for his cam]>library. This correspondence took place 
i'rom 1732 to 173o. The Chevalier printed " Memoiies sur I'Entreprise 
d'lnspruck en 1719," dated from St. Clement de la Manche, March 4th, 
174-) — a well-timed publication, with reference to the design then medi- 

* Wogan remarks of his brave brother refugees from slavery in their native country 
— '"'rhey have sliewn a great deal of gallantry in the deence of foreign States 
and Princes, with very little advantage to themselves, but that of being free; 
iuid without half the outward marks of distinction they deserved. Tliese southern 
(loveniments are very slow, i)i advancing foreigners to considerable or gainful 
jireierments. Their cliief attention is reserved for their own subjects, to make 
them some amends for the heavy yoke they have laid over them." In Fiance 
particularly, I tind the obstacles to a due prouiotion of the Irish oiiicers as 
fi.raiKjei-y were veiy great, from the sujterior interest of the numei'ous ntihlc-i.-ie, 
who looked for a suitable provision in life to the army. So that, whatever was 
ttie distinction the Irish accjuired in that service, (and the other services rofcrreii 
to) si;ch distinction is to be set down, as much infeiinr to that of tlieir actual 
merit; or to such merit as, in a iialive, would have been far sooner or far higher 
advar.ced. Engl.sli intrigue, too, in France, was exerted to prevent, the iivcnviiuio. 
(i Iiii^h f)tf'cer~ ; on wliicli joint, see faither on, or under the year 17 iu the 
accuuiit ui Sir Ucrard Laiiy. 



316 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

tatc'd, liy Prince Clmvles in France, for a landing; in Great Britain — and 
nn().«t a])[)n,sitely dedicated to the Queen of France, who was a Polish 
I'lincess, as well as the heroine, rescued from captivity by the wiiter. I 
liave not ascertained, how long the Chevalier Wogan lived after giving 
to the world this iiari'ative of his excursion to Insprnck, of necessity 
only abridged here. I. iin<l him last noticed in a letter of Prince 
Ciiarles, from " Guadalaxara, March 12th, 1747," to his father at K(uiie; 
in which the Prince mentions, on his arrival at Madrid on the 2iid, 
''Sir Charles Wogan lieing at his Government" — or not tlim in the 
Spanish metropolis. Thus, he survived the fatal blow given to tiio 
Stuart cause at Culloden. under the offspring of that remarkable marriagt;, 
v/hich, but for him, could not have been effected. 

The measures of Cardinal Alberoni, from 1717 to 1719, as Prime 
Minister of Spain, to recover Sardinia, Sicily, &c., which Spain had been, 
forced to irsigii by the Ti'eaty of Utrecht, and his intrigues against tlie 
existing governments of France and England, united both, those powers 
against him. The French and English — the former, acting ])rincifialiy 
undei- the JMarshal Duke of Berwick by land, aiid the latter, under 
several officers, chiefly by sea — pushed on hostilities so vigorously, that, 
in 1719, Port Passage, Castel-Leon, Fontarabia, St. Sebastian, Santona, 
Urgel, Vigo, were leduced, and Spain was ol)liged to make peace, in 
Januar}^ 1720. Of the Irish, during this yhort war of sieges, I meet 
nothing beyond the passing allusions to them in the regimental notices 
of some of their leading officers already given, and in the geneial glance 
at their services by M. de la Ponce. But, at Madrid, Philip V., in 
Februaiy, 1719, published a manifesto, in favour of the "male and 
Catholic line of the Hou.se of Stuart," whose rejiresentative landed, by 
invitation, in March, from Italy, in Catalonia. He entei'ed the Spanish 
metropolis the same month in the royal coach, accompanied by the 
Gardes du Corps, and the Officers usually present on such occasions, as 
well as by a number of Grandees, who went out several miles to meet 
him. He was conducted to the Palace of Buen Betiro, which hiid been 
prepared for his residence. King Philip, the Queen, and the Prince of 
Asturias, visited him in state, to congratulate him n|)on his happy 
arrival; the King presented him with 2.5, 000 pistoles, and a service of silver 
])late to the value of 60,000 crowns; the Queen gave him a magnificent 
diamond; all dined together nearly every day; the English Prince, in 
fine, meeting with a i'ecej)tion, similar to that of his father King James 
ir. at St. Germain, from Louis XIV.* In addition to every honour 
thus paid the Prince as King Javnes III. of (xreat Britain and Ireland, 
a considerable military force, "most of them Irish," were announced 
to be designed for his service; to the great joy of the S]iauiards, 
as anticipating, that the emancipation of their brother-religionists, 
throughout the Bi-itish Isles, was consequently at hand. The plans 
laid for the English Prince's " restoratiou" extended to Scotland, 
and to Ireland, as ^well as to England. A select detachment of 
Spanish infantry, with several Scotch noblemen and Irish officers, 
2000 stand of arms, itc, in a coui)le of frigates, sailed, eai-ly in 
March, from Port Passage, and landed, early in April, in Scotland, at 

* Continental and British publications of the clay. James's grandfather, ero 
lie was tdiatles I., or as Prince of Wales, had entered Madrid in March, 9.5 year* 
jirevions to 1719, or iu 1G23, respecting a match with the liitauta, which did not 
take place. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 317 

Kintail, in Ross-sliire; wherp, with snch native or Higlilarid aii.^istance 
as they expected, tli(\y were merely to keep their gronud, till iiif(n-ineil 
of the arrival of the Duke of Ormonde, with the leading armament from 
Sj)ain, in England. 

There, the suppression of the rising of 1715 in favour of the old 
dynasty, and the subsequent executions of the Jacobite loyalists, having 
increased the popular hostility to the dominant Whig party, and Han- 
overian royalty, that party, and its German importation, had so little 
ju'ospect of anything but defeat and expulsion by the Tories, or Jacobites, 
from the next Parliament to be elected under the Triennial Act of 
William III., that, in order to retain place and power, "by hook or by 
crook," the measure called the Septennial Act w^js introduced; whereby 
the duration of the existing and every future Parliament was to be for 
7 instead of 3 years; or, in other words, the voters for this Act, elected 
but for 3 years, were, by seJf-ajypointjnent, to be Members for 4 years 
beyond the period for which they had been legally chosen to sit!* Such 
an arbitrary alteration of the Constitution by the Whigs— even at the 
expense of the much-lauded Triennial Act of their own glorified William ! 
• — rendered the Hanoverian regime, for whose maintenance it was per- 
petrated, still more obnoxious in England, where Jacobite hostility to 
(ieorge was displayed with proportionate virulence. Thus, James Sliep- 
lierd, a young English Jacobite, under 20, condemned to death, for 
having designed "to smite the Usurper in his Palace!" persevered, to 
the last, in avowing, "that he meant it, intended it, and did not think 
there was any harm in it, or any guilt in the fact, if committed !" — 
the Rev. Mr. Orme, a Nonjuring or Jacobite Protestant clergyman, who 
attended him at Newgate, extolling him, as a pious, sensible youth, 
excited by zeal for a good cause; and administering the sacrament to 
Jiim several times, as well as absolving him at the gallows if An eques- 
ti'ian statue of George, erected in Grosvenor Square, Westminster, was 
also defaced; and other striking instances, in Loudon, of this violent 
animosity to the Hanoverian Prince, as a usurper, might be given. " In 
tlie eyes of the high Tories," remarks Lord Macaulay, " tJie Elector 

* The Whig historian, Smollett, having noted, with reference to this repeal of 
tlie Triennial Act in 1716, how, "though the rebellion was extinguished, the 
llarae of national disaffection still continued to rage," and how "the severities 
exercised against the rebels increased the general discontent," adds — " The courdJi", 
and fortitude with which the condemned persons encountered the pains of death, in 
its most dreadful form, prepossessed many spectators in favour of the cause, /<// 
tc'hich these unhappy victims were animated. In a word, persecution, as usual, 
ertended the heresy. The Ministry, perceiving tliis universal dissatisfaction, and 
dreading the revolution of a new Parliament, which might wrest the power from 
their faction, and retort upon them the violence of their own measures, formed a 
resolution, equally odious and etfectual, to establish their admiuistration. This 
was no other than a scheme to repeal the Triennial Act; and by a new law, to 
ext'^nd the term of Parliament to 7 years." According to Sir Edward Bulwer 
Lytton, in his Caxtoniana, had not public opinion in England been prevented 
speaking out (in a new election) by this Whig violation of the constitution, 
"There would have been a cry loud enough to have rent the land iu twain, of 
' God save the King — at the other side of the water ! ' " 

t Thus, too, we are informed, of the famous high Tory or Jacobite Parson and 
writer, the Eev. Jeremy Collier, that, when "Sir John Friend and Sir Widiain 
I'arkins were tried and convicted of high treason fur planning the murder of 
King William, CoUier administered spiritual consolation to them, attended them 
to Tilturn, and, just before they were turned off, laid his hands on their heads, 
and, by the authority which he derived from Chn.st, solemnly absolved them." 



318 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

ivas lite most htteful q/" robbers and tyrants. The croavx of anotiteb 
WAS ON HIS head; the blood of the brave and loyal was on UXi 
hands!" Hence, such bitter effusions as the following : — 

"When Israel first pvovok'il the hviiio; Loi-d, 
He ])nnisliM tliein witli faiiiiue, pl.imie, ami sword; 
Still tliey sinnM on — Hk, iti iiis wrath, did fling 
Ko tluuiderl)o!r amongst tliem, hut a Kin','; 
A George-like King was Heav'n's sevei-est rod — 
The utmost vengeance of an angry (xcd : 
Goil, ill hlf! wrath, sent Said to /taiiLsh Jewry, 
And George, to England, in a greatku fury!" 

On the statn of d3'nMstio feeling, in so many of the provincial parts of 
Englanfl, when the Duke of Orniomle's landing was expected. Lockhart 
of Carnwatli gives, from " Coh)nel G-uest,'' as ''a very discreet gentleman, 
and well disposed towards the King," or James Ilf, an incich-nt, show- 
ing at once the fear and ferocity of the Crernian on the throne, and the 
very delicate circumstances in which officers were placed, as commanding 
f(vr his government in such districts. In the shire, where the Colonel 
was quartered with 2 or 3 troops of dragoons, he "received oidei's, s'.gnVl 
by King George himself, directing him. that, it there happen'd any riots, 
or disorders, to burn, shoot, or destroy, without asking questions; for 
which, and all tha j he, in execution of these orders, should doe, contrary to 
law, he thereby jirevionsly indemnifyd him. The Colonel was thunder- 
struck with these orders; they were what, on no account, he would 
execute, neither durst he, f >r the people, in tliaX coiudry, were a,ll well' 
affected to tlie Kokj,^' James HI., '■'•and, w>ouhl have torn him and his men, 
to peices; and if Ormond liad landed. ///'," the Colonel, "must either 
have surrendered, or joynd. them loitli his jnen. Having seriously reflected 
on these orders, he thought it best to communicate them to some of the 
leading gentry of tlie place; telling them, that he did not know, whither 
they were design'd as a snare to liim, or them; that, tor all their sakes, 
he wisht they would keep the peace; for, as lie woidd not perform what 
w;is i-eqnired, he hoped they would, at the same time, prevent his being 
brought to trouble. This method was kindly taken, and they assured 
liira, he should be safe, and free from all insults, unless there was a 
general insurrection, when they would be glad to have liim Avith them. 
There wns accordingly no disturbance in that place, tho, at the same 
time, the people were prepared, and resolved, to take Uie fields, as soon as 
Onnond landed. This passage I take notice of," adds Lockhart, "as it 
seems somewhat akin to the affair of Glencoe, and 'tis probable the like 
orders were given to other ofKcers." Tliat is, '• the like order-s," in the 
way of burning, shooting, and destroying, " conlrary to laio,''' with a pro- 
portionable indemnification for doing so, fr'om the Hanoverian! 

In Ii'eland, about the time that the English Tories, or Jacobites, 
mutilated George's statue at Westminster, some of tlie same party in 
Dublin cut in pieces the picture of George, which he had given to the 
Cor])oration, and which was set up in the Tholsel. Nor were 2 Pro- 
claiuations, one, fVom the Castle, offering £1000, and another, from the 
Corporation, offering £oOO, for a discovery on this matter, of any effect. 
" Such," exclaims a furious Whig, " was the hellish rage and spite of tho 
Irish Tories!" Meanwhile, Jauu's Francis Edward 8arstield, 2nd Earl 
of Lucan — already noticed, as distinguished at the reduction of Barcelona, 
\indev his stepfather, the Marshal Duke of Berwick, — was despatched, 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 319 

•with sevoral officers, into Ii-pland. to pxcite and orpinize rlue insurrec- 
tions, among the oppressed Catholics, in favour of the ohl royal taniily; 
through whose " restoi'ation " alone any relief was expected, from the 
rJromwello-Williamite yoke of colonial and sectarian o])pression, estaV)- 
lished there by the so-called "glorious Revolution." A Jacobite song of 
the day in Irish, still preserved, accordingly refers to the true King, or 
James, son of James, and his troops, corning, with the Duke,* over the 
ocean; the priests, as one man, imploring Christ; the bards songful, 
and their gloom dispelled ; while the poor Gaels of Inis Eilge — i. e., 
native or Milesian population of the 7whle inland — were antici[)ating the 
ari'ival of those who were on the sea. 

The mnin Spanish fleet of .5 select men-of-war, and about 20 transports, 
with 5000 sohliei-s. "partly Irish," and arms for 30,000 more, horses for 
cavalry, &c., designed to disembark near Bristol, where the Stuart cause 
"was moi-e popular than the Hanoverian, sailed in March from Cadiz, 
nnder Admiial Don Balthazar de Guevara and the Duke of Ormonde; 
but, when 50 leagues off Cape Finisterre, towards 1 o'clock in the morning, 
encountered a storm, vvhicli blew with such violence, for 48 hours, that 
the ships vKve shattp.reil, and disperseiJ, and a quanf/Ui/ of cannon, horses, 
d'c, had to ^'e thrown over board. Instead of proceeding for England, it 
therefore laus necessary, to make for snch ports of the Peninsvla, as it vya-t 
possible to reacii. This gi'eat disaster to Qrmonde, on the ocean, was 
followed, in Scotland, after a skirmish at the Pass of Strachells, near the 
Valley of Glenshiel, by the dispersion of the armed Jacobite loyalists, 
and the capitulation of the Spaniards there; since they had nothing to 
]io|)e for, unless through a co-operation with his movements, subsequent 
to landing. 

In Ireland, the Earl of Lucan arrived in Connaught, where he was 
allied, by his mother, to the great family of Clanricarde; and he, with 
other oilicers, would appear to have laid several trains of insurrection, 
which, upon Ormonde's reaching the English coast, were to ex])lode 
throughout the island, as useful distractions to the power of the enemy. 
But these designs were rendered altogether useless by the failure of 
Ormonde's enterprise, and became known to the Anglo-Hanoverian 
administi'ation in Dublin ; where, after an alarmed assemblage, in April, 
of the Whig Privy Council at the Castle, which did not break up till 2 
o'clock in the morning, the ado{)tion of hostile measures towards Catholic 
ecclesiastics, and the stationing guards of the colonial Militia through the 
streets Jiy night, a Proclamation was issued to this efi'ect — "That the 
Gc^vernment having certain intelligence, that Sarsjield, otherwise called 
Earl of Lucan, and several officers, who had lately landed and dispersed 
themselves in several pa7-ts of the kingdom, had held conferences with divers 
Papists of distinction, with design to foment a rebellion in favour of the 
Pretender ; and that they had certainly concerted a general insurrectiony 
v)hich was to be in all parts of tJie kingdom the same night and hour, 
having, to this end, their emissaries in each province; therefore it was 
thought fit, to give notice thereof to all the inhabitants, that they might 
take the necessai-y measures to apprehend the said Sarsjield, and all the 

* A Proclamation, from the Georgeite Lords Justices in Ireland, offered, for an 
apprehension of the Duke of Ormonde there, alive or dead, £10,000; a like docu- 
ment agjiinst him being issued in England, where, adds my authority, "the expec- 
tation of his landing was so great among the Jacobites, tliat they cou'd not help 
discovering it, in the insolence of their looks and expressions." 



320 iiisTanv OF TiiK iiuPH r.;;iGADES 

officers who trrre come info tlie liiirfdom irifh (hat desuju ; niid a rownrd of 
dClOOO sterling was promised lor scciii-iiig any 1 of i\\v, said iicrsoiis, 
witliin tlie space of .'? iiioiitlis. And, inasiinicli as tlici-e was reason t<» 
believe, that this traitorous dt>sio;n could not liave l)C(;n forniod and 
f'onientcd except Uy Papists, and otlicr peisous disad'ected to tlu^ (xovern- 
iiient, excited l)y the Popish Priests of th(! kingdom, all ollicials were 
required to (ij)/ireJieii(l (ill PopL^h Archhis'io/is, JJishups, Jesuits, Monks, 
ike, in order that the laws against the Papists, especially those of 
Ijinierick and Galway, might be |)ut into execution ; all seditious meet- 
ings, or assemhlies of I'apists and other ill-designing persftns, were 
likewise to he prevented, and <iJl striDKjers, trdrellc.rs, awl others,, locre 
to be caref'uUy examined, iv/io shmdil be suspected of disaffection to 
the person and i]overniaeut of Kin;/ George," &i\\ Those who wer(5 
connected with the proposed Jacobite risings for a " resloration," 
and emancipation in Ireland had consequently to proxidi' lor their 
safety, as well as they could; and, ((o the honour oj' the country I) 
iKme of them are recoi'ded to ha\c been Iictrayed. 'I'lu^ I'larl of Ijuean 
took shipping from KilcolgaTJ, in the ('ounty of (Jalway, for the ('onti- 
iient, which he reached; and he died, not long after, or in i\1ay. at St. 
Oinei's, in Flanders; being the last Earl of Lucan of tlie Sai'slield i'auiily.* 
Su(;h were the circumstances, by wliich the Irish, engaged in those nnd(M'- 
takings of the Court of Madrid, w<!re disappointed in their hopes of con- 
ti'ibuting to the " I'estoration " of th(>- Prince, whom tJiei/ regarded as 
their lawful Sovereign. But their counti-ymcMi, wiio were* appointed to 
serve, with the Spanish army in Sicily, agafnst the (Jrermans, and who 
thus had a better field for disiJiiction, duly avail(;d tlnimsclves of it; 
]iiirticularly at the alfair of Melazzo, wIku'c they behaved wiLli similar 
valour, to that dis])layed at Cremona against the sanie enemy — " 1 single 
brigade of them," writes the gallant Wogan to Swift, " having di'iven the 
whole Cernian army into the town, or the sea, after they had been deserted, 
by the S[)anish troops, and Generals, to a man !" On this occasion, when 
6UU0 Imp(nial iui'antry, and 8UU cavalry are mentioned to have sur- 

• According to a piihlisliod letter of Lady f!lain'ieanle in •Inly, 1717, to licr 
graiiilsoii, the Duke of Liria, his stepbrother, the liarl of Lucan, was in audi 
narrow circumstances notwitlistandiiirf liia post in the Spanish service, the jiension 
of ;^l)()0 livres a year attaciied to it liaviii;^ Ijccn reduced to 2()()(), and, iroiu 1714, or 
about i) years, left totally in arroar, that lie was ahove 8000 livres in debt; was con- 
Bcquciitly obliged to n!(jucst the writer for pecuniary assistance, and to (juit the 
service of .S)iain foi- that of Fi'auce ; wli(>re ho was maile a supernuinci'ary or 
refonufd Colonel in the liish lb)rse Jle^iuient of Nugent; tlie pay o which 
apponitineut was, however, but 2000 livi-es a year. Lady (Jlaiiricarde likewise 
mentioning, that "he had a most dangerous lit of sickness soone after he. left; 
K])aine," adds, she intemhid assistintj liini against Christmas tliat year with what; 
8he could, " beiin^ ,t20i), though it be very insufficient " The good Lady liiialiy 
Buggests to the Duke of Liria, tliat his father, the Marshal Duke of Berwick, 
having so many con.sideralile commands at his disposal, something belter might bo 
gotten for jioor Lord Lucan, than the small post which he was "left to live and 
subsist on." Lord Lucan's decease is noticed in the Loudon (jazettc, May, 1719, 
No. 5747, under a ))aragra[)li from "Paris," thus — " M. Harslield, called Lord 
Lucan, who had lately been in Ireland, died, at St. Omers, on the 12th instant." 
The facts of this nobieman having been an officer of the Irish JJrigade in Fivnice 
f r .sonic time, and of his having been employed as related in L'eland, Iiavi;, through 
/(i.j ]>(;r.s()ii, connei;t(id th(! Spanish designs in favoiu' of the Stuarts witli th(! history 
of Ihdl lirigade; though his iiOrdshiji, by acting as he did iu Ireland, nnist have 
returned to the service of Spam, agaiubt whom France was tliuii allied wiLi» 
J^iigluud. 




JAMES lUTTLJCH, 

(DXJKiE o:f opiiyco3srr)E.) 2te 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 321 

prised the Spaiiisli camp Vjefire dny-break, they are stated to have had 
altont 2200 men, including General Vefcerani, and 37 otficens, killed, 
wounded, and taken, and the Hilu'iTio-Spaniards not more than 6U0 
killed, or wounded, with 2 Colonels, and some other otiicers. Hence, 
alleges a hostile contem, orary, respecting the Irish military in Spain — 
"they consist, at present, of 8 ngiments, at least, and are in as great 
esteem there, upon account of their eminent services to that Crown, 
especially in the late War of Sicily, as theii- countrymen are in Fi-ance." 

In a Stuart state jwper of the following year, 1720, from the pen of 
the celebrated Irish Protestant Jacobite, Dr. Charles Leslie, being au 
application to the Duke of Orleans, Regent of France, to espouse the 
cause of James III., considerable light Is thrown on the feelings of the 
paitizans of the Stuart family, connected with the preceding expedi- 
tion from Si)ain under the Duke of Ormonde, &c. Having noted, hovv 
" the great discontents of all ranks of men, in England, Scotland, 
and Ireland, have been so visible for these last 5 years," (or since tlie 
Hanovei-ian accession,) as to be unnecessary t(j d(itail, thougli thei-e was 
" 1 thing to be accounted for, how the Government in England have been 
hitherto abhi to support themselves rt^a/Vi^-^ ',) parts in [0 of Ute people,* 
who not only wish, but would most willingly and vigorously concur, 
to remove them," the Doctor says — " The security of the Government is 
reducible to I point, that the people have hitherto been utterLi/ destitute 
of a small Ividy of reyaUir troops, to give a hey inning to the design, and 
to Diahe head at fir at, and of anns, and otJier rnditiry stores, to put into 
the hands of the majority of the ibatiin, who are most ready and impatient, 
to receive and use tlif.m, for the vecovery of their libertifs. There are 
a greater number of officers, of all ranks, and degrees, discarded, and 
dispersed in the country, tiian are at present m the armies of i\\e usurper. 
These men are equally desirous to appear in the rescue of their country, 
and only want tlie means of doing it. And no man in England, oi' either 
party, doubts, but that, if the Duke of Or/nond could have lanAed from 
ISpain last year, with the forces and arms designed for the expedition, it 
Would have restored King James, proh'xbly v}ithout a ivar, but certainly 
wiih a war I f 2 or 3 niont/is at moft. And, it is evident, that the attemjjt 
miscarried, oid.y from the great distance, and situation, of Spain." Should 
his Royal Highness, the Pungent i)f France, con.sent to undertake the 
expedition to England, for another " restoration," in which, it is alleged, 
Le would easily succee I, then, continues the Doctor, '' at least 2l) of the 
must cunsif/erabl", 7nen in Engl an I, of opa'erU fortune, are vyiUin.g to come 
over into France, anl return loith the troops his Royal H tghness loill lend 
them., and take their fate wiUi th.ein; and liis Royal Higlmess' discernment 

* This estimate, by Dr. Leslie, of the extent of -Jacobite princi[)les, combiued 
with those estimates cited in the 1st note to tliis Book, will farilier siiow what very 
little chance the House of tfuiiover would have had to reign in Great Britain and 
Ireland, were the contest between that family and the Stuarts to have been sub- 
mitted for determination to "universal suffrage," or " Vox I opitli, vox Did." 
Indeed, the year j)revious to Dr. Leslie's writing his aljove-cited state-paper, or in 
the autumn of 1719, a Jacobite tract, to the effect of this remark, being entitled 
'■'Ex ort ti((j te. judko. Vox PopuLi, Vox Dei,' cost its printer, John Aiatthew.s, 
a trial, and condemnation to death, at London ; pursuant to which, though only 
an apprentice, havi.,g 3 years still to serve, and aged but 19, he was liaiKjcd, at 
Tyburn, in November! Here was a Whig -Hanoverian or '"glorious-revolution" 
illustration of lilx-rtii of the press — with a ivni/eaitce ! If the will of the ])eo))le be 
rejjresented by "universal suifrage," was George L as justly King of Great Britaia 
aiid Ireland, as Napoleon IIL is Emperrr of France? 

Y 



322 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

must see clearly, that mere disgust against the present Government wnnhl 
nut induce lliem to put their wliole fortunes upon 1 stake, if tlteij were 
tidt infaMibly assured of its success. And, as tbey would not desire his 
Koyal Highness to undertake it without sucli infallibi/itt/ of success, tho' 
yieihaps a smaller number might do, they desire 10,000 foot, and 2000 
liorse and dragoons, with 20. <u' 30,000 arms, as a force which their 
adversaries cannot possibly make head against, nor so nmch as dispute 
tlie game. And here, they beg leave to lay before his Royal Highness, 
tliat they conceive, that no 1 circumstance can contribute so much to 
niake the Englisli nation press to take up those arms, in the quarrel of 
their own country, and of France, as the Duke of Orniond being at the 
head of those troops. Tliis would entirely i-emove the only possible objec- 
tion against such an invasion, as if France ])roposed the conquest of the 
kingdom. And whereas possibly an army of 12,000 men, under ai«y 
other General, might continue only the .same number, at least for some 
time; U7uler the Duke of Ormond, the n ost belox^ed, a,nd esteemed, man ever 
England had, tvhatever arms the// had, would be as ma.ny men in 10 
days; and, on their approach to Lundon, swell to 40, or 50,000 laen. But 
this is most certain, that, in this cause, the Duke of Ormond is. in his own 
person, very juany thou sand men; and, is alone more than all the otlier heads 
if the party pnti together, in the "ffcctions, and expectations, of the English 
tuition." Of the Tories of England, it is further remarked, " they 
would nou) throw off the yoak which crushes them, if his Koyal High- 
ness will enable them, by his generous assistance, &c." Of Scotland and 
Ireland, it is added — " Tho' there cannot be the least doubt of the 
unquestionable success of an attempt made in England with the forces 
and armies mentioned, yet .so small an adiHtional number could infallibly 
light the fames in Scotland and Ireland, that, if his Royal Higlmess 
pleases to embrace the design, it shall be made very clear to him, that 
less than 5000 would be sufficient for both those nations." How very 
disaffected Scotland was, as well ou dynastic as on national or Anti-Union 
grounds, is sufficiently known ; and the not less discontented condition 
of Ireland was marked in the deep disappointment and grief felt there by 
the enslaved Catholics, or great majority of her pf)pulation, more espe- 
cially those of the older or Milesian race, at the recent })eace which 
Spain had been obliged to make, accom])anied by a renunciation of the 
•cause of James III. At this peace, a contemporary native poet alleges 
lofiiis .brother Gaels in Erin, how 

"despaivinc; they shriek, 



For Spain's flag in defeat and defection is furl'd! 

and in reference to the Penal Code " ascendancy," or race of upstart 
sectarian "settlers," from whose obnoxious domination 7io deliverance 
was to be hoped, except through another "restoration of the Stuarts," 
he passionately exclaims to Heaven — 

■'* Just Power ' that for Moses the wave didst divide, 

Look down on the hind, where f/ii/ followers pine! — 
JLook down upon Erin! and crusli the dark pride, 
■Of the scourge of l/iij people —the foes of thi/ shrine." 

In r721, died 1 of the leading officers of the Irish Brigade, "Jean 
de Gaydou, M^irechal de Camp," or Major-General John Gaydon, brother 
of the Chevalier Richard Gaydou of irishtown, Major of the Regiment 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 323 

of Dillon, wlidse lionoumble share in the liVjeration of the Princess 
Sobie.ski has i een narrated. The name of Gayden, or Gaydon, is to be 
found, several times, between the years 1333 and 1589, among the chief 
civic magistrates of Dnl)lin, under their different designations of Pro- 
vosts, or Mayors ; and it was connected, in the 16th and ITth centuries, 
v\ith the ])Ossession of the Castles, &c., of Iiishtown, Straffan, and other 
property in the County of Kildare, until divested of those estates by 
British revolutionary confiscation. After the accession of King .Jauiesi 
II., among the promotions of Irish Catholic gentlemen, in the army "f 
their own country, was John Gaydon, to a commission, in 1687, as Cornet 
of Horse. In 1689, or at the beginning of the War of the Revolution in 
Ireland, he was a Lieutenant in Colonel Patrick Sarsfield's Regiment of 
Hfirae. He accompanied the Irish araiy to France, after the Treaty of 
Limerick, as a Cornet in the Gardes du Corps. In 1692, and 1693, he 
served in Normandy, and Flanders; in 1694, on the Moselle; in 1695, 
on the Meuse; and in 1696, and 1697, again on the Moselle. After the 
disbanding of the Irish Horse Guards in 1698. he was commissioned, 
March 2oth, to hold rnnk as a Mestre-de-Canip-de-Cavalerie, attached to 
the Irish Regiment of Sheldon. In 1701. with this regiment in Italy, 
he was at the combat of Chiari ; and, in 1702, at the battle of Luzzara. 
Removed, in 1703, to Germany, he was at the ca))tui'es of Brisach and 
Landau, and the victory of S[)ire. Fi-om 1704 to 1707, he served in 
Flanders, where he fought at the battle of Ramillies, in 1706. Briga- 
dier, by brevet, March 3rd, 1708, he was at the battle of Oudenarde, 
that year, and the next, at the battle of Malplaquet. Continued ia 
Flanders till 1712, he was particularly distinguished, in 1711, under the 
Comte de Gassion, at the surprise, and overthrow, of a considerable corps 
of the enemy, under Lieutenant-General Hom[)esch, near Bouchain ; and 
fought at the successful action of Denain, and the subsequent reductions 
of Douay, Quesnoy, and Bouchain. Transferred to Germany in 1713, 
lie was at the taking of Landau, and Fribui-gh, and the defeat of General 
Vauboinie. He was attached to the caiii[)of the Lower Meuse, in 1714; 
obtained the grade of Maj'eclial de Camp, by bi-evet, February 1st, 1719; 
and died, September 11th, 1721. aged 62 years. 

In 1725, a veteran of, I believe, the Clannaboy branch of his ancient 
name, or Lieutenant-Colonel and Brigadier Gordon O'Neill (the younger) 
was "gathered to his fathers." He came to France, with Lord Mount- 
caNhebs, or the 1st Irish Brigade, in 1690, as an Ensign in the Regiment 
of the Honourable Daniel O'Brien, subsequentl}'' that of Clare; and 
remained, under Catinat, with the Army of Italy, till, obtaining a com- 
pany, or being made Captain, August 7th, 1694, in the Regiment of Lee, 
he was attached, in 1695, to the Army of Germany; in 1696, to that of 
the Meuse; and, in 1697, was at the taking of Ath. In 1698, he was 
at the brilliant encampment, and review, under Louis XIV. in person, 
near Comjiiegne. He was with the Army of Flanders in 1701; and with 
that of Gei-many, from 1702 to 1704. During this period, he was, from 
1702 to 1703, at the reduction of Kehl, the successful affairs of Horn- 
berg and Munderkingen, the 1st battle, or victory of Hochstedt, and the 
raptures of Augsburg and Ulm. Major of his regiment, by brevet of 
January 30th, 17U4, he fought at the 2nd battle, or defeat, of Hochstedt, 
otherwise Blenheim, in August: and was, September 14th, appninled 
Lieutenant-Colonel. He was employed in the army of the Moselle in 
. 1705 and 1706; and at all the sucuesstul expeditions of the Marshal de 



324 IIlSTOltY OF Tlir. lUISll niilOADKS 

Vilhus in Fniiiconiii ami SwaM-a, in 1707. lie scr\»Ml, iVom 170.'^ to 
1712, on the Kliino, or in Flr.ndt'rs ; and, in llir latlcr (|iiaili'i'. wn 
en<>;agO(l at Arlenx, Denain, J>oiiay, C^)iirsnoy, ami Unmliaiu. In tiit 
next oi- C(>nehulin<: canipaiijn of tlic war against, tlic I mpnialists, he \\;is 
at tli(> rednctiDns of Lamlan and j^'i i'aii^li. r>i-i^adi( r, liy lufvclol A|iiil 
'.h-i\, 1721, he wa.s still Licntcnant ( Vilond of t lie lu'j;inirnt ol' liCc, at. Iii^ 
dt'cfast\ in January, 17l.'r'. 

The liigh reptitatidU whii'li llie Irish I'rij^adcs alirnaii liy lliis |i,'rii>il 
Mttained, and tht* proiiorlionahh' aiiprchcnsion with w hirli, ns aUaclicij i.i» 
t'le ILonse of Stuart, they vvcrt; rcjjjardi'd l>y tht^ sn|)|Kiit(Ts of llic Ucsolii- 
tion and Hanoverian dynasty in England, arc liacihly cxiiresscd liy a 
writer of the latter opinions, Mr. i'orniaii, in a pauiphict, dated intni 
"Amsterdam. 8th of Antrnst, 1727," and entitled, '• .1 Lettfii' to the /ii<//i.f. 
JJtmourahJe Sir Iiohert Siiffon^for /)isl>(iii</ltif/ flw, Irish lieijimfiiUs in ti0 
^furvice of Francn a)ul SjMiiji." [''rom this pamphlet I ^ive the follow in.; 
extracts : — 

" Amongst several things, whi<-h, I think, h;i\c heen hitherto omitted, 
for the fntnre safety of (Jreat Britain, 1 (Miiiidt comprehend, hy what 
lionest ])olicy it i.s, that tla^ Irish reginuMits arc stjil pci'inillcd tn remaii 
in the service of !*' ranee. Tf that nation is sincerely resohcd to keep hci 
treaties with r.,ilaiii. .she has no great, occasion for their service : l)ut, it' 
she is only wlncdling us to giini time to I'e-estahlisli her former power, 
which we can still givt^ a check to, we shall In- \cry much wanting to 
ourselves, if W(^ sull'ci' those regiments to enutinue any longei- on foot. 
As long as ther(^ is a liody of Irish Koman ( 'athcliclc tmops ;iiiroad, tlio 
Clanalier will always make some figure in I'luropc, l)y the credit they 
gi\(> him; and he coiisider'd as a Prince, that has a liravc and wdl- 
(iisciplined army of veterans at his ser\ice; llio' lie wants that oppoi- 
tunity to cunploy them at present, which he expects time, and I'diiune, 
will fav(mr him with. Should l''ranc<', wdicn thrown wanton with power, 
lorget her engagcnu'uts, ami oMigations, to Ihitain, can she anywhero 
find snch proper instriunents as the Irish regiments to exe(aite sncli 
enterprizes as she may then undertake, in favour of the Chevaliei-'s pi-e- 
tensions, when they S(piare with her dwn interest, and ])iiv,ite \icws'{ 
They are P>i-itish snhjeets, tlu^y -peak the saun^ languagii with us, and ai-o 
conse(]uently tin; fittest troo])s to invad(! ns witli. They ar(i season'd to 
(langer.s, and so jxa-feeted in the art of war, that, not only the Serjeants 
«nd (^)rpo)'als, but even the ])rivate nu'U, can inak<; V(a'y good oHicers, 
upon occasion. In v}liaf, ptirt of I he arnii/ noarer tlieij luiva been p/aced, 
theij have ahotu/s niM with nu-cess, and, 'upon .several ocxasious, wait, 
honour, v:here fhe French, iheinselren, n:a.rlike as they are, hare receirel, 
an affront. 'J\) thcii' valour, in a. grciit, measure, h'raucc owes, not oidy 
most of what ti'ophies sin; gain'd in the late; war, imt even her own pre- 
servation. And, in King William's I'eign, tlu; Duke of Savoy had a 
fatal proof of their couivige, nmUa- the conduct of t Ik; brave Lord Monnt- 
cashel, so well known, in the Court of King Charles II., by tlio name of 
Justin Maccarly. 'I'lnsy wrestinl (/remmia out of the iiands of the great 
Eugeiu^, when, i)y surprise;, Ik; had mad(! himself mastia- of all the town, 
except tlu! Irish (|uart(!rs, and s;iw the Marshal Duke de Villei-oy liia 
j>risoner, who was takeu by Colonel Mac Donnall,* au Irishman in the 

• 'Nat ColtDi/'l, liiit f'li/it'ilu, as iiicntioiicil in my n;irrativ(! of the aHair of ( !ri;niona. 
Ill tlic iiai)i|jlilct of Fuuauu, I'loui wliicli i givo tlio uxLiucLs in the text, he inakca 



IN TIIR SERVICE OF FRANCE. 325 

Emppror's service. By that action, liardly to be parallel'd in history, 
they saved the whole French ai-niy on that side of tlie A1|»h. At 8|jiio- 
liaek, if mv memory does not fail me, ]\Iajor-Oeneral Nu;^ent's Ilegitncnt 
of Horse, by a brave charge upon 2 Regiments of Cuirassiers, brought a 
compleat victory to an army, upon which Fortune was just turning her 
•back. At Ramillies, the Allies lost but 1 pair of colours, which the 
Jioyal Irish in the service of France took from a German regiment. At 
Toulon, Lieutenant-General Dillori distinguished himself, and chiefly 
contributed to the pre>iervation of that important [dace. To the Irish 
lifgiments, also, under the conduct of that intrepid and experienced 
ofHcer, Count Medavi himself very generously attributed his victory over 
the Imperialists in Italy. And the poor Catalans will for ever have 
reason to remember tlie name of Mr. Dillon, for the great share he had in 
the famous siege of J3arcelona, so fatal to tlieir nation. Sir Andrew Lee, 
Lieutenant-Genci-al, and one of the Great Crosses of the Order of St. 
Louis, shewed likewise how consummate a soldier he was, when he 
defended Lisle, under the Marshal Duke de BoulHeurs, against those 
thunderbolts of war, the Prince of Savoy, and our own invincible Duke 
of Marll)orough. And Lieutenant-Ger.eral Rothe has, by several memo- 
I'ablc actions. [>articularly his conduct under the Marshal Duke de Ber- 
wick, in the late war between France and Spain, acquir'd an immortal 
lepntation, and shown himself not infeiior to any of the best of the 
Iii>.+i Generals abroad. In sliort,. Sir, the Irish troops did the Allies 
the most considerable damage which they received in the la-t war, and 
will do so again, if another war should haj)pen, while they continue 
regimented. 

" I have mention'd a few of the actions of the Irish, to let Britons 
see what sort of an enemy is still reserv'd in petto against them. And, 
when you call to mind the late great Earl Cadogan, and several of hia 
counti-ynieu, who, at the Revolution, took the right side of the question, 
and served their late Majesties, King William, and Queen Anne, yon 
will the more readily believe, that I have not been too e.Kti'avagant, ia 
representing the courage of those of the same nation abroad. They con- 
sist, at present, of a Regiment of Horse, and 5 Ri^giments of Foot, in 
F'-ance; all double or treble officer'd ; so that, including the Reform'd 
Officers, placed a la suite of the garrisons, they can, by advancing some 
of the pi'is'ate men to be Serjeants and Corporals, and the present Ser- 
jeants and Corporals to be Lieutenants and Ensigns, furnish, aimmgst 
themselves, a sufficient number of expi-rienced officers for 4U, or 50,000 
men upon occasion. And I believe their number in Spain is equal, if 
not su[)erior, to that in France, j)rovided they have not sufHr'd 
extremely by tlie siege of Gibraltar. * 

" This is as impartial and as full an account of the Iri.sh abroad as 
the subject requires. Some of them by inclination, but most of thetn 
by interest, as the case stands, are entirely devoted to the Chevalier; 
und the hopes of being restored to their estates make the Irish ofKcers 

Botne mistakes, refjuiriiii; no more notice here, than to remark, that he either 
corrected them in liis sul'seciuent pamphlet concerning the Irish, or that they will he 
fuuiid corrected in in;/ accounts of the several occurrences to wliich he lefers. 

* At the siege of (Jiliialtar in 1727, alluded to by Formaii, we see, in the 
Spanii-h armj', the lieginicnts of Irlainha and Limerick, with the Colonels and 
I ons riayniond Bourke, (Jliarles (Jusack, Wilham Lacy, Jaiuea Lelaud, Lewia 
O'Mahony, and Peter Sherlock. 



326 HISTORY OF niK inisii hkmcadics 

fl.-iily wisli for an oncasion of fxofcisiii'j^ tlicir aversion to tlic jircscnt 
e.stal)lislmi('iifc. In tli(; year 17io. as many of tluMii as tomid an oppor- 
tunity slipp'd over to Scotland; amongst whom wei-<; some (jrtMUMal, and 
s(!V('ral Field, Ollicicn-s; hut they could not ai'i'ive time enough to ht^at tlni 
battle of Dumhiain. And the French (^>urt, f;ir from shewing any displea- 
sure at their thus abandoning their colours without leav(% seem'd rather 
to wink at it. . . . You are sensilde. Sir, and so will every honest 
Briton bo, wlien he seriously considers the case, that, while tin; Irish 
regiments an; sutler'd to continue in the service of l''ranc(^ and Spain, 
tliey will always furnish those nations with instruments to carry on their 
designs against 'tis, and prove a nursery of inveterate enemies to Hi'itain 
as long as she continues under the government of the august House of 
Hanover, which, I hope, will be to the end of time. They daily make 
reci'uits in London and s(ivcral parts of Ireland, tlio' surrounded with, 
dilHculti(!s, which, one woidd think, ought to l»e insuperable, under a 
Ministry, so eelel)rated f )r its vigilance and ability." 

" His late Majesty* (of glorious and immortal memory) was suddtsidy 
called from the British throne, to take possession of a better. If, th'-n, 
through any I'atal aceidtmt, we should fall under a minority (which God 
forliid!) would not such an unhappy change afford an ample opportunity 
to ill-designing men for carrying on their wicked schemes against tln^r 
country^ If, in such a conjuncture, a Ministry, or Juncto, slionld start 
Tip, with secret inclinations for the Chevalier, coii'd such ])eople have, 
better engines to set to work, than the Irish troo^is abroad? Or, in thu 
mean time;, could his friends, were they in power, take a more ]>olitick 
Btep in his favoui", than to intail Pretendei'ship upon Brit tin, of which 
those troops are the very vitals ^ Pretendershij), you know, will always 
pi-opagate plots and cons|)iracies. For tho' the Chevalier shoid<l remain 
indolent and inactive, yc^t such men would never want a pretext to 
coin tliein, as long as those regiments recruit, as tlic^y must necessarily do, 
in his Majesty's dominions." 

"But here 2 objections may, perhaps, be brouglit against what I pro- 
pose. First, that the Irish troops abroad are no more, at present, tiiaii 
soldiers of fortune; and that it would he a great pity to reduce so many 
brave men to a starving condition. Secondly, that France and Spain, 
being independent in themselves, will not consent to disband those 
regiments." 

" As to the 1st objection. If the Irish ofHcfM-s abroad are no more 
than soldiers of fortune, they can continue so in French and Spaiiisli 
regiments, as well as in Irish regiments; and several of them may merit 
a |)rovisiou in his Majesty's German troops, and also in the troops of 
Prussia and H es.se- Cas.sel. But, if they are still fricuids, followers, 
devotees of the PretendiM-, and tools of France, my arguments stand good 
against them. When King Charles II. was in exile, the Irish otiicers 
then abroad w(n'e very kind to him; most of tlw.m privately cotdrlhutiitij 
a good part of their pa,y to help to support him hi his distress; yet 
they were nothing considered for it, after the Restoration. Tho' there 
was then no Pretender to fear, they were, nevertheless, disbanded. And 
fchall the [)resent Irish hav<; more favour shewn them, when they ])uli- 
licUly acknowledge themselves servants and subjects to his Majesty 3 
Competitor, \s\\o is perpetually allarming Great Britain with his motions? 

• G<;oru;e I. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. '327 

The braver the present Irish are, the mf)re daiigerous they are; and the 
greater strength my [)ropt)sal canies with it, for disVianding thein. But, 
by the word disbanding, I don't mean entirely cashiering, and sending 
them to seejf their bread, after so h)ng a service. No, Sir, I only mc^an 
to abolish the name of Irish foi'ces abi-oad, by incor[)()i'ating them into 
French and S[)anish regiments. By such means, that military nursery 
of inveterate enemies to his Majesty's title, and the British constitution,' 
Avill be entirely broken, and dispersed. Exre|)t General Lee's, Lord 
Clare's, and General Dillon's Regiments, (which are a [nirt of the Lord 
Mountcashell's Bi'igade,) very few will suffer by the change. Tho.se 
Begiments, indeed, are ujjon foreign pay, which is higher than that of 
France. But what have Britons to say to that 1 Is it the interest of 
their enemies, or their own safety, that they are to consult, upon this 
occasion 1 The Royal Irish, commanded by General Rothe, are upon 
French pay; so is General Nugeiit's Hor.se, and the Duke of Berwick's 
Regiment of Foot ; yet the officers have all along lived, as well as those 
of the other Regiments;. and what should hinder them from doing so 
under French, as well as under Irish, Colonels 1" 

"Some men of good sense, but little knowledge of Courts, may wonder 
why France and Spain have not taken notice of tiiis, and, by incorporating 
those regiments long ago," have ".saved tho.se of their own communion in 
Ireland from what they call a daily persecution? But this riddle is easily 
solved. The Irish regiments were, and will always be, of too great con- 
sequence to their designs to be parted with, upon such friv duus reasons 
as religion and humanit// dictate to some so7't of politicians. They have as 
great an interest in keeping them up, as we have in insisting upon the 
breaking of them. When they are once broke, or incorporated, the 
officers will be too much dispersed to be brought together upon cccasion, 
without giving too great an allarm. The}' will not so readily obtain the 
connivance of French or Irish Colonels for deserting their colours, when 
the Chevalier may have occasion for their service, as in the year 17L5. 
And there will then be no more nurseries, as I have already observ'd, fop 
training up young officei's in the principles. and invetei-acy of the old ones. 
The private men will, also, for want of recruits, dwindle, in a very few 
years, to too inconsiderable a numbers to be any ways serviceable to the 
Chevalier, or formidable to us." 

"I come now to the 2nd objection, that France and Spain will not 
consent to disband those troops. But why not? Are they not British 
sulyects, and has not Britain a right to demand it? Does not her security 
re(piire it ? Yes, certainly, if the author of the Enquiry has been 
ingenuous, in the view he has given us, of the late designs and inclinations 
of the Court of Madrid. Should Fi-ance refuse it, we ought, from that 
moment, to suspect her, and insist the more strenuously upon it, and 
apprehend a snake in the grass." 

The Emperor Charles VI. of Austria, by conspiring, in 1733, with 
Ru.ssia, to thrust a foreign or Saxon Prince upon Poland as her King, 
instead of the native and duly-elected candidate for that Crown, Stanislas 
Leszczyn.ski, father-in-law of Louis XV., provoked hostilities with France. 
The Marshal Duke of Berwick was consequently ordered, October 12th, 
to cro.ss the Rhine, with 52 battalions and 78 squadrons; including 5 of 
the Irish battalions of Berwick, Bulkeley, Clare, Dillon, and Roth, that 
mnde about 33(»0 men and officers. The ])assage of the troops, artillery, 
ami ammunition occu])ied till the 18th. But Fort Kehl was invested tlie 



3Z8 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

14th, the trenches were opened the night of the 19th-20th, and hy the 
28th, the Governor, General Pl'uhl, beat the oliamade, and subsequently 
surrendered, on terms suitaV)le to his honourable resistance under tlie cir- 
cumstances; in testimony of which, he was presented by the ]\1iirshal with 
2 pieces of cannon, besides tliose mentioned in the capitulation. This 
conquest terminated the campaic;ii in Germany; nothing else more 
remarkable having taken place than the following incident connected 
with the Irish there. In consequence of some irregularities which 
occurred in 1 of the regiments of the Brigade, its Lieutenant-Colonel was 
despatched from Kehl, with a serious communication on the subject, 
from the Duke of Berwick to Louis XV. The King, on the delivery of 
the Duke's message by the officer, observed, with emotion — "The Irish 
troops give me more uneasiness than all the rest of my foi-ces." To which 
the Lieutenant-Colonel replied — "All your Majesty's enemies make the^ 
same complaint!" In Italy, a French force under the veteran Marshal 
Duke de Villars, acting with the Piedmontese, or Sardinians, under their 
gallant King, Charles Emanuel III., between October and January, 
conquered the Imperial Duchy of Milan. As there were no Irish troops 
with Villars, it will suffice to remark en passant of these operations, that 
the stoutest defence opposed to the King and the Marshal was, ia 
NovemVjer, at Pizzigitone, by its Governor, Langton, an Irish officer iu 
the Imperial service, who obtained a proportionably creditable caj>itu- 
lation. 

In 1734, the Marshal Duke of Berwick, passing the Bhine in April, 
with the Begiments of Bulkeley, Dillon, Berwick and Fitz-James in 
his army, and dislodging, with little loss, about 12,000 Germans from the 
lines of Etlingen in May, proceeded to invest tlie important fortress of 
Philipsburgh; well supplied with artillery, annnunition and provisions, 
and garrisoned by between 4000 and 5000 men, under an experienced 
officer, the Count de Wutgenau. The Marshal broke ground the night 
of June 3rd-4th, and was killed (as elsewhere more fully noticed) on the 
12th. But the operations were carried on by his aV)le successor-in- 
command, the veteran Marquis d'Asfeld, wdio, though obliged to ])rotect 
himself with immense lines against Prince Eugene desirous to raise the 
siege, and though having, at the same time, to suffer much from hardships 
and disease, as well as from the resistance of the garrison of Philipsburgh, 
reduced that forti'ess to capitulate, July 18th. At this siege, stated to 
have cost the Germans about 1200 men and the French above 3000, the 
trenches were mounted by the Irish battalions of Berwick, Bulkeley, 
Clare, Dillon, and Roth; among which, those of Clare and Dillon are 
specially referred to as distinguished. The rest of this campaign consisted 
in movements of no general interest. 

The campaign of 1735 in Germany, the last of this short war, was one 
of manoiuvres between the Imperial forces and those of France. Of the 
Irish Brigade, however, Bulkeley's, Roth's, and Berwick's battalions 
were stationed in Flanders, and only Clare's and Dillon's were employed 
in Germany. " The Irish regiments," says a contemporary, in reference 
to these 2 last-named corps thei-e, "bravely secured the retreat of the 
French army out of the Empire, altho' closely follow'd by the brave Count 
Seckendorff, who did his utmost to cut off their rear, but was as bravely 
disappointed, by the intrepid behaviour of the Irish." 

The year 173G was marked by the decease of a veteran survivor of the 
War of the Revolution iu Ireland, and of the subsequent campaigns of 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 329 

til*' BrifrarTe on t>ie Oontinetit during Louis XTV.'s reifm — thp Comte 
Cliarles dc Skclton. M:ifecli;il de C;imi> de Cavalerie, or MMJor-General of 
Jlorsp. He belonged to a race, distingnisbcd, in several branches, abroad 
and at lioni-e, for loyalty to the House of Stuart. Its principal representa- 
tive, iSir Bevil Skelton, having been Envoy Extraordinary for King 
C'iiai-les TI. at various Courts in Germany, tilled the like post for King 
J.inies 11. in Holland and France. After suffering a temporary dis- 
credit owing to the Orange treason vvhicii surrounded the throne, he was 
iTstore.l to the favour he had so well merited; was rewarded, for ])is 
zealous attachment to his master's interest, by being apjiointed Governor 
of the Tower of London, and Colonel of a Regiment of Foot; and, 
retiring to France with the royal family, he was Comptroller of the 
Household to the exiled Court at St. Germain, till his death, in 169G. 
Jn 1689, among the persons of consideration who came over with the 
King from Fiance to Ireland, or followed him soon after, was Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel John Skeltou, who obtained the same rank in the Infantry 
Itegiment ot Donough Mac Carthy. Earl of CI '.ncarty. Jame.s Skelton 
was mortally wounded, as Colonel, in the last co\nliat \)efore Thomond 
Bridge at Limerick, in October, 1691. Thomas Skelton was a Lieu- 
tenant in the King's or Royal Irish Regiment of Foot Guards. Charles 
Skelton, the subject of this notice, entered the French army in 1688. 
In 1689, passing into Ireland to defend the roy;il cause, he became a 
Lieutenant in Colonel John Parkei-'s Regiment of Horse; served 
through the whole of the Irish war. during which he was at the battles 
of the Boyne and Aughrim, and siege ot Limerick; and returned to 
France in 1691. Aide-de-Camp, from this time, to the Duke of Ven- 
donie, he accompanied that i-enowned commander through aU his cam- 
]iaigns, till his death. He was commissioned, March 4th, 1703, as a 
reformed Me.stre-de-Camp to the Irish Horse Regiment of Sheldon. He 
Avas made a Brigadier, by brevet. March 21)rh, 1710, and Marechal de 
Camp, by brevet. February 1st, 1719. He then served no longer, and 
died at Paris, with " the character of an excellent officer, and a very 
gallant man,'' May 24:th, 1736, aged 62 years. 

In 1738, died an Irish Jacobite officer, much trusted in Stuart and 
Bourbon politics, Nathaniel Hooke ; by creation of James II., in France, 
Baron de Hooke of Hooke Castle, County Waterford. The name, 
originally La Hougue, fiom the lordship s'>-called in Normandy, wa.s 
iei)resented among the French conquerors of England under Duke 
William ; and afterwards among the early settlers from that country in 
Ireland under Henry 11. in the southern locality above-mentioned, as 
finally, or by Anglican corru])tion, Hooke. Nathaniel was the 2nd son 
of an offshoot of the old line of Hooke Castle, (expelled V)y the Crom- 
wellians.) or John Hooke of the County Westmeath. Having served 
in King James's Guards, with whom he came to France, and been 
attached there, as a reformed Colonel, to the Irish Regiment of Galnioy, 
he was tran.sferred, with the like grade, to the Regiment of S]iaire, by 
oriler of January 8th, 1703. In this regiment, he served that year with 
the army of Flanders; in 1704, and, except while in Scotland, in 1705, 
on the JVloselle; and, in 1706, at the battle of Ramillies. In 1707, he 
was sent Hgain from Louis XIV., and the Stuart C-ourt at St. Germain, 
to Scotland, in order to turn to account the national e.xasperation there 
at the Union, by making anvmgements for the .Jacol)ite invasion from 
Fiiujce, undertaken the following -year. Created Brigadier by brevet, 



33 ") HISTORY OP THE IRISH BRIGADES 

Marcli '^1(1, 170S. lie was 1 of tlie General Officers to accompany liis yoiin<> 
Sovereinu, as James III. of Eni,'laud and Ireland and JaiiUis VTII. of 
Scotland, in the ex])edition referred to. On the frnstratii>n of the pro- 
]iosed landin^j; in Scotland, he returned to Fi-ance, and was present, that 
cnnpaiijn, at the Uattle of Oudenarde. Jn 17(>"J, he was at the battle of 
]\lMl|ilai|iut. In 17 IC, after having been Agent for the Honse of Stnart 
with the h'rench Plenipotentiaries at the negociations in Holland for a 
general peace, he sei-ved with the Army of Flanders. He was Envoy to 
the Princes and States of the Empire and of the North, in 1711 and 
1712; and, (hiring the Regency, was nominated to the Embassy to 
Prussia. He was created, March 15th, 1718, a Marechal de Camp; was 
ai)pointed, April -7tii, 1721, a Commander of the Order of St. l,onis ; 
and died at Paris, October 25th, 1738, aged 75. By his marriage with 
Eleoiior SusMii Mac Cartliy Reagh, of the direct line of tiie old Princes, 
or Chief's of CJai'bery, the Bai-on had 1 son, James Nathaniel, slain, tiiiia 
pra/e, with the Army of Bohemia, in 1741. Another bi-anch of those 
Hiberno-Norman Hookes, that retired trom the Croniwellian reyiiiie to 
the French West Indian islands, after having held the position of 
nolilesse there, and having given officers of the ranks of Ca[)tain and 
Colonel to the Irish Brigade in the national regiments of Fitz-James, 
Dillon and Berwick, finally re-settled in Normandy; wiiere a Baron de 
Hooke was estalilished, in 1814, at (^atteville, as a barony belonging to 
his lion.se. Of tliose Irish and (J.itholic Hookes likewise were Natha- 
niel Hooke, author of the well-known History of Rome, (1 of the 
most honest V)ooks that ever .was written) and other works, born in 
Dublin about 101)0, deceased in England in 17G3; and his sou, the 
It-arned Abbe Hooke, Doctor of Sorbonne, editor of the Duke of Ber- 
wick's Memoire.s, &c., born in Dublin in 171G, and deceased in France, 
in 179G. 

Of the ancient family of Plunkett, of Danish origin in Ireland, dis- 
tinguished 1)y various branches, especially in the Counties of Louth, 
Meatli, and Dublin, and dignified by "almost every honour which the 
Crown could bestow," including several Peerages, Robert Plunki^tt, 
l-'jth Lord Baron of Killeen, and Gth Earl of Fingal, C;iptain of the 
Infantry Regiment of Berwick in the Irish Brigade, also died this year, 
1738, at Paris, where he was interred. By his marriage with Mary, 
daughter of Roger Macgennis, Esq., of the branch of Deriveagh, County 
of Down, and likewise an officer in the service of France, his Lordship 
was grandfather of Artiiur James, 17th Lord Baron of Killeen, and 8tli 
Earl of Fingal, deceased in 183G; who duly tvstimated his consecpient 
])articipation in the most illustrious or old Irian blood of Uladh, or 
Ulster, through that of its leading name Macgennis, (or Mac Guinne.si;,) 
compared with which, as sprung from the line, for .so many ages, of the 
celebrated Kings of Emania, and thus best entitled, in that province, to 
bear the heroic ensign of the " red hand," other races there, Clan-Colla, 
or Hy-Niall, were but of yesterday, or no better, in Bardic language, 
than "adventurers, strange tribes, and foreigners."* In refeience to 

" Tlie race of I r are related to have reiiiied for ages at Emania over Ulailli, or 
Ulster, with greater fame, in song and .story, tliau any other dynasty of tlie l^ardic 
annals of Erin, till a centnrj? previous to the coining of St. Patricia as the national 
Apostle, or A. 1). 'X.Vl. 'f'iieii, liy the ('laii-Colla invasion, this older Irian r.iee of 
Ulailh were coiiiincred, and tlieir roy il resuleiice of Emania destroyed; tlie sur- 
vivors retiring into the separate island, as it were, of the Counties of Antrim and 



IN THE SERVICE OP FRANCE. 331 

Lorrl Fingal's jnst feeling on this point, my friend, Mr. O'Farrell Dorau, 
writes — " A few gentlemen, of whom my father was 1, passing a day, in 
the neighbourhood of Killeen Castle, in the summer of 1820, or 1821, 
went to see the castle and demesne. They were fortunate enough to 
find the late Earl of Fingal at home, who very politely accompanied 
them through the various apartments, with the exception of the drawing- 
Down, situated between the waters of the northern Ban, and Lough Neagh, and 
the southern Ban, and the sea, with tlie Newry river to the south ; the only, and 
comparatively small, space, unoccupied by a watery barrier ou the west, or the 
frontier from the southern Ban to the Newry river, being secured by a fortified 
rampart, on the principle of that raised by the Romans, against the incursions of 
the Picts and Scots, in Britain. Eoghan, soa of Niall, the progenitor of the 
Hy-Niall, or O'Neill sept, who, in turn, or at the expense of the C!lau-Colla, 
were to attain a subsequent political ascendancy in Uladh. did not hegin to estab- 
lish himself in that ]»rovince till shortly previous to St. Patrick's arrival, A. D 4',i'2, 
in Erin, or nearly lUO years offer the fall of the Irian supremacy, and destruction of 
Emauia. By the descendants of the old Irians, in their little Uladh, or Ulhlia, of 
Antrim and Down, the Clan-Colla and Hy-Niall races, who held all the rest of 
Tlladh, were naturally regarded in no better light, than the remains of the ancient 
Britons, driven into Cambria, or Wales, regarded the Saxons and Normans in 
England ; or as the uujnst j)ossessors of the better and larger portion of a countrj% 
wrested, by the intrusion of the stranger, from its rightful, or original owners. 
Hence, in Ulidia, "the land of hospitality and spears," the Macgennis, as eldest in 
descent from the royal line of Ir, or the licd Branch, looked upon the more modern 
Heremonian, or Clan-Colla and Hy-Niall wttlers in Uladh, as comparative " novi 
homines ;" hh Bards maintaining^ "tliat the red hand of Ulster was derived from 
the Heroes of the Red Branch, and that, therefore, it belonged by right to 
Macgennis, the senior representative of Conall Cearnagh," or the Victorious, 
" the most distinguished of those heroes, and not to O'Neill ; whose ancestors, 
although they had no connexion with those heroes by descent, had n-tur/ied the 
sovereignty of Ulster! " The Macgennis territory of [veagh originally included 
the modern Baronies of Upjier and Lower Iveagh, and half the Barony of Mourne, 
in the County of Down. The 1st of the name, ennobled after the English manner, 
was Sir Art or Arthur Macgennis, married to Sarah, daughter of the great Aodh 
or Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyroiie, and created, by King James I., in 162.S, Lord 
Viscount Iveagh. By the results of the civil war of 1641-53, the Macgennisea 
were trreatly shattered in their fortunes, like the old Irish families in general. 
Had King .James II. been able to maintain himself in Ii-eland, the Macgennises, 
through the repeal, in 1689, of the Acts of Settlement and Exjilanation, by the 
Irish Parliament of tliat Monarch, would have recovered what had been their 
considerable landed possessions, at the commencement of the ti'oubles in 1G41. In 
the War of the Revolution, James was served with projwrtionate zeal by those of 
the name; the head of whom, Brian Macgeiuiis, Viscount Iveagh (niiirried to Lady 
Margaret de Burgo, eldest daughter of William, 7th Earl of Clanricarde, ) was 
Colonel of a Regiment of Foot in the Irish army. On the unfixvourable conclusion 
of that contest, which left very few of the Macgennises with estates, his Lordship 
went into the Austrian service with an Irish corps to fight the Turks in Hungary, 
and, in 1693, died abroad, without issue. Of Macgennises in the service of France, 
— besides Bernard the Colonel of Dragoons, and his 4 sons, already mentioned, 
under the battle of Spire, in 1703, — there were several born in Ireland, who, 
from the rank of Captain to that of Chef-de-Bataillon, were in the Re<;iments of 
Bulkeley, Roth, and Dillon, and Chevaliers of St. Louis. In addition to the 
honourable family alliances of the higher members of the name of Macgennis at 
home, it was connected abroad with the great house of Justiniani — ennobled by 
various branches in Venice, Genoa, Naples, the Greek Empire, and France — 
Prince Francis Justiniani. its head in France, benig married, Septendjer 1st, 1746, 
at the Church of St. Sulpice, in Paris, says my authority, "a Demoiselle Marie 
I^'ran^oise Roze Magenis, d'une des plus anciennes Maisons d'Irlande." In our 
own times, A. C. Macgennis, Esq., has been Minister for Great Britain and Ire- 
land at the Courts of Stockholm, Naples, and Lisbon; and, under another form 
of the name as Guinness, instead of Mac Guinness, the sjiirit of an Emaniaa 
I'rince has been displayed by the late maguificent restorer and preserver of the vener- 
able Cathedral of our national Apostle, St. Patrick. 



332 HISTOUY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

room, which he apologized for nol showing, as the ladies were there. In 
the ])rincipal diiiiug-room, of which the furniture was all Irish oak, he 
directed their attention to where the family-arms were quartered; and, 
in doing so, he observed, evidently with peculiar [iride, that his grand- 
mother was a Macgennis; at the same time, particularly pointing out the 
arms of Macgennis, as connected with that circumstance." And, indeed, 
■what more honourable recollections could be excited by any connexion 
than by this, as constituting a family link, between the remote storied 
celebrity of the Heroics of the Ked Branch, and the modern military 
renown of the Irish Brigade ? 

The decease of Charles VI., last Emperor of Germany of the House 
of Hapsburgh, in October, 1740, without sons, and the consequent hos- 
tilities by Prussia, Bavaria, and Saxony, against Charles's daughter, the 
celebrated Maria Theresa, Queen of Hungary, gave rise to the War of 
the Austrian Succession, which first extended from Germany to France, 
and aiterwards to England and Holland. But, among the Irish troops 
in France, the only event of any note this year was the death of Lieu- 
tenant-General " Matthieu de Coock," or Matthew Cooke — 1 of the 
i-epresentatives of a name settled in Ireland within the century following 
the Anglo-Norman invasion— variously emjiloyed, in civil and military 
service, l)y King James II , in Ireland, in its Catholic branches — and, as 
such, pi-oportionately marked out ft)r Williamite proscription, or land- 
spoliation, there. After the termination of the War of the Revolution 
in Ireland, in 1G91, this gentleman came to France, as an Ensign in the 
King's or Royal Irish Regiment of Foot Guards. He served, in 1692, 
on the coasts of Normandy; fought at the battle of Landen in 1693; 
and continued with the Army of Flanders till the peace in 1697. He 
was commissioned, March 25th, 1698, as a reformed Mestre-de-Camp to 
the Irish Horse Regiment of Sheldon. Passing with this corps to the 
Ainiy of Italy, in July, 1701, he was at the combat of Chiari, in Septem- 
ber. He served, in 1702, at the battle of Luzzara ; and, in Germany, in 
1703, at the successful sieges of Brisach and Landau, and the victory of 
Spire. He was attached to the Army of Flanders from 1704 to 1707; 
Jiaving been at the battle of Ramillies, in 1706. Brigadier, by brevet, 
March 3rd, 1708, he was at the battle of Oudenarde, that year; and, in 
1709, at the battle of Malplaquet. In 1713, acting with the Army of 
Germany, he was at the reductions of Landau and Friburgh. He was 
made Marechal de Camp, by brevet, February Lst, 1719; a Lieutenant- 
Geiieral, by power of February 20th, 1734; but did not serve in either 
of these grades; and died, August 1 6th, 1740, aged 82 years. 

It was .some time before the Irish regiments in France were generally 
and actively engaged in this contest, respecting the Austrian succession. 
In 1741, all the fusilier companies of the several Irish battalions were 
increased by 10 men each, or from 30 to 40 men per company; all the 
grenadier companies by 15 men each, or from 30 to 45 men per company; 
and thei'e was likewise an addition made of 2 officers to every company. 
In 1742, a British force of 10,000 men having landed in the Austrian 
Netherlands, for the purpo.se of joining a much larger German force, 
with whom the Dutch were .solicited to unite, the French, to oppose 
any invasion on that .side, assembled a suitable army along their northeru 
Irontier, from Dunkirk to Givet. Against .such an infall as the English 
Irom Usteiid might make upon the French territory towards Dunkirk, 
tiie Irish battalions were posted, so as to be specially on the alert there j 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 333 

that town, from its port, being tlien snch an eye-sore to English com- 
mercial jealousy, that its avowed aim was to reduce the })lace, if possible, 
to a mere " liamlet for fishernien," * But no hostilities occurred in this 
quartei-. The s'ingle Irish Horse Eegiuieiit of Fitz-Janies, consisting of 
3 squadrons, (raised to 4 next campaign) served this year, 1742, under 
the Marshal de MailleVwis, in Germany. 

In 1743, ere the French or the English had yet made any official 
declaration of hostilities — the French professing to act only as auxiliaries 
to the Bavarian Emperor of Germany, Charles VII. —the English only 
in the same capacity to that Emperor's Austrian opponent, Maria Theresa 
— the 1st engagement, in this war, between the aruiies of France and 
England, took place, June 27th, at Dettingen. The Anglo-Germau 
force there \inder the Earl of Stair, accompanied by George II., and his 
son, the Duke of Cumberland, were so outmanoeuvred, and cut oft' from 
provisions, by the French under the Marshal de Noailles, that the 

* The English, since their acquisition of Dtmkirk fronj Spain in Cromwell's time, 
and its unpopular sale to Fiance under Clmrles II., always regarded that place 
■with a very hostile feeling, on account of the great facilities whicli its maritime 
situation aitbrded to France in war, for the anuoyauce of their trade. With the 
history of the Irish Brigade, (although oj'lcr the breaking up of that force by the 
ixevolution, ) Dunkirk is remarkably associated, througli its defence, against the 
English, and their Allies, under the Dulio of York, in I7!).'l Its French garrison 
was then commanded hy the (Jcncral of Brigade, O'Meara, who had entered the 
service early in the Irish Bcginient of Both, aiid was 1 of the sons of a veteran 
Captain of the Kegimeiit of Clare, and a native of Ireland, then aged 76. "He," 
says a contemporary Allied notice of the defender of Dunkirk, " is a very tine, 
lusty man, full 6 feet hitrh, and was always beloved as a good officer, and esteemed 
as a man of general knowledge. He married a young lady of Dunkirk, with a 
fortune of 80,000 livres. He is about 40 years of age. He has 4 brothers, all 
officers, and Hue men." The Duke of York sunmioned Dunkirk, as being, he said, 
"destitute of any real defence," against bis force, then above 35,000 men; and, by 
another Allied or Bi'itish account, "the works of the place were in a most de])lor- 
able state, and the garrison, consisting of only 3000 men, Avas totally insufficient to 
defend the town." However, O'Meara replied, "I shall defend it, with the brave 
republicans, whom I have the honour to comm.and." And he did so, until relieved ; 
the Duke having finally to raise the siege ; abandoning 52 pieces of heavy artillery, 
■with a great c^uantity of ammunition and baggage. "In the engagement which 
relieved Dunkirk from siege," writes Mr. O'Conor, "O'Moran, another Irish officer, 
comnuioded the riuht wing of the French army . . . O'Moran was the son of 
a shoemaker of Elphin, iu the County of Boscommon. He had risen from the 
ranks in Dillon's regiment, and, by his conduct and courage, had obtained the 
Covernmeut of Conde; but he fell a victim to the revolutionary spirit of the times, 
iip(m a false charge, of having received Biitish gold, to favour the escape of the 
Brit.sh armj'.' The O'Mearas, or O'Maras, of Tipperary, deduce their origin from 
Cormac Cas, King of North Munster, in the 3rd century, by Samhair, daughter of 
the famous warrior-bard, Oisin, or Ossian. Previous to the Revolution in France, 
various O'Mearas were officers there in the Irish Brigade, from the rank of Sous- 
Lieutenant to that of Colonel, several of whom were Chevaliers of St. Louis, and 
M. de la Bonce specifies 4 as born at Dunkirk, from 1752 to 17G3. Of the defender 
of Dunkirk, who was still living there in 1814, there ■were 2 brothers, Daniel, and 
AVilliam, both Colonels under JSapoleon I.; the former having- been an ofhcer of the 
old Irish Brigade, in the Begiment of Berwick ; and the latter rose to be a General 
of Brigade, and Baron of the Empire. The O'Morans were an ancient Counauyht 
tcpt, whose territory ■was situated between Belanagare and Elphin, in the County 
01 Boscommon. The unfortunate James O'Moran, above referred to as put to 
(.tath unjustly, (like so many of every rank, age, and sex, by the Jacobin hell- 
hounds,) was born at Elphin, May 1st, 1739. Before the Eevolution, or in 1784, 
lit had attained the rank of Mare'chal de Camp, or Major-Ceneral, and was like- 
V i>e a ( he\alier oi St. Louis, aud of the American Order ot Cincmuatus. From 
CctoLer, 170-, he was a Lieutenant GeueraL 



334 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

approaeliing capture or destruction of opponents thus situated was 
looked upon as certain in the French camp; when, unluckily, the Mar- 
shal's nephew, tlie Duke de Graminont, rashly quitted a secure position, 
to make an attack, under such circumstances, as frustrated all the able 
au-angenients of his uncle, after a conflict of some hours, ending in 
success, and a consequent " esca])e," on the part of the Coiifeilerates.* 
The Duke, in fact, instead of having to deal, as he thought, only M'ith a 
rear-guard, exposed himself to a struggle against the entire Allied army, 
and that force having, besides its superior inunbers to his, the fullest 
use of its powerful artilleiy; while 2 of the French batteries, which had 
been planted so skilfully as to play with the most destructive effect upon 
the Allies, were i-endered useless, by the Duke having placed himself, 
through his misconduct, between those batteries and the enemy! The 
French cavalry, among whom were the choice Horse Guards of the Royal 
Household, or Maison du Roi a Cheval, and other j)icked corps, at first 
carried all before them ; t but their infantry being inadequate to sustain 
them, the Allies were finally victorious, or able to effect their oVyect of a 
retreat; ackjiowledging in killed, woun<led, and missing, 1530 Germans 
— of wliom 977 were Austrians. 553 Hanoverians — and of British. 821; 
or, in all, 2351 men ; the Frencli loss not being thus explicitly acknow- 
ledged, since ])robably much greater. 

Of Irish, in the French army that day, there were Charles O'Brien, 
6th Lord Clare, and 9tli Earl of Thoniond, as Marechal de Camp, or 
Maj(n--Genera], the Houour.ible Count Henry Dillon, subsequently 11th 
Loi-d Dillon, and Count Charles Edward Roth, both as Brigadiers, and 
the battalions of Clare, Dillon, Rotli, and Berwick. These the Marshal 
de Noailles had designed to be " the 1st Brigade to attack" — although it 
turned out, that they were nob engaged at all. An Ii'ish officer, who 
wrote from the French camp. Jidy 14th, after observing of the Allies, 
how, •' instead of pursuing the advantage they had gain'd. they retir'd 
from the field of battle into the woods, and disapiiear'd before we," the 
Irisl), "arriv'd," adds, on this })oint, — "As our Brigade found the impos- 
sibility of arriving time enough at the action, from the distance we were 
at, my Lord Clare, who commanded as Major- General, sent 3 Aid-de- 
Canips, to beg the Mai'shal would let us pass the bridge at Shaff"enhurgh 
to which we were convenient, and to give us leave, with 2 other 
Bi-igades with us, to attack them in the rear. But, in the hurry and 
coufusi(ni, this disobedience" of his ne|.'hew, the Duke de Graiximont, 
"had thrown the Marshal into, he could not be met with. 7'he poor 
Household.," or Maison du Roi a Cheval, ''■during the loho'e action, were 
crying otiL for us, as were all, tlie Princes of the Blood, becaicse, in tfie 
1st disposition, or order of battle, we vxre to have sustain d each other; 
and severed compliments had passd between us, of the mutual joy it 
caused in each of us, to be supported by each other. We had been 
posted at the right, because it was thought the enemy would detile that 
way, leather than return to the left; and it was the Marshal's intention 

• An Enolish periodical writer, in May, 1745, when referring to "the tnctory of 
Dettin^en," adds, "which most people rather call an escape/''' 

t <if the linglish cavalry, Horace Wali)ole says — "It is allowed, that our fine 
horse did us no himour: the victory was gained by the foot." And he subsequently 
alludes to that cavalry, as "the horse, who behaved ivrelchecUy." See, however, a 
remarkable exce]ition to this conduct in that of Ligonier's Regiment of Horse, 
consisting of Irish frotestauts, as noticed in next Book, at conclusion of battle of 
Fontenoy. 



IN THE SFI VI E OF FRANCE. 335 

we sliould be the 1st Brigade to attack. Providence, perhaps, had ns 
that day in ])ecnliar care; for, had we been of the number that attacked, 
we might Iiave retriev'd the affair, by inspiring other troops with an 
equal intrepidity, and thus the action miglit have been continued, till the 
whole army arrived. But we should Jiave been iiifallihly cut to pieces^ to 
tJie last (fficer awl soldier^ before either Frenchman or Englislmian should 
have l>ad it in their poioer to rp/proach ns with turning our backs, notvntJt- 
standing any inequality, till a retreat sliould be commanded* As I was 
early at the field of battle, / had every Irish and English soldier trans- 
ported to the hospital, before I suffered an Austrian or an Hanoverian 
to be moved, and did them every kind office in my power," &c. This 
last-cited poi-tion of the Irish officer's letter refers to about 600 
disabled men left by the Allies on the field, with a letter from Lord 
Stair, recommending them to the Fiench Marshal's protection ; and 
whom, accordingly, writes Smollett, "the French General treated with 
great cai'e and tenderness." Such treatment, indeed, was only what 
was to have been expected. Captain Parker observes, on an incident of 
the kind, between officers, in 1711, or during Marlborough's wars ia 
Flanders — ''This humane and generous treatment is, for the most part, 
the practice of all European nations, when once the heat of action 13 
over. But, it must be allowed, to their honour, tliat none are so remark- 
able for it as the English and French ; insomuch that, with them, it 
prevails, even among the common soldiers." In 1794, also, when the 
infamous Jacobin decree, forbidding any quarter to be given by the 
French troops to the English, was passed by the National Convention, 
the reply of the Duke of York to that ferocious enactment was an order 
of the day, commanding that his army should act as previously towards 
the French. '" Humanity and kindness," alleged his Royal Highnes.s, 
" have at all times taken place, the instant that opposition ceased; and 
the same cloak has been frequently seen covering those who were 
wounded, friends and enemies, while indiscriminately conveyed to the 
hospitals of the conqueror.s." The honour-able sentiments and creditable 
conduct of the Duke on this point " were seconded by the corresponding 
feelings of the French officers; and the prisoners, on both sides, were 
treated with the same humanity, as before the issuing of the bloody 
decree." Our illustrious military historian, Napier, in relating the entry 
of the French into Talavera in 1809, after the retreat of the British 
under Sir Arthur Wellesley (subsequently Duke of Wellington) likewise 
remarks of the French commander. Marshal Victor, Duke of Belluno — • 
"Thus, the English wounded, left there, fell into his hands, and their 
treatment was such as might be expected from a gallant and courteous 
nation ; for, between the British soldiers and the French, there was no 
rancour, and the generous usages of a civilized and honourable warfare 

* He glances sarcastically here at the French Foot Guards, of whom he had pre- 
viously written — "The Foot Guards were the 1st to run away, and lost a .'-{rd of 
their officers, mostly of the highest quality." The officers had killed numbers of 
the soldiers, to endeavour to make the rest rally, and stand their ground, but in 
vain. Connect with this point, and the Irish officer's assertion of himself and his 
coiiutrynien in reference to it, the following passage from Forman's refutation of 
Arnall, Sir Robert Walpole's lying Wl>i(j libeller of the Irish, as coicards. "Wher- 
ever they serv'd, whether they had courage or not, they always had the good fortune 
to (Hsfhu/idsh themselves: and it may be said, to their eternal honour, that, from 
the time tliey enter'd into the service of France, to this hour, they liave ntver made 
the least J ulna step, or have had the least blot in their sculckeuu." 



336 HISTORY OP THE IRISH BRIGADES 

■were cherished." Tlie Allied forces, soon after the affair of Dettingen, 
were incieased l>y several thousand Hanoverians and Hessians, and, later 
in the season, by a still larger number of Dutch auxiliaries; but, "in 
October, were discributed into winter quarters," complains one of thei» 
■writers, *' after an inactive campaign, tliat redounded very little to the 
honour of those by whom the motions of the aruiy were conducted." 

The year 1744 opened with the decease of the oldest Irish officer 
in France of the rank of Marechal de Camp, or Major-General. whose 
services in Ii'eland dated from the War of the Revolution there, and 
■whose ai-rival in France, from the landing of the 1st Irish Brigade, 
ntider Lord Mountcashel. This gentleman, "Guillaume d'Oshagnussi," 
or William O'Shaughnessy, son of Roger O'Shaughnessv, Esq., and 
Helen, daughter of Conor Mac Donogh O'Brien. Esq. of Ballynue, was, 
on his father's death, in July, 1G90, the representative of the Chieftaiji 
branch of his naine in the County of Galway — which is referi-ed to, from 
its principal residence there, by a learned local authority, as the " prse- 
clarissima familia de Govt, cujus nobilitatem, antiquitatem, et integrita- 
tem, qui non novit, Iliberniam non novit"— and which, like so many- 
other ancient houses, was, for its h)yalty to King James II., stripped of 
its estates, by revolutionary vengeance and rapacity. Of the heads of this 
old sej)t, likewise " ever remaikable for their munificence and liberality, 
a writer, who travelled through Ireland and the Continent, in the times 
of Charles I., tells us, that the O'Shaughnessys then excelled, in elegant 
hospitality, all the noV)ility of Connacht, with the sole exception of tlie 
Marquis of Clanricard." In 1689, or on the commencement of the war 
in Ii'eland, William O'Shaughnessy, then only about 15, was Captain of 
a comjnmy of 100 men, with which he served thei-e, till sent to France, in 
the spring of 1690, in the Regiment of the H(jnourable Daniel O'Brien, 
(afterwards that of Clare) and July 10th, 1691, was commissioned by 
Louis XIV., as a Cay:»taiiu in that corps. In this grade, he was, the same 
year, at the siege of Montmeliau ; in 1692, with the Army of Italy; in 
1693, at the victory of Marsaglia in Piedmont; in 1696, witnessed the 
conclusion of military operations beyond the Aljis by the siege of Valenza, 
at which he l)ecame Commandant of the 3rd battalion of his regiment; 
and, in 1697, was attached to the Army of the Meuse. On the reform, 
in 1698, of the 2nd and 3rd battalions of his regiment, he was made, 
April 1st, Captain of Grenadiers, in the battalion which was kept on foot. 
After the t>reaking out of the War of the S[)anish Successi<#n, or in 1701 
and 1702, he was em))loyed with the Army of Germany; in 1703, was at 
the reduction of Kehl, the combat of Munderkingen, the 1st battle of 
Hochstedt; and, in 1704, was at the 2nd battle there, otherwise known as 
that of Blenheim. In 1705, he was with the Army of the Moselle; and, 
in 1700, at tlie battle of Raraillies. By the death, from wounds there, of 
his Major, John O'CarroU, he became, July 4th, successor to that gallant 
officer, and September 12tli, Lieutenant-Colonel. He was with the Army 
of Flanders in 1707; at the battle of Oudenarde in 1708; at that oi 
Malplaquet in 1709; at the attack of Arleux in 1711; at the action of 
Deuain, and the sieges of Douay, Quesnoy, and Bouchain, in 1712; and, 
in Germany, the foUowing campaign, at those of Landau and Friburgh. 
Brigadici- by brevet, April 3rd, 1721, he was, by letters of September 
15th, 1733, employed with the Array of the Rhine, and at the successful 
siege of Kehl, in October. In the same army, by letters of April 1st, 
1734, he was at the attack of the lines of Etlingen, and the siege of 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRA«tT.. 337 

PInlipsbnrgh; was made Marechal de Camj) by hreveo, August 1st; and 
liiiished the campaign in that capacity. Continued as Marechal de Camp 
-with the Army of the Rhine by letters of May 1st, 1735, he was jn-esent 
ut the affair of Clausen. Attached to the Army of Flan'ders by letters 
of August 21st, 1742, he commanded at Cambray during the winter; 
)-emaiued there during tlie CHni])aign of 1743; and having been appointed, 
November 1st, to command at Gravelines, died, without issue, January 
2nd, 1744, aged 70. 

"The lands of the O'Shaughnessys, forfeited in consequence of their 
attachment to the cause of King James II.," says Mr. Gilbert, " were 
granted, for a term of years, by William III., to Sir Thomas Prendergast, 
whose character has been depicted, by Swift, in the darkest colours, as a 
sordid betrayer of his friends, and a relentless persecutor of the clergy 
of the Established Church." By this loss of his projierty in Ireland, 
William O'Shaughnessy was necessarily obliged to i-eraain in the service 
of France, as h^s only source of subsistence. "On his death, his cousin, 
Oolman O'Shaughne.ssy," Catholic " Bishop of Ossory, essayed at law to 
:£C0ver the property of his ancestfirs. The suit was continued by his 
brother Robuck, who.se .son, Joseph, assisted by his relatives, took forcible 
?!< -ssession of the mansion-house of Gort; on which occasion the bells of 
^zaenrj and of Galway were rung for joy. The whole clan believed, 
taat the strangers were defeated; and the Irish p(.)ets of the locality sung, 
'.."•^at the rightful heir was restored, and that the old sj)lendour of the 
C''Shaughnessys was about to be renewed in the halls of their fathers, 
'j^jnis triumph was, however, but of short duration. All the efforts of 
^'i*^ O'Shaughnessys were rendered abortive by the influence of Prender- 
,7ac+/s representatives, who re-obtained possession; and are said, for 
ct.rxy.ng on their suit, to have borrowed £80('0 from Lord Chancellor 
Mansfield; which sum was charged on, and paid by, the estate. Having 
neen th I. 'J stripped of their inheritance, the old clan of 0'Sliaughnes.sy 
sunt' into obscurity." In the Indian and Australian portions of the 
P i+.ich empii-e, this ancient name, however, has not of late year-s, l)eeii 
-v'tbout distinction ; and, from those who derived their possession of the 
Gort property through the Williamite or " gloi-ious-revolution " .spolia- 
tion of the O'Shaughnessys, V)e have seen that pr iperty wrested by the 
Nemesis of the Encumbered Estates Court — which tribunal, in so many 
instances, added Mr. Gilbert at the time, " is effectually fulfilling the 
jiredictions of the Irish Jacobite i)oets, who never ceased to sing, 'that 
Providence would only suffer tliefureiga chfir.'s, who had usurped the lands 
of the old English, and of the noble Gaels, oj Erin, to hold their while 
mansions transiently.'' " * 

Early in 1744, previous to the declaration of war in form by France 
ngain.st England, the French Court resolved on measures to strengthen the 
Irish Regiments in Flanders, at theexpenisfe of the British army there ; for 
which purpose the Comte d'Argen.son wrote as follows^ from Versailles, 
in February, to the Marquis de Ceberet, commanding in Flanders. "The 
King, having been informed that several Irishmen present themselves on 
the frontier, with the intention of serving in the regiments of their nation 
actually in his service, and that most of these regiments being complete, 
the supeinumeraries could ouiv tiiid their means of subsistence at the ex- 
pense of the Captains, if it were not otherwise provided for; his Majesty, 

•Essay on " The Historic Literature of Ireland." 
Z 



338 HISTORY OP TKE IKISH BRIGADES IN THE SERVICE OP PRANCE. 

in consideration of the ust^fiil services which he has received in the preced- 
ing wars, and of those which his Irish troops continue to render him 
daily, couiniands me to acquaint you. that the Commissioners of War, 
ap|)ointed to tlie direction of the 5 Irisli Regiments wliich are in his 
service, are to comprise, in their i-eturns, all the su[)ei-numeraries, capable 
of serving, \\ ho may present themselves ; taking care to hold a se})arate 
register of those who shall exceed the full number of each regiment, in 
whatever number they may come ; and shall see that their |)ay be remitted 
to them at the rate of 6 sols, 6 decimes per day each, until his Majesty 
ishall conie to a determinaticni of raising the regiments of this nation, 
which he maintains, by 1 or more battalions." The letter concludes by 
reqiuring tiiat the Prefect of Flamlers should be directed to make the 
iiec€K;'ary linancial arrangements for this object 



HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 



THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 



BOOK VII. 



The French cabinet, throngh tlie influence of Cardinal de Tencin, wTn 
owed his Cardinalate to the Stuart interest at Rome, having decided, 
in 1743. on undertaking au invasion of England, in 1744, for the 
"restoration" of the exiled royal family, corn ninnicated this intention 
to the son of King James II., known as King James III. at Rome. 
There, or elsewhere within the Papal territory, that Prince had resided, 
since his marriage with the Princess Sobieski, in 1719; and had kept up 
a due .correspondence with the numerous friends of his house in Great 
Britain and Ireland, but, more p;irticularly, in Scotland. Partly, how- 
ever, from the habits of body connected with his advanced time of life, 
he being then about 56, and partly from the depressing effects of the 
])ast on his mind, James was nnfittiul to act in person, at this important 
juncture, as the head of his family.* He accordingly devolved that task 
upon his eldest son, the gallant and attractive Prince Charles, who, from 
his V)oyhood, was a source of as much hope to the adherents of the 
House of Stuart, as of natural a])prehension to the partizans, and of 
restless espionage to the government-agents, of the House of Hanover. 
Tn 1734, the Duke of Berwick and Liria, (son of the illustrious Marshal- 
Duke, by his 1st marriage with the widow of Patrick Sarsfield, Lord 
Lucan.) thus writes of the young Prince, when but 14, at the siege of 
(praeta.t " Immediately on his arrival, he accompanied me into the 
trenches, where he appeared quite regardless of the bullets, that were 
whistling about ns. The next day, I commanded in the trenches. I 
was in a house, that stood somewhat detached, into which the besieged 
fired 5 cannon-balls, so that I was obliged to leave it. Immediately 
afterwards, the Prince came to nie, and no representation of the danger, 
to which he exposed himself, could deter him from enteiing the house. 
He remained there, for some time, perfectly cool, though the walls were 
riddled by bullets. The Prince, in a word, shows that, in men born to 
1)6 heroes, valour does not wait on years. From all these causes of 
tineasiness, I am now relieved," by the surrender of the place, "and 

* Lf)rd Macaulay correctly eiioucrh I'efers to James, as " born the most 
tmfortnnate of Priuces, destined to 77 years of exile and wanderino-, of vain 
jirojccts. of honours more galling than insults, and of hoi)es such as make the 
heart sick." 

t That connected with the conquest, from Austria, of the Kingdom of Naples, by 
Ppniu, and tlie placing of Don Carlos on the Neapolitan throne. "In consequenco 
o' 'Ivs war " s;iys Hc^i-fii, " .\lberoiii s formerly unsuccessful plans on Italy were, 
lor ihe 'iiiijtii part, carried into "xecutiou," 



310 HISTORY OP THE IRISH BRIGADES 

enjdy the gratification of soeiiig the Prince adored by officers and 
8(iidieis. His manner is charming; and, be assured, if it were otherwise, 
1 wonhi tell you so, in contidcnee. The day after to-morrow, we start 
for Naples, where, I have nn doubt, his Royal Highness will captivate 
the ])eoph', as well as the soldiers. The King of Naples thinks hitu 
fxlrcmely pleasing. He never requires to be [)rompted, as to wiiat he 
ou^ht to say, or do. Would to God the bitterest enemies of the House 
of Stuart had been witnesses of the Prince's conduct during this siege! 
— it would, I believe, have changed the minds of many of them. I 
remark in him, particularly, a haj.py physiognomy, that is lull of good 
)ii\)inises." About 8 years after, or in 1742, Prince '•Charles Edward," 
t-Mvs his future Secretary, Murray of Broughton, in a letter to a lady, 
"is tall, above the common stature; his limbs are cast in the most exact 
mould; his conii)lexion has in it somewhat of uncommon delicacy ; *all 
his features are perfectly regular, and well-turn'd; and his eyes the 
finest I ever saw. But that which shines most in him, and renders him, 
without exception, the most sur|niziiigly handsome person of the age, is 
the dignity that accompanies every gesture. There is, indeed, such an 
unspeakable majesty dilfus'd through his whole mien and air, as it is 
impossible to have any idea of without seeing; and strikes those that have, 
with such an awe, as will not suffer them to look upon him for any time, 
unless he emboldens them to it, by his excessive affability.* . . . His 
mind, by all I can judge of it, is no less worth}'^ of admiration. He seems 
to me^ and, I find, to all who knovv him, to have all the good nature of 
the Stuart family, blended with the spirit of the Sobieskys. He is, at 
least, as far as I am capable of seeing into men, equally qualified to preside 
in peace and war." Then, i-eferring to the Prince's learning, as "exten- 
sive beyond what cou'd be expected from double the number of his years," 
including a ))0wer of conversation with ease and fluency, in several Euro- 
])ean languages, a masterdom of the different kinds of Latin, a good 
knowledge of Greek, ai:id even some acquaintance with Hebi-ew, the 
writer adds — " History and ])hilosophy are his darling entertainments, 
in br»th which he is well vers'd. The one, he says, will instruct him how- 
to govern others, and the other how to govern himself, whether in pros- 
jierous, or adverse, fortune." + Charles, who, on setting out from Rome, 
■cid France, for England, was in his 24:th year, received, in the cay)acity 
of Prince of Wales, and Regent, fnmi his father, the requisite Proclania- 
tinns foi- England and Scothmd; for the former, in the name of James 
III., and, in that of James VIII., for the latter; as not acknowledging 
the validity, and promising a dissolution, of the so-called Act of Union., 
by which, to exclude the Stuart family from all royalty within the British 
Islands, Scotland, against her will, had been specially extinguished, 
til rough such very indefensible means, as a distinct Kinydoin. These 

' Cajitain Malcohn Macleod, 1 of Cliarles's friends and com])anioiis in his 
miseries and concealments after the fatal day of Culloden, has asserted— " 'I"he;e 
is not a person, that knows what the air of a noble or great man is, but, upon 
seeing the Trince, in any disguise he could put on, woidd see something about 
him that was not ordinary, something of the stately, and the grand." 

t The Whig Edinburgh lleview admits of Charles, that he " spoke Latin, Italian, 
French, aud Englisli, and was well versed in ancient and modern history." Lord 
I\bihon, indeed, refers to "Charles's letters," as "written iu a large, rude rambling 
hand like a schoolboy's," and, "in sjielling, stdl more dehcieut." But, Ivloso 
justly notes, how these were deficiencies of other eminent men, as well as of 
t-'harles — Frederick the Great, and Napoleon the Great, included. 



IN XnE SETIVICE OF FRANCE. 341 

docnmPTits are desciibed, as " Given from our Oonvt in Rome, on the 
23id of December, 1743, and m the 4-5rd year of our reij^n " — tints 
igiioiinof the idea of any reign, de jm-e, in (iieat Britain and Ireland, 
Irorn 1688 to 1701, V)ut that of James II., and treating the entire 
])eiiod, from his decease in 1701, to 174:>, as the reign only of his suri, 
— William, Anne, and the 2 Georges being thereby snnfit-d out, as no 
better than the mere representatives of revolutionary usurpation — oi- so 
many Cromwclls, in the place of tbe herelitari/ re[)rest;ntative of the 
true royal line. 

An English panegyrist of Charles, on this occasion, admiiin-ly notes — 

" How, at an ac:e, when Pleasure's cliarins 
Allure the strijiling to her arms, 

Nf forni'd the irreafc design, 
T' assert his injnrd father's cause, 
Eestore his siiH'i'inj!; country's laws, 
And prove his rhjkt diiniip !" 

And, at this period, the state of public feeling in Great Biitain and 
Ireland was indeed such, as, with reference to the Prince's enterprise, 
savs Mr. Jesse, " certainly held out a fair j)rospect of success. An 
influential ])ortion of the English nobility and gentry, at the head of 
whom was the Premier Duke, the Duke of Noifdlk. were known to be 
thoroughly disgusted with the reigning (!)■ nasty ; and, though reluctant 
to risk their lives and fortunes without a tolerable certainty of success, 
were, nevertheless, secretly pirpossesscd in favour of the Stuarts. The 
great majority of the Highl-ind Chieftains were enthusiastically devoted 
to their cause; several of the most influential of the Lowland gentry 
v/ere known to be well-inclined towards the exiled family; while Ire- 
land was certain to embaik in a cause, of whirli the watohwc<rds were 
Pa[ial supremacy and legitimate right" — including, it should be tnore 
fairly or unequivocally added, a rp.f:eal of the Anglo- Protestant riula'ion 
of the Treaty of Limerick^ and consequent abolition of the infi/non^s Penal 
Code. Then, alluding to the other sources of strength for Jacobir- 
ism, arising from the circumstances of Euglanrl, that was at war with 
Spain, being likewise on the eve of a war with Fi-ance, wln-re such a 
<;reat Stuart churchman, as the Cardinal de Tencin, was in power, Mr. 
Jesse alleges — "George II., moreover, wa.s, at this period, in the zenith 
of his unpopularity; and not only did there prevail throughout Eu'^land 
H vast amount of distress and misery, which was ingeniously exagge.ated 
l;y party writers, but the undue jireference which had long been shown, 
both by tlie King and his fathei-, to the interest-! of their native and 
])etty Electorate over those of England, had long excited universal indig- 
nation and disgust. 'No Hanuverian King!' had become the treqnent 
toast, not only of the Jacobites, but of many who had formerly l>eeu 
well-atiected towards. the existing government; and the very ttrin of 
^Ilanoveiian^ is said to have become a bye-word of insult and rejiroaclL" 
Nor were such sentiments unexpressed in another form. 

*' Britons, now retrieve your i'lory. 

And your ancient ritchts maintain ; 
Drive th' usurp'.nj; race befnre you, 

And restore a Stuart's reii;ii. 
L')ad the Brunswick jirancer iloulilp- 
Heap fin all your care and troulilc. 
Drive him hence, with all his rabble, 

i^'ever Lo return a-aiu. 



342 HISTOKY OF THE HUSH BRIGADES 

"Call your injiir'd King to save you. 

Ere you further iire o]i]iress"(l ; 
He 's so goot'i, lie will f(irLj;ive you, 

And receive you to his breast. 
Think ou all the \vroiii;s you ve done hitn, 
Bow your rebel necks, and own hiiu. 
Quickly make amends, and crovvii hiui, 

Or you never can be blest." 

"The English,'' concludes the great Protestant Continental historian, 
Sismondi, with respect to Piiiice Chailes's effort for tlie " re-toratidu " 
of his family to the Crown, '' liail no attaehment to the House of Hano- 
ver ; they found it covetous, brutal, ignnrant uf theii' manners, entindy 
engrossed by German interests, entirely devoted to Austria, and always 
desirous to drag them into Continental wai-s, in whieli they wei-e called 
upon to ex|»end their money, still more than their blood. With thes^ 
causes for discontent were combined, in favour of the Stuarts, the interest 
which misfortune inspires, the chivalrous enthusiasm of fidelity to an 
ancient royal race;" in tine, "the irritation of the Scotch, vvlio, since the 
Union of their country with England, believed they had lost tlieir inde- 
jieiidence, and flattered themsehes, by replacing njxin the throne the 
heir of their ancient Kings, to bi-ing back to their country her ancient 
glory, and to re-establish her (»nce nu)re as a nation." 

Prince Charles, whose movements it was so essential to disguise from 
the Whig-HanoverJan spies at Home and elsewhere, pretended to leiive 
that city, January 9th, 1744, mendy for a boardnmt, as was his custom 
in winter. Then, under the feignei] name of the Marquis Spinelli. with 
only a single attendant, he rapidly tra\'ersed Tuscany for a Genoese ]>ort, 
where lie embarked on the Kith; sailing through a squadron of British 
ships, landed in France at Antilles; * and after an interview at Avignon, 
witli the venerable Duke of Ormonde, aged nearly 80, and other Jacob- 
ites, he reached Paris on the L'Oth. The military force with which he 
was to sail for England consisted ot 15,(111(1, (if not, accoi'ding to Voltaire, 
21-, out),) men, including the Ii-ish and Scotch ti-oops in the service of 
France; with these were many thousand supernumerary tire-arms, 
swords, saddles, and V)ridles, tor such Jacobite loyalists as might join 
after the hniding ; and the whol'^ were tf) be under tl'e command of the 
veteran Count Maurice Ai'niinius de Saxe, subsequently so celebrated as 
Marshal. The pas.sage of the tratisports, with the troops from Dunkirk, 
to the shores of Kent, was ordered to be })rotected by an able and expe- 
rienced naval officer, M. de Roquefeuille, with a suitable armament from 
Brest and Rochefort. The intelligence, in February, of these hostile 
pniparations, occasioned proportionable ajiprehensions and counter-pre- 
parations in England. The danger from France and "the Pretmder " was 
announced by the Hanoverian occupant of the throne to his Parliament; 
oi-ders were issued to assemble as many native regulars and militia as 
possible, besides the 6000 foreigners stipulated by treaty with Holland 
to be furnished in support of thft revolutionary succession to the Crown ;t 

• ''Not far." it is remarked, "from the spot, destined, in the 19th century, to 
acquire an historical celebrity, by the landing of Napoleon from Elba." 

t The effective native force, that could be assembled, for the jirotection of London, 
seems to have been rather small in amount. Horace Waljiole, writing fro!n the 
House of Commons in February, asserts— "^« the troops have been sent for, in 
the greatest haste, to London. AVe shall not have above 8000 men toirether, at 
most. An express is gone to Holland and General Wentworth iuUowed it last 
night, to demand 6000 men," &c 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 343 

tlie Habeas Corpns Act was suspended ; James Barry, 4tli Earl of Barry- 
more, as an intt-uded General for the House of Stuart, the octogenariaa 
Colcuiel Cecil, as its local Secr-efcary of State, and several other Jacobite 
loyalists, were taken up; Captains O'Brien and O'Hara of the Irish 
Brigade, about to return (no doubt with serviceable news !) to the Con- 
tinent, vid Harwich, were arrested there ; and Sir John Norris was 
despatched, with a due naval force, to oftpose tlie landing from Dunkirk, 
by endeavouring to defeat M. de Roquefeuille, wlio was to cover the 
transports "over the water with Charlie." But, early in INtar'ch, when 
the Prince, and the Count de Saxe, having shipped 7000 men at 
Dunkirk, were actually at sea vnth a fair breeze, far tlie English coast, 
and protected by their men-of-war, the wind shifted to an adverse 
point in the evening, and a vidleut tempest of several days' duration 
commenced, wliich dis{>ersed the fleets of both nations that had been 
in sicrht of eacli otlier about Duno;eness, and sank, drove back, or 
/Shattered the French transports in such a manner, that the proposed 
invasion had to be abandtined. A contemporaiy French historian has 
observed, Louis XV. might have exclaimed, on this occasion, like Philip 
II. formei'ly, with i-eference to his Armada — " I did not send my fleet 
to war with the elements!" The Wliig historian Home, then living, 
after noting the position, as regards Dunkirk, of the 2 fleets, before their 
separation by the storm, has remarked — " Both the fleets were far enough 
from Dunkirk; and, if ti:e weather had been moderate, Marslud Saxe 
might have readied England, before Sir John Norris could havi 
returned to the Downs. But, when the storm arose, it stop[)ed the 
embarkation ; sevei'al transports were wrecked ; a good mimy soldiers 
and seamen peri.shtid ; a great quantity of warlike stores was lost;" 
and "the English fleet returned to the Downs." Had this expedition 
from France efi'ected a disembarkation in England, we ai-e informed of 
Scotland, that "tlie whole of the disaffected clans, who wer.^ able to 
bring to the fleld 12,000 men, were prepared to rise," as "the Chiefs were 
all then united" — instead of not being so, as subsequently, or in 1745. 
By such pros])ects, the English Jacobites, according to their song. "Come, 
here's to the knights of the true royal oak!" appear to liave been pro- 
portionabh' elated — 

" God bless Cliarlie Stuart, the pride of our land, 
And send liim safe o'er to Lis own native strand! 
]\ly nolile couipaninns, be jiatient awhile, 
Anrl we 11 soon i^ee liiin back to our lirave British isle; 
And he, tl\;it for Stuart and rii;lit will not stand, 
May smart for the wrong, Ijy the Highlantler's lirand!" 

The song, to(\ of the same ])arty, entitled "the Restoiution," in announ- 
cing, how, to curb usurpaiion by tiie assistance of France, Charlie, with 
love to his country, was coming, observed of the Prince — 

"In liis train, see sweet Peace, fairest queen of the sky, 
Ev'ry bliss in her look, ev'ry charm in her eye. 
Whilst oppression, corruption, vile slav'ry, and fear, 
At his wish'dfor return, never moi'e shall appear. 

Your glasses charge high, 'tis in great Charles' praise!"' &C. 

"Ye brave clans, on whom we just honoiu" bestow, 
(J think on the source whence our dire evils How! 
Commanded by Chart s, advance to Whitehall, 
And hx them in chains, who would Britons enthral! 

Your glasses charge high, 'tis in great Charles' praise ! " &c. 



344 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

In answer to a naturally qnenilmis note of MTrch lltli from Prince 
Cliark's, the Count de Saxe, on the 13th, wrote — ^^Vous ve pouvez, 
Monseigneur, accuser que les vents et la fortune des contretemps qui nous 
o.rriventy ITence, also, in referring to the danger escaped by Hanover- 
ianism in England, through tlie frustration of the intended lauding from 
France by the interposition of the elements, the Speaker of tlie British 
House of Lords having stated, how "great preparations were made a::d 
ready at Dunkirk," added, "but tlie Prornlpuce of God dl!<appointed them! " 
Pi-ince Charles left Dunkirk, with such feelings as may be easily imagined ; 
and the faithful old Did^e of Ormonde, who, as "his name and ])0j)ularity 
in England Iiarl long been a tower of strength," had been summoned from 
his retreat at Avignon to join the expedition, and was on his way to do 
so, learning, upon the road, how the enterprise was foiled, went back 
to his residence — thus, in 1744, as in ITlU, with a French as with a 
Spanish armament, prevented returning to England, by the hostility of 
the winds! '' 

In Irehmd, those preparations of France to sui)])ort Prince Charles 
■with so considerable an invading foive. including the famous Brigade 
under Charles O'Biien, Loid Clare, and Earl of Thomond, were, of course, 
not without exciting a due interest innong the Catholic or oppressed 
luajiirity of the nation ; but jtarticulai ly among tlie Milesian or Gaelic 
portiuu of the population, in 1 of wlidse sor.gs it is observed — 

"To waoe the fierce battle for Erin, 

Comes the tiery Bi'i^ade of Lord ('lare, 
'Tis oft from their pikes, keen ;ui(l dariiiLj, 

'J'he Saxon tied back to Ins Ian-. 
And favour — not now slia-11 he iret it, 

Save from lances on every hand — 
Oh, short are their (h^ys, who ahetted 

Tlie munierous deeds in our hind! 

" May Charles have but courage to hasten, 

With troojis and with arms, to onr shore. 
We'll scorch, fi-om their tyranny wasting, 

Our trcachei'ous fiX-mea once more. 
We ])ray to the just Lord to siiatter 

Their hosts and their hopes to the ground. 
To raise onr green i^iaud, and scatter 

The blessings of freedom around I " t 

And there •^^r^<f good reason ibr such a pi-ayei', the Whig Penal Code 
gov(;rniiii'iit, issuing, says the History of the Irish Catholics, "a Pro- 
elainutiiiu for the suppression of convents and monasteries, for the detection 
and a|ipreheiision of ecclesiastics, the punishment of magistrates remiss 
in the execution of the laws, and for the encouiagement of spies and 
informer.s, by an increase of the rewards already held out nnder the 
existing laws." In consequence of which, "the Catholics were every- 
where disarmed, domiciliary visits were made in quest of priests and 
friar.s, the chajiels vvei-e shut uj), and a cruel persecution commenced in 
every quarter of the kingdom." 

* On this projected French and Stuart invasion of England in 1744, I have 
consulted contemjxirary English and Continental periodicaLs, Voltaire, Home, John- 
stone (the Chevalier) Lord Mahon, Jesse, Klose, Dr. Browne (the historian of the 
Highlands,) Chambers, &c. 

t See, in "The Poets and Poetry of Munstcr," 2nd Series, the Gaelic song to 
Philip V. of Spain, versilied into Eugiiak. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRA^X•E. Si5 

Before the end of March, war was at last officially declared both by- 
France and England ; and the Count de Saxe was made a Mai-slial, to 
command in Flanders, under Louis XV. in person — poetically eulu'nzed 
f)r sung of in Ireland, as 

"The torch-tossing Louis, a lion in flancjer, 
Sagacious, unshaiien, to terror a stranger! " — 

with whom Charles O'Brien, Lord Clare and Earl of Thomond, Lieu- 
tenant-General, and the Irish troops were to serve. The French, after 
levying contributions and sweeping aw-iy cattle nearly as far as Ghent, 
between May IStli and July lltli, reduced Menin, Ypres, Fort Knock, 
and Furnes. In these oy)erations, Lord Clare is mentioned as mounting 
the trenches, with due distinction, at Menin, as well as at Ypres, and 
Furnes. The King, departing in July from Flanders for Germany, there- 
by diminished so considei-ably the force left with the Marshal de Saxe at 
Courtray, that he had but 45,000 men at most, to oppose 70,000 Dutch, 
Britisli, Hanoverians, and Austrians. Yet, under this disadvantage in 
point of numbers, the Marshal showed himself so superior in tactics to 
his opponents till the conclusion of this campaign, that, .says a Britisli 
contem])orary historian, "the conduct of the Allied Generals was severely 
censured in England, and i-idicnled in France, not only in private con- 
versation, but also on their public theatres, where it became the subject 
of farces and pantomimes." The Irish are elsewhere alluded to this year, 
but not in connexion with achievements specially detailed. October 1st, 
the pay of the non-commissioned officers and jn-ivates of each of the 
national corps of infantry was increased by 2 sols, or French pence, a 
day; and every regiment was reduced froai G85 to 645 privates, besides 
16 cadets, each at 16 sols a day. From the supernumerary officers and 
200 men obtained by this retrenchment, and 24o men subsequently levied, 
the formation of a new Irish Infantry Regiment of 44-5 men, besides 
officers, was commenced, and, by April, 1745, completed; which, from 
the name of the gentleman for whom it was raised, was known as the 
Hkgiment of Lally. 

The ancient territory of Moenmagh, or " Moen's plain," in Con- 
naugiit, comprehended the fertile district around Loughrea, in the 
niiidern Coimty of Galway; including the townland of Moyode to the 
north; the country as far as the mountain of Slieve Aughtee on the south; 
that extending to the barony of Longford on the east; and that to the 
diocese of Kilmacduagh on the west. Previous to the Anglo-N^orman 
intrusion of the 12th century, the chieftainship of this rich plain was 
jiossessed in tiirn by 2 families, according to the preponderating ))Ower of 
each. Both were of the royal Heremonian stock of the fiimous Clan- 
Colla subjugator's of the greater y)ortion of IJladh, or Ulster, in the 4th 
century, through Maine the Great, conqueror of Hy-Mainv, in Con- 
naught, in the 5th century. Those 2 ruling families were that of 
O'Neachtain, subsequently spelled Naghtan, Naghten, Nagliton, or 
Naughton,* and that of O'Maoilalaidh, or O'Mullally, finally shortened 

* The family of O'Neachtain removed from Moenmagh into the Faes, or Fews, 
of Athlone, in the County of Roscommon. The last "Chief of the Feas " was 
Shane O'Naghten, who died in Queen Elizabeth's reign, or in May, 1587; and, in 
1848, E. H. Naughton, Esq. of Thomastown Park, held a very respectable jiortion 
of the territory of his forefathers. A branch of the O'Naghtons was settled ab 
Lisle, in Flanders, at the close of the last century; and a Baron OWa'jhtea 
attended the irince of Hesse Hoiuberg, when he married the Princess Elizabeth. 



346 HISTORY OF THE IPJSII BRIGADES 

into Lally. From the fertile territovy, whei-e, for so long, says the 
old native poet, "their fight was heavy in the battles," the latter tkuiily, 
when ()V)lige(l to recede before the invader, rctii-ed to and settled in the 
]'arish of Tnam ; their residence being the Castle of Tidach-ua-dala, or 
the hid of the meef/ing, otherwise Tullaghnadaly, Tulleiiadally, or Tolen- 
dal, 4 miles north of the town of Tuam. In the civil wars of the 
17th century, the Lallys fought for the Crown, against the Parliamen- 
tarian, and Ci'omwellian, as well as the William ite, revolutionists, and 
suffered accordingly. At the breaking out of the War of the Revolution 
in Ireland, the 5 jirothers of this family, sons of Thomas O'MulLilly or 
Lally, Esq. of TuUenadally or Tolendal, by the Honoura\)le Jane Dillon, 
sislei- of Tlieobald, 7th Lord Viscount Dillon, wei'e James, Gerard, 
William, IMark, and Michael. L James, the eldest. Member for the 
Borough of Tuam in King James's Parliament of 1GS9, and consequent]^ 
outlawed and subjected to confiscation by the Williamites, went to 
France, in 1690, with his cousin, the Honourable Colonel Arthur Dillon; 
in whose regiment, as Colonel-Commandant of the '2ud battalion, he fell, 
unmanicd, at Montnielian in IGUl. 2. Gerard, of whom more presently. 
3. William, a Cnptain in the Regiment of Dillon, was slain at Barcerona 
in 1097. 4. M.irk was an officer in the same corps. 5. IMichael, 
by marriage with Helen O'Carroll, had a son, also named Michael, 
deceased a Brigadier-Genei'al, at Rouen, in 1773. Gerard, above referred 
to, and styled Sir Gerard Lally, as a Baronet by Stuart creation, died iu 
France iu 17.)7, a Brigadier-General, and intended JMaiechal de Camp, 
or with the ])romise of the latter rank on the next ])roiuotion ; and, by 
his marriage with Marie Anne de Bressac, was father of the object of our 
immediate notice. Count Thomas Ar.THUii Lally. 

Tliis iieroic man was born at Romans, in Dauphine, and baptized 
January loth, 1702. Designed, from his infancy, for a soldier, he was 
commissioned, from January 1st, 1709, as a reformed Captain in the 
Jrisii regiment, of which his father, Sir Gerard Lally, was Colonel-Com- 
marulant, and his uncle, the Honourable Arthur Dillon, was Colonel- 
Proprietor. When not 8 years old, he was brought to the camp before 
Girona, in September, 1709, by his father, who " v/ished," as he said, 
"that he .should at least smell powder, in order to gain his 1st step in 
the service." When hardly 12, his father also caused him .to mount his 
earliest trenches at Barcelona in 1714,, and, after this " amusement for 
the vacation," sent him back to College. This sort of education very 
t<oon devel('])ed in young Lally an extreme taste for the military profe.s- 
sion; which, however, did not ])revent him devoting himself ardently to 
the study of the classics, and acquiring a familiar knowledge of several 
of the living languages of Euroi)e, as well as of history, and the manners 
and interests of the difl[erent nations. Gifted with a good memory, a 
quick discernment, .a great strength of body, and an astonishing activity 
of soul, everything became easy to him, and he was as successful in the 
exercises of the body, as in those of the mind. He would have been 
very i-apidly advanced in the army by the Regent Duke of Orleans, who 
would have made him a Colonel at 18, V)ut for the unaccountable opposi- 
tii>n, or caprice, of his father. Sir Gerard Lally. Deprived of his patroa 
the Regent in 1723, young Lally had only to look for adv^ancement to 
liis own immediate services, and no peculiar opportunity for such occurred, 
during the long pacific rajitne that succeeded the Regency. He em{)loyed 
this Deriod iu an increased application to the theoiy and practice of the 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 347 

several liranclies of his profession, to evolutions, to encampments, anrl, 
al)ove all, to become familiar with the various duties of the Hat mnjor, 
for which he was suhset|uently so noted, as to be, according to Frederic 
tlie Great's ai)preciation of such knowledge, the soul of an army. Prtt- 
vided with a company, or made full Captain, February 15th, 1728, 
in the Regiment of Dillon, he was appointed, January 2Gch, 17 '2, 
its Aid-Major. He served, in 1733, at the reductif)n of Kehl, and " wv^ 
as much distinguished by his brilliant valour there, as by his uncommon 
nn'litary knowledge." In 1734, he acted very differently towards his 
father, from the manner in which his father- had acted towai-ds him. 
During the long peace between France and England under the govern- 
ment of the Cardinal de Fleury in tlie former, and the Whig-Hanovci'iau 
adnjinistration of Sir Robert Walpole in the latter country, Walpole, 
from his natural hostility to the Irish Brigade in France, as entirely 
attached to the House of Stuart, used his influence with his friend, the 
Cardinal, to keep back, as much as [)Ossible, the promotion of Irish officers 
of eminence, particidarly such as were most remarkable for loyalty to the 
Stuarts. Sir Charles Wogan. aliout this time, or February, 1733, noting 
of the Irish military in France, how "the arms of Whiggism ai-e 
extremely long, and reach them to their remotest haunts," adds on that 
j>oint — "Their principal officers, who have signalized themselves equally 
upon all occasions, have been advanced to no higher ])referment than 
that of Lieutenant-General ; whereas Scots, Germans, Livonians, Italians, 
have been promoted to the dignity of Mareschals of France. 
Some of the Irish had been Mareschals of France before now : the whole 
voice of that nation was for them ; but the fear of disobliging the present 
government of England gave a check to their promotion." One of those 
officer.s most devoted to the House of Stuart, as acknowledged on its 
part by his Baronetcy, was Sir Gerard Lally; and his promotion to the 
ra .k of Brigadier, although amjdy due to his long and distinguished 
services, as well as actually promised 13 years before by the Regent 
Duke of Orleans, was retarded, through the intrigues of Whig-Hanoveriaa 
hostility to the Irish in France.* His son, however, availed himself so 
"well of his alliance, by his mother, with many French families of con- 
sideration, and of his connexion with others by education and society, 
to impress up(m the government the great injustice done to his father, 
that such a "filial remonstrance" was found irresistible, and Sir Gerard 
was brevetted, February 26th, 1734, a Brigadier, with the promise of 
being made, on the next promotion, a Marechal de Camp, taking rank 
from 1719. In May, 1734, accompanied l)y his son, Sir Gerard, acting 
as Brigadier, was engaged in the attack on the lines of Etlingen, and 
being '' grievously wounded, was ujjon the point of falling into the 
enemies' hands, when his son threw himself between them and his father, 

* Mr. OX/onor, in his " History of the Irish Catholics," referring to the Jacohit- 
isni oi the Tories, and the Hanoverianism of the Whigs, remarks — " Of the 2 partie.s, 
the Whigs were the most implacaV'le enemies of the Catholics. The enmity of the 
l7-ish Whigs proceeded from a consciousness of injustice, and a dread of retalia- 
tion ; that ot the English was the result of a spirit of freedom, and ill-judged 
]'atriotisni. They cherished liberty, as the first of Ijlessings, and t!ie exaltation and 
glory of England, as paramount to the laws of nations to all moral or religious 
obligations. They abhorred Popery, as the jjarent of servile and passive obedieiico, 
and viewed Ireland, as the rival and competitor of England. To extirpate the <aio, 
and keep down the other, became a principal object of the policy of the Whig 
administration," &c. 



318 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

covered ]iim witli his own body, and, by ))i-odi,«,des of valour, snccoed'Hl 
ill disenu-aging liiin ; thus preserviii'^ at once the lite and the lilierty of 
the autlior of his existence!" In like manner. Ahixandei- of Macedon, 
i; diseqnently the Great, when his father, King Philii), was disabled, anil 
jiix.nt to be slain, or taken, in a combat amonust the Triballi, person;illy 
ivsrned him fnnn the enemy; Sciiiio, afterwards the conqueror of Zima, 
silso saved his father, the Consul, when wounded, and in danger of being 
i;iade prisoner, at the engagtnnent against the Carthaginians on the 
'i'icinus; and the good taste of Virgd has adorned his epic with a 
eimihir circumstance, of young Lausus interposing, to defend his 
v.'oiinded father, Mezentius. "The pious youth," to cite Dryden's ver- 

feiou, 

. — "springs forth to face the foe; 

I'rotects his parent, and jireveiits the blow. • 

8hoius of applause ran rini^iir,' thnnii^h the ticld, 
To see the sou the vanqiiisli d fixther shield ! " 
i-E-NEIS, X., ll.'U-ll."J5. 

Sir Gerard Lally was next at the siege of Philipsburgh "with his son 
by his side, whom he wstyled Ids f^rotectur" for having both achieved his 
))vonK)tion, and rescued him in battle. The last affair in this short war, 
«t which the youngei- Lally fought, was that of Chiusen, in 1735. Tii^Mi, 
inii>atie)it of repose, and an ardent Jacobite like his father, he applied 
liiniself closely to the advancement of projects, which he had long since 
sketched out, for the re-establishment in England of the exiled royal 
Ikniily. 

In 1737, the year of his father's -decease, he decided on going over 
liiniself to England, in order to ascertain personally, what was still the 
strength of the Jacobite [larty there? Nor did he confine his travcds 
to England. ITe traversed the 3 kingdoms, making observations on the 
coasts, the points at which to effect a landing, the vnrions lines of march, 
and the posts for occupation in the interior of the country ; and, after 
having established connexions and correspondences with the most con- 
siderable and most discreet partizaus of the son of James II., he 
I'eturned to France. Following up these projects in favour of the 
Siuarts, he next aimed to establish a party in their favour in the noi-th 
of Europe, or llnssia, where the veteran Peter Lacy, of the family of 
Ballingarry-Lacy in the County of Limeiick, who had served James 11. 
\)oth in Ireland and France ere he went into Peter the Great's ariiiy, 
and who was a warm Jacobite, then held the highest militarv rank of 
any of his countrymen on the Continent, or that of Field-Marshal. 
Having obtained full powers for this important object from the son of 
James II., and due recommendations to the Sobieskys and their con- 
nexions in Poland, as favourable to the Stuart cause, from the marriage 
between the 2 families,* Lally gave out, that he was going to Russia, in 
order to make a campaign, as a volunteer, against the Turks and Tartars 
of the Crimea, with the Ilu.ssiaii force, under the command of his 
countryman. Lacy. At this time, the Cardinal de Fleurv was looking 
out, among the foreigners in the service of France, for some officer, whose 

* The gallant Lord George Murray, so distinguished for the Stnart cause in 
1745-S, writing in his exile, or from Cleves. .'^ej)tember, 1748, as liavin'T hecn 
"lately in Poland," to James III. at l?omo, alleges- " All the Polish nobihty in 
tfuieral are much attached to your i\Iajesty, and your Pi-oyal House." 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 349' 

name, intcnigence, and courage would at oiice qualify and embolden 
liiui CO undeitalce a secret and hazardous negociation in Russia; with the 
double aim of detaching that ]iower t'roui its alliance with England, antl 
of causing it to contract one with France. Lally, then, or by creation 
of Febi-uary Gth, 1738. Captain of Gieiiadiers. was recommended for 
this delicate mission to the Cardinal. At Petersburgh, he fully justi tied 
this recommendation, having so insinuated him.self into the good graces 
of the Empress Anne, and her favourite, Biron. Duke of Courland, that 
th^e adherence of Russia to France, in oppo-sition to England, required 
only due definitive measures, on the part of the French government; 
nor were the interests of tlie Stuarts less attendi-d to with the Duke of 
Courland, Field-Marshal Lacy, and the Sobieskys. But the timid 
indecision or obliquity of the Cardinal's polic}', in not following up, or 
completing, what had been so auspiciously commenced, left his envoy so 
imsupported, and thus so disagreeably situated, in Russia, that, after 
having entered th;it country as a lion, to use his own observation, he 
considered himself fortunate in leaving it as a fox! The only fruits of 
this negociation, successful so far as it depended upon Lally, were his 
despatches, and 2 Memoires connected with it, which were preserved in 
the Depot des Affaires Etrangeres, and always referred to, by the best 
judges of such compositions, as mast(;r]iieces. The 1st of those 
Memoires was devoted to the internal statistics of Russia. The 2nd 
Memoire treated of the foi-eign relations of Russia; pointing out such 
arrangements, as, while terminating her war witii the Turks, might 
\inite her with Fi-ance against England, and also transfer to France, 
instead of England and Holland, the extensive comineice with the great 
northern em])ire, which occupied above G3i) Englisli and Dutch vessels 
a year. But this bold ])olicy — like Napoleon's a/'ierwr*/Y/v — of aiming to 
em{)ty the purse, as well as to reduce the power, of England, was too 
vigorous for the old Cardinal; and Russia, whose friendshij) might have 
b(;en secured had the iron been struck while hot, was left to be subse- 
quently gained over to the cause of England and the Allies, and to 
consequently furnish them with 3.5,000 men against France! Nominated 
Jlajor of the Regiment of Dillon, November loth, 1741, Lally served, 
as such, with the force for the defence of Flanders, in 171:2; and the 
caj)acity he displayed there caust?d the MiM-shal de Noailles to demand 
him as his Aid-Major, for the campaign of 1743. In that grade, Laliy 
was pr'\sent at the unfortunate bu.siiiess of Dettingen ; and, writes the 
Marshal de Noailles, "he there rallied the army several times in its 
disorder, and saved if in its retreat, through the advice which he laid 
before the Council of War after the action." Empowered, February 
19th, 1744, to hold rank as Colonel of Infantry, he was again employed 
by the Marshal de Noailles as Aid- Major in Flanders, where he was 
engaged in the reduction of Menin, Ypres. and Furnes. Then, proceed- 
ing to Alsace, he was at the affair of Haguenau, against the Germans. 
October 1st, he w-as commissioned as Colonel of the new Ii-ish Regiment 
of Irdautry which was to bear his name; and, indeed, says an English 
notice of him. in Cf^unexioJi with this appointment, "he seemed per- 
fectly fitted for military affairs; his courage was unquestioned, bis 
constitution vigorous, and his person very fine; but, to these qiialitica- 
tions, he added a still more useful talent, he was a person of excellent 
lUidei-standing." To the formation and in.struction of his new cor|}S, 
he applied himself with such atteatiua, aud corresponding su-cesd, 



350 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

d iiiiig tl)o autumn, winter, and sprinjj of 1744-5, that it was in porfect 
Didcr for the next campaign, or that of the memorable battle of 
Fdiitcnoy. 

Tlie Allied foree, assembled about Bruxelles, or Brussels, in A])vil, for 
tlie camj)aign of 1745 in Flanders, \inder the Duke of Cumberland, son 
of George II., consisted, at the Duke's arrival, according to the Eiiijlisli 
contemporary historian Rolt, of 21,000 British, and 32,000 troo[)s of 
other nations; of whom 22,000 were Dutch, t^OOO Hanoverians, and 
2000 Anstrians; making a general total of 53,000 men. But. afr.er 
liiiiig ri'viewcd, and reinforced for action, early in May, at Soignies, the 
{/oiit'cdtTates were estimated, on their own side, or in Holland, as perhay).s 
r).j,()00, if not 5G OUO, "of the tinest troops in Europe, and all their cor p.s 
complete."*' The French army, accompanied by Louis XV"., and the 
Dauphin, and cf)mmanded by the Marshal do 8axe, acconling to the* 
Contemporary Fiench writers, Voltaire, and Dumoitous. and the other 
J'\-i nch authoiities consulted by Sismondi, was thus divided — about 
18,000 invested tlie very strongly-fortified and munerously-garrisoned 
Dutch barrier-town of Tournay— (iOOO were employed to guard the 
biiilges over the Scheld, and the other communications — and 40,0li0 
remained, to pi-otect the siege, and give the Allies battle. t With 
these 40.000 men, including the best corps in the service, were the 
whole of the Irish, or the infaiitry I'egiinents of Claie, Dillon, Bulkeley, 
Roth, Berwick and Lally, and the cavalry Begiinent of Fitz-James; for 
"the Irish, " observed an able French Minister, alluding to their national 
and dynastic feelings, " are excellent troops, especially when they march 
ftgainst the English, and the Hanoverians." The Regiment of Fitz- 
J, lines, iis horse, being necessarily detached from the others, to act along 
Avilh the cavalry of the army, the Irish Bi'igade, properly speaking, was 
coiii|)ose(l of the G Regiments of Infantry, appointed to act under Charles 
O'Brien, (ith Viscount Clare and 9th Earl of Thomond, then Lieutenant- 
Ceneral, and subsequently Marslud of Fi'ance. under the designation of 
tlie " Marcichal de Thunumd!^ from that Earldom which was his by 
lineal ri,L;ht. though he had neither the title nor the possessions annexed 
to it in Ireland and England, on account of his adherence to the Stuart 
dynasty, and the Catholic religion. And, could there have been a more 
appi(>j)riate leader of those gallant exiles, in the cause of their disin- 
herited princes, oppressed country, and proscribed faith, than suclt, a 
descendant of the royal conqueror of the Danish invaders of old at 
Olontai'ft 

" Remember the i^lories of Brien tlie brave, 
Tlio' the days of the hero are o'er; 

Tlio' lost to Mfvnoiiia, and cold iu the grave, 
He retura.s to Kiiikora no more ! 

Tiie star of the Heiih wliicli so often has pour'd 
Its beam on the l>attie, is set; 

* On this last enumeration, see a ".Journal of the Proceedings of the Army of 
th-^ Alhes, HI the Low (,'ountries, to the Stli of May, 174.")," in "The Dublin 
Courant, No. 110," compared with the ])aragrai)li, headed " Haifue, May S. '' 

t Dumortous, in his "' Histoire des Conquotes de Louis XV.," expensively |)ub- 
lished witli plates and plans, and dedicated to Louis Idmxclf, calculates the French 
army at Fontenoy as not above 40,000 men, owing to the considerable number 
about Tournay, and otherwise detached. Sisinoiidi also refers to the French main 
army as only 40,000, from the deductions in question. These deductions, Veltaii'e, 
v.ho had ollicial iuforiuation, si>ecilTes as about 18,001) for Tournay, aud 6U00 for 
Uiamtamin^ tlie Scheld- bridges, &c., or as 24,000 men in all. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 351 

But enoii2;h of its 2:lory remains on eacli ?vvord, 
To light us to victory yet! " * — Moohe. 

The position selected by the Marsluil de Saxe, to ti^ht the Allies who 
approached to raise the siege of Tom-nay, was on tlit^ iinrtli side of the 
Sclield, along an advantageous slope. That ])ortion of liis troops, wlm 
were to oppose the British and Geimans, extended ludiind the wood of 
Barry or Vezon to the village of Rainecroix on the left, and as far as the 
village of Fontenoy on the right; the .spacg from the termination of the 
wood to the latter village being the most assailable. The other jiortion 
of his troops, who were to oppose the Dutch, extended from Fontenoy on 
the north to Antoin on the soutii. The entire position was protected ia 
front by redoubts sup] died with artillery, so as to form numerous cross- 
ing lines of (ire, especially in the direction of the Dutch; the number of 
cannon employed being officially stated as 110 pieces. In the space 
between the wood of Barry, or Vezon, and the village of Fontenoy, 
previously referred to as most assailable, this ])osition was- alone foiind 
])enetrable; owing, as confessed by the Marshal de Saxe, after the action, 
to his having omitted to place 1 redoubt moie between the wood and the 
village, from his not having believed there were commanders daring 
enough to risk a ]iassage even in that quarter, such was the laking fire 
through which it was to be a])proaclied, indejiendent of any extra 
redoubt! And if, when the English and Hanoverians did pass so 
bravely and so successfully there, the Dutch had been able to pass 
elsewhere, it is allowed, that the Allies would unqu<'sti(uiably have been 
victorious. That the Dutch were not able to effect their objei^t was 
attril)uted to the indefatigable Lally. "The evening before the day of 
the battle of Fontenoi," relates his French V)iogra])her, "having been 
desirous of inspecting, with his own eyes, the field of battle, which was 
about to be the theatre of such a great action, he discovered a way from 
Antoin to Fcmtenoi, which had been falsely considered in\practicable, 
and bjj which the French anny would be infaJlih'y turne:!^ Accordingly, 
'•this way was completely secured by 3 redoubts and 16 cannon, to 
which, bet/ond dispiete, the success of the battle vxis due, says a narrative 
piinted in the Correspondence of the Marechal de Saxe." 

May 11th, after a severe fii'e of artilleiy, on both sides, from about 5 
to 9 o'clock in the morning, the Allies pi-epared to bring the contest to 
a decision. Brigadier-General Richard Ingoldsby, on their right, was to 
as-^ault the redoubt, on the edije of the wood of BaiTy, or Vezon. The 
Dutch General, Prince de VValdeck, with their left, was to break in from 
Fontenoy to Antoin. The Duke of Cumberland, with the Anglo-Ger- 
nian troo[)s, was to attack in the centre. On their right, IngoldsV)y 
could not be gotten to obey his orders; having, in the words of a contem- 
porary, " smelt too long at the physic, to have any inclination to swallow 
it " — for which he was subsequently tried Ijy Court-martial, and expelled 
the service. On their left, VValdeck, though aided with 2 English bat- 
talions, found such a line of volcanoes opened by the French batteries 
from Fontenoy to Anttiin and the southern bank of the Scheld, that his 

* In M. de la Pence's vnlna1)le papers on Irish families, there is, signed 
London, September Kn-u, 1731, l)y the British Heraldic Officials, and further 
siyned at Paris, August ISth, i7-{2, by James, Earl of Waldegrave, Amliassador 
from (leorge 11. to Louis X\"., " (jencalogia autiijuissimffi et olini regia; O'Brieu- 
ornm fauiili* et doiiuis." setting forth, in detail, tiie descent of Charles O'Brieu, 
Lova (Jiare, Iroiii the rciiowiied victor of Uloutarf. 



352 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

Diitcli, «,fter some efforts to advance, showed no greater taste for tliia 
*' hot woi-k," tliau Ingoklsby did for tlie " [)hysic" of the redoubt. But, 
in tlio centre, matters proceeded very differently. The Duke of (Jumber- 
l.uid, wiiose bravery that day merited the highest euhigium, at the Iiead 
ol' a gieat column of 14,000 or 15,000 British and Hanoverian infantry, 
accompanied by 20 pieces of cannon, notwithstanding the difficulties of 
the gnjuiul, and the destructive cross-tire from the guns of the village of 
Fontenoy, and of the redinibt unassaulted by Ingoldsby, forced his way, 
Ix'vond both, into the French centre. " There was 1 dreadful hour," 
alleges the Marquis d'Arg(3nson, a looker-on with Louis XV., ''in which 
we expected nothing less than a renewal of the aifaii- at Dettingen; our 
Frenchmen being awed by the steadiness of the English, and by their 
rolling fire, which is really infernal, and, I confess lo you, is enou<;Ii 
to stu[)ify the most unconcerned spectators. Then it was. that we 
began to despair of oar caa.^e.'" * And no wonder they " lieuan to des- 
jiair ! " Of their infantry, battalion after battalion of the llegiments 
des Gardes Frangaises, Gardes Suisses, d'Aubeterre, du Hoi, di; Hainault, 
d«'.s Vai.s.seaux, de Normandie, &.C., of tlieir cavaliy, s(piadron alter 
sfjuadron, including those of the Girdes du Coijis, (iensflarmei ie, (Jara- 
biniers, liegiment de Fitz-James, ifec, gave way, shattered by the mus- 
ketry, or smashed by the cannon, of that moving cita<lel of gaUaut \nvn ; 
fiom whose; ranks, as having penetrated above 300 ])aces Ixjyond the 
redoubt and vilhige in spite of all that had yet crossed their path, the 
.shouts of anticipated victory resounded over the plain ! But, l)y thi.s 
time, though its depth seemed undiminislied, the column h;ul suffered 
much ; it looked as if astonished, at linding itself in the middle of the 
French, and witliout cavalry; it ajipea,i(Ml motionless, as if without fur- 
ther orders: yet maintaining a tierce countenance, as so far master of the 
field of l)attle. Like a noble bull, faced by none with impunit^', and 
wounded only at a distance by those still venturing to wound, ikure it 
stood, in the midst of a hostile an)[ihitheatre, triumpliant, aid bellowing 
deiiance, though weakened by ])asfc exertions, and loss of lilood. Had 
the Dutch now burst through the redoubts from Fo.utenoy to Antoin in 
support of the Anglo-Gei-nian column, the French would have been not 
only IjcatePi, but iiiined; since there would certainly have been no escape 
for the mass of theii- army, and, ]>erhaps no retreat even for the King, 
and the Dauphin. An attempt, indeed, to penetrate t.iat part of the 
French line, in spite of the murderous artillery-lire from its redoubts, 
and from a flanking battery of 6 guns, or upwards, on the other side of 
the Beheld, f was made, at this alarming juncture, with inueh tinnness 
by the Duteh infantiy in column, similarly aided by their ca\alry ; while, 
Iroin Touiiiay, a sally was also directed by its still numerous Dutch gar- 
rison ((uiginally 'JOoO strong) against the French investing force of 27 
battalimis, and 17 squadrons. ()r about lS,Ot)0 men, under Lieutenant- 
General, tiie Marquis de Breze. " When we 2)icture to ourselves," ex- 

* The letter of the Mai-quis d'Argenson, Minister for Foreign Affairs, from 
Fontenoy, is ^iven as Xo. 1 in the Aju-encli.x to the '2ikI volume of ''The l^rivate 
Life oJ Louis XV.," in 4 volinnes, '• ti<iii.';!ated from the French by J. <). J' sta- 
moud, F.lJ.S.," 17S1. Tills curious work has been otherwise useful lor the .1<^.»< rip- 
tiou ot the battle. 

•1 '1 he t;iU)S of this flaiikini.; battery are stated ;is G by Voltaire, who sjiecilles 
them u.s li)-poiuiilers. According to Uumortous' "plan" of the action, the ^iius 
there were inurt tliau G. 



IN THE SEiVaCE OF m.U'CE. 353 

claims my Fiencli Hutli(>rit!y, "<^ie anjak-jf^iU', the blows, tlie cries, the 
reciprocal meuiicfs of above IdO.OOO combatants anued for mutual 
destruction between Tournai and Funtcnoy, the il:uslies end reports of 
100,000 muskets, and of 200 pieces of catinon, the terrible tli under of 
which was 1000 and 1000 times reverberated along the Escaut," or 
Scheld, "as well as by all t!ie forests about it, we may well conceive, 
that never has the air, or the s<>a, been agitated by a. more horril)]e 
terapest,#tha.n that fr.-.^^i "i'r.!irii;u to the iicld of iontency." This attack 
of the l>iitcli from Fontenov lo Ant(,nn, and the snWy of their gairison 
from To'j.rnay, were both r<j.-tunately repulsed; but the Duke of Cum- 
berifind was s/.i/'l trluni;';!)t'.:it 

Akvajrivtiile, tlie Duke -.{« Hiolielieu, having proceeded to reconnoitre 
the fci-miuable coluniii, mul with Colonel Lally, '■'■ impalietii, tliat the 
duvotion of Ike, Irish Jjriiia'ic 'o.-as not turned to account;'"^ and wbo, 
with due jiveseuce of mind to perceive, unlike others^ that tho vn- 
ci'vcked progviis.s of the coiunin, ^iiice it had gotten beyond tho artillery 
Ol tijtj redf.Tibt ah'i villag',: inUt the mid.-^t of the French, "was greatly 
ovv'ng to its eiiipioymei;;. of 20 pieces of cannon, as well as musketry, 
figaiust mvisketry uJune, made sucii a suggestion o\\ that point to Riche- 
lieu, a.H courributc-d, a second tip.ie. to the gjiiuing of the da}'. This 
battle, "so celebrated" says the learned historian, Miclielet. "?y;rt6' lost 
nrlihoni rsTi^/id't/, if the Irishman. La'!y, ainnioted by his hcUred against t.h.e 
Engluih, had not proposed, tu hrenh their culaiun, with 4 jnecf.'i of cannon.'^ 
As "an aurovt courtier," contirmes Michelet, thus honourably exposing 
his own countryman's dishonesty, "</ie Duke appt'opriafed to himself 
the idta, and the glory of its sticc''ss."f Hurrying away witl) such 
a useful bint, he c?.m'3 to where Louis XV, was stationed with tho 
Dauphin, tne STarshal de Saxe, Jzc, and the 4 cannon referred to, that 
were at hi,ud in reserve for a retreat. "A rather tumultmnis council," 
"writes Volt-airc, "was going on around tlie King, who Wiis pressed, on 
the j.^a-'t of chc Ceur'ral, and for the sake of Fi-ance, not tfj expose him- 
self fi)i-criOr, 'j'h« Duke de Kichelieu, Lieutenatit-General, })nd acting 
in the rank of Aide-daCamp to the King, arrived at tljis mo:aent. He 

* This ext5.'»3t from fl\e Frcuch memoir of Lally is impor'aufc, as showing, 
alonjj Avivii tbt ot.tcr or j>is]i -?r.J SiigJish evidence hereafter adducij-l in oppositlun 
to Volutire., that the Ivisi. pM).y,c'c w-'ib kept altogether in reserve, or vmemployed, 
ui'til the final charge fcltat. " c.jT''.ii Ir.rf -.-•i;-." 

•!• Tiio ja^sa^e ab'f.e trsii-si;--. :i"< f"(i.^i Miclielet is in his "Prgcia de I'Histoire de 
France jusipi'a la Hc-oli-.tioti vrancaise," 1 volume, iird edit'on, Paris, 1838; 
wL'jre, after notiiio of tc.r Ft-.i'jfc, " Aux Pays Eas, sous le Mare'c'i:il de Saxe, ils 
gagneut Icj batailies ;ie Fontono- (1745) et de I!a'.:<^oux, (174())" it is a..lded — "La 
j)ro;;nCre, trvtit celcl'rce, f'tait perdue sans rembde, si Drlaiidais, Laby, inspire' par 
sa liaiue cor.',f«; Isa Angliis, n'eilt prcpose de romjire leur colciuiie avec 4 jdeces de 
canon. I'n comtisan adroit, lb Due de Kichelieu, s'apt'Tojiria I'ide'e, et la gloire du 
succ^s." The IK) Fiendi guns, exeopc i in the rear with the reserve, having been 
plai).tcd in the redoubts ar.d village of Fontenoy, &c., cor-stituting the fnrtilied 
vu!v:ard lint of tl<e Freiich p<'siti()a rouud fidiu the woO:l of Barry or Vezon to 
Antoin—tho .XngiO-Iianoverian colun^.n, with i!0 cannc/ii, li;Tviiig gottcu within or 
hffhind th.ifc outward line, Vvhere, as originally jilaced, the mass of the French 
guns still roaiaiuod, in order to preverit any further breach of the line in question 
— and the ciicuii'stauce of canmai being so much required, v/hile 4 pieces were •'/'e 
in the rear, being unheeded by the French, in the excitement of tho conflict with 
the foruudal'le column— that ccjlumn had ]!otsesaed the great aUvatitage alluded to, 
of arul'cry on their .side, and none orain^t them, until Lally, hy his rem .ik v.ith 
respeut tc ihi; 4 pi( cco, y>roved liimself then, as well as prtviounlij, to ho " tiie ngl.fc 
Uian, ill iau riiiht piace." 

2 A 



354 HISTORY OF TIIC WASH BillOADES 

was after reconnoitring the column near Fontenoi. Having tlins gallo]»erl 
about in every direction without being wounded, he appears before tlieiii, 
out of bi-eath, sword in hand, and covei-ed with dust. ' What news do 
you bring?' said the Marshal to him, 'What is your opinion?' 'My 
news,' replied the Duke de Richelieu, ' is, that the battle is g dned, if we 
will it; and mi/ opinion is, that 4 cannon should be immediately advanced 
against the front of the column; while this artillery will stagger i\ 
the Maison du Roi and tlie other troo[)s will surround it; we must f dl 
upon it as foragers.' " That is, as elsewhere explained, " like chasseurs, 
with the hand lowered, and the arm shortened, pell-mell, masters, foot- 
men, officers, cavalry and infantry, all together." Louis at once ai)proved 
of the counsel of his favourite, Richelieu ; and 20 officers of distinctiou 
were detached to make the corresi)onding ari-augements. The Duke de 
Pequigni, to whom the use for the cannon was explained, hastened thefti 
f(jrward, crying out — " No retreat, the King orders that these 4 jneces of 
cannon sh ul I gain the victory V Richelieu himself set oif at full .speed to 
bring uj) the Maison du Roi, and otliers advanced with the several cor[)S 
of Gendarmerie, Chevaux Legers, Grenadiers a Clieval, Mnusrpietaires. 
The Marshal de Saxe likewise departed, to take general measures for the 
final effort to recover the day. Amidst the prevalent hopelessness of 
succi ss, he had sent 3 several orders for witlidrawing the troops at 
Antoin to Calonne; to secui-e, at all events, the retreat of the King and 
the Dauphin there. These re]ieated orders, only suspended on the 
yjersonal responsibility of the officers at Antoin, would, if acted on, have 
rendered Fontenoy another Crecy in the military annals of France, by 
opening such an inlet for the Dutch to co-operate with the successful 
Biitish and Hanoverians, as had certainly been found elsewhere, hut for 
the /ortuiiate foresight, and- suggestion of additional redoubts and artdlery 
there, by Colonel Lally. The Marshal fii-st hurried to Antoin on the 
right, to countermand its evacuation, if possible; and he was, most 
luckily in time to stop it, when it was about to take ])lace. He theri 
quickly traversed the field in an o]iposite direction; ordering that the 
^arious regiments should not, as hitherto, make "false charges" — or 
each attacking on its own account, rather than connected with othei's — 
but that they should re-arrange themselves for a united assault upon 
the consolidated discijiline, order, and numbers of the enemy's column, 
sf) as in front, and on both flanks, to close upon and bieak that column, 
by a great simultaneous rush of " each for all, and all for each." lu 
this excursion, the Marshal, ere he lejoined Louis XV., proceeded as 
far round the hostile column to tiie left, as towards the position of 
the Irish Brigade. 

The 6 regiments of infantry, of wliich tliis corps consisted, were 
stationed behind the wood of Barry, or Vizon. and a z^edoubt, with the 
Gardes Suisses on their right, ranged, in like manner, behind another 
redoubt, or that which stopped Ingoldsliy — neither, however, of these 
redoubts having been manned by Irish, or Swiss, but French troops. 
Next in line, beyond the Gardes !Suis.scs, were the (Jardes Fran9aises; so 
that the Allied column, under the Duke of Cumberland, in penetrating 
the French centre, by breaking tlie (iardes Fianc^aises, liad the Gardes 
Suisses on its right flank.* Though the Irish, as still farther away to 

* I t;il\e the respective jiositions, &o., of tine several cnrps of the Freuch army at 
Fouieuuy from the larije plau of tlie ixtiuii lu iJuiiiwrDuus. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 355 

the French left than the Gardes Snisses, were consequently not so poste'l 
as to be at all in contact with the hostile column when it made its was 
into the centre, they were disordered by the residts of the coluimrs 
success. Of the 4 battalions of which the Regiment des Gardes Fran- 
daises was composed, the effects of a continued residence iu Paris were? 
.so injurious to the soldiery of 3, that these 3 battalions gave way sooner 
than they ought, in spite of the utmost endeavours of the officers to 
lally their men ; the 4th battaliim of the regiment alone behaving well. 
The Gardes Suisses, which formed the brigade between the Gard<'s 
Fran^aises and the Irish, being likewise repulsed in such a manner tliat 
cavalry had to inter|)ose,* so many defeated Guards retired, or were 
driven back, upon the Irish Regiments of Clare and Roth, that their 
Brigade was*necessarily put into confusion; and required to be propor- 
tionably reformed, or restored to order, ere it should be summoned to 
join in the engagement. The i-anks of the Irish Bi-igade — thanks to the 
colonial, sectarian, and commercial misrule, which beggared, starved to 
death, cr di'ove abroad, for bread, so many thousands of tlieir race and 
creed! — then presented a tine military spectacle of young men, in higli 
spirits, and discijjline, and "eager for the fray."t Their natural 
indignation, at what tlieij considered the shameless perjury tlu'ough which, 
tlieir country was reduced to slavery in s|)ite of a solemn Treaty, was 
attested by the stimulating cry, in their ancient language, of ''■ Reiaeiuber 
Limerick and Saxon pp-'fidy !"'\. re-echoing from man to man, as "watch- 
word and reply." Their feelings of loyalty — douhli/ hostile to those of 
their foe, fi'om uniting devotion to the House of Stuart, and to the 
House of Bourbon, as its ally — were also excited to suitable ardour liy 
the favourite or popular Jacobite air of ''The White Cockade.'' This 
animating tune, whose allusion to the common colour of the Stuarts and 
Bourbons was associated with words in favour both of the Stuart 
dynasty, and of enlisting to recruit the Brigade, was consequently then, 

* On the misbehaviour of the Gardes FraiKjaises, and its alleged cause, see 
Barbier's "Journal Historique et Aiiecdoticjue du Rfecrue de Louis XV".,'' and 
Voltaire, for the heavy /mnis/nnent of the Gardes Fraii9aises, Suisses, &c., by tlie 
Allied cciluiiu), in its successful advance. 

f Mr. O'l'oiior, in his "History of the Irish Catholics," remarking, with refer- 
ence to the reigns of (George I. and George II. in Ireland, how "the Latholic youth 
sought shelter, from the miseries of famine, in the armies of the Continent," 
mentions — "The Irish Brigade recruited for the sj)ace of "iO^'ears, from 17-5 to J74!>, 
by the wretchedness of the people, by the avarice of tiie proprietors, and the 
severities of the Popery Code;" adding — "Thus the miseries of Ireland became, a 
military resource to the hereditari/ and implacable enemies of Great L'r tain." 
And hence the allusion to the Brigade, at Fontenoy, by the Marquis de Tressau — 

"Exiles d'une ile chene, 
Viitiiiiexdun sort in/mma'n, 
Veuez defemlre la patiie. 
Qui vous a re<;u dans son sein! " 

t Mr. C. H. Teeling, in his "Personal Narrative of the Irish Eehellion of 1798," 
gives, as from a journal of his maternal granduncle, who was at Foutenoy, "the 
stimulating cry," iu Irish, to which the Brigaile charged the British; the words of 
which Dr. O'Donovan, (whom I consulted on the matter,) would, more correctly, 
write thus, " Cuimhnigidh ar Luimnech agus feall I'a Sassonach!'' and translate 
as above. The late learned James Roche, Es'q. of Limerick, who was horn iii 
1770, or but 25 years after the battle of Fontenoy, in his " (.Critical and Miscel- 
laneous Essays by an Octogenarian," shows, from the testimony of officers of tlie 
Brigade, whose services were "contemporaneous with the battles of Dettiiiijen and 
Fontenoy,"' and whom he himself kittw, tiiat "Iiish was generally spoken m tLa 
regiments." 



."^SS TIIRTORY OF TIIF II?I!5IT nninADT:?! 

ftTid lone; nftiM-, int(>rdicfce<i Jia troasoii by the ('fotiiwcllo-Willinniilc or 
A\niit^-il:\iii)V('ii,ui T'cpreseiitativcs of llev(»lutii>ii "iiscrcinl.iiicy' in hc- 
1 iinl.* V>n\ ils t,i-cas(>ii, or its !uy;ilty, was, at Foiitciioy, Itofon^ a fairer 
tnhimal, or that, of the ojijtrc.ssal, uniied as well as, and /ace fA> fiu-e lokli., 
the o/i/tressor .' 

Tlic i;ciicial plan of action against tlio Ant;lo-l ranovci-iaii ooluinii wa'^, 
tliat, after the I cannon slionUl Ijrcacli it. in trout, i\\c. cavali'y, licaiied l>y 
ilio JMaison iln IJoi, (Icndarnicric, and ('aral)iniers, slionld dasli in ii|i(in 
it, llicr.'. 'riic rffoniHid infantry Hrii^ades dn Koi and d'Aubeterrc, 
rcMtitorced a-iid connected for tJieir lint' of attack willi the ))revionsly 
v.iienf/ti(/ed i)ii;^ado de la ("'oiironrie, were U) fall U|i(in tiic eiieruy's lei, 
or Hanoverian tlank. The otht-r infantry l>ri;j;a(les, de Nornian<lic, and 
(les Vaisseaux. likewise formed anew alter what they had sull'ered, and, 
drawn v.]) in 1 line with tin; (5 Ii'ish re<^iinents, were to fall upon the 
( neiny's rii.dit, or British (lank— the Irish l>rii,'ad(^ here t\w /res/ie-i§ 
tini)]is, and tlnis, as it woidd appear, selected to head this niovenient. I" 
having in eons(M]uence, (it will lie necessary to observe,) the (lar-abiniers 
TK'arest to tluini of tlie ',\ cavalry corps which were to attack in front. 
JVlere liiin<if was to be limited, as much as ])Ossible, to the artillery; 
tiie sables of th(> horse, and the bayonets of this foot, being orchard to 
'Conclude the business. The oallunt J^ally, now tliat tiu; Brigade! mere to 
ect, as "an Irishman all in his glory was there;" and, filled, as he was, 
with every cause for animosity to the English, on national, family, I'tdi- 
gious, and dynastic grounds, he made a -speech of corresponding vigour to 
the soldiers of his regiment — " March against the enemies of France and of 
'jio'iirselves, without Jirimj, until you have the points of your bayonets 
upon their be'lies / " J Words, not less, if not more, worthy of remembrance, 
for tlunr martial energy, than those, at Bunkers Hill, of the American 
(leneral Putnam, to his men. against the same foe — " lieserve your fire, 
till you see the whiles of their eyes ! " § 

The Duke of (Cumberland's column hitherto presenting the apjiearance 
of a gi'eat oblong square, kecsping u]) in front, and from both Hanks, a 
terrible lire of musketry, as well as of cannon loadisd with cartridge-shot, 
but, by this time, so unluckily circumstanced, that it could not make 
nse of its cannon without injury to itself, was now within due range (<f 
the 4 piec(!s of French artillery, pointed in the best manner to make aii 

• The circumstances of " Tlie White Cofknde." having been played by i\\v, Irish 
r>rio;a(le at Fontonoy, and of the tune havini^ been iir(ihil)itc(l in Jrelaiul l)v the 
dominant oliLjurchy of the day, are known to ns by coiitein|)orary tradition IVom our 
grandfathers; and the popular or native words to the air, with reference to the 
iin.;,ade and tlie Stuarts, speak for tlieinseKn s. 

t The Brigade des Irlandois, with the l'>rit,'a(h; <le la ( 'ouronne immediately to the 
rear, were bot.k orii^inally jiosted away to the left, l)ehnid the; wood of Barry, or 
\ ezon ; and, as not liavnio heen brought, like the enrps do Norniandic, des Vais- 
seaux, d Auheterre, (hi Koi, &c., into eonfliet with L'umberlands column in its 
bi 1 aoii of the French centre, were thus the 2 fittest Brigades to give (hie vigour, tlie 
one on the right, the other ou the left, to the respective infantry Hank charges 
Dpiin tliat c<ihunn. 

.]: l''or this sjieech of Lally, we are indebted to Voltaire, though not in liis ini- 
■ inc. bale narrative of the liattle of ]<\)ntenoy. Ii(' gives it thus - " IMarchez contie 
les euiieinis de la France et les votres ; ne tirez (pie (iiiand v(jiis aurcz la pointe de 
vos liayonnettes sur leur ventre." 

« Ua-d Alacaiihiy alludes to America and Ireland, as the "<«;<; imj)ortant depeu- 
d(uicios of tlie Crown," in whicli wroiuj was followed l)y '\jii-st j-ctrihii/i'm " — anil 
FonT( noy was a portion of the "just retriluition " due for the " wroii^' " to Ireland, 
aa B.ukers Jrldl was lor the " wrou^i" to America. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 3-57 

oponing for cavalry tlirungli tht; van of that as yet impervious and inviu- 
cil)le iiia-ss, while the infantry should assault it on each side. The weii- 
served discharges of the 4 cannon liavinj,' raked rapid chasms through 
the opposing "wall of men." Riclieiieu, like a Bayard on this occasion, 
at the head of the Maison du Koi, gave the word to charge — 

" Now shall their serried column 
Beneath our sabres reel — 
Throu;^h their ranks, then, witli the war-horse — 
Through their Iwsoiiis witli the steel 1 " 

The Maison du Koi, Gendarmerie, and Carahiniers galloped down u]>oa 
the hostile van, unrecovered li-(,m the crushing tire of the artillery. Tlie 
infantry Brigades du Boi, de la ('ouronne, d'Auheterre marclied against 
the enemy's left flank; while the (jther reformed infantry Brigailes, de 
Normandie and des Vaisseaux, headed by the (i fresh regimi^nts of tiie 
Irish Brigade, under the Lord Clare and Earl of Thomond, advanced 
against the right flank. In the language of the national ijallad, — 

" How tierce the look these exiles wear, who 're wont to V)e so gay, 
The treasur'd wrongs of ;j(( years are in their hearts to day I 
The treaty broken, ere the ink wlierewith 'twas writ could dry, 
Their plunder d homes, their mind shrines, their women's parting cry. 
Their priesthood hunted down like wolves, their country overthrowu, — 
Each looks, as if revenge for all were stak'd on Idiii alone. 
On Fontenoy, on Fontenoy, nor ever yet elsewhere, 
Eush'd on to tight a nobler band, tlian Uit-Hc. proud exiles were I" — Davis. 

"Soon," adds an English letter from France, "as the English troops 
beheld the scarlet unitorm, and the well-known fair complexions of the 
Irish; soon as they saw tlie Brigade advancing against them with fixed 
bayonets, and crying out to one another, in English, Steady, boys! fur- 
ward! clmrye ! too late they began to curse their cruelty, which forced 
8<i brave a people from the Vjosom of their native coimtry, to seek their 
tortunes, like the wandering Jews, all over the world, and now brou<;ht 
them forward in the field of Uittle, to wrest from them both victory and 
life!" That portion of the British, immediately oppo.sed to the Iiisii, 
were, though the worse lor their mctrning's work, a choice body of meti, 
containing, among other corps, the 1st battalion of the 2nd or Coldstream 
Kegiment of Foot Guard.s, witli 2 pieces of cannon in front; ami they 
had the advantage of being upon a rising ground, the asi-ent to whicii 
they were to sweep with their musketry; while the Brigade had to 
a.scend, and charge the occupants of the eminence, without pulling a 
trigger. As the Iri.sh approached the British, an officer of the Brigade, 
Anthony Mac Donough, younger brother of Nicholas Mac Donough, 
Esq. of Birchfield, in the County of Clai-e, (an ofishoot from the old 
sept of the Mac Donoughs of Sligo.) being iu advance of his men, was 
singled out, and attacked, by a British utficer. But the spirit of the 
gallant Biiton was above his strength. Mac Donough, as the fresher 
man, soon disabled his adversary in the sword-arm, and making him 
juisoner, sent him to the rear; tortunately for him, as he was .so fatigued, 
that, in all human probability, he must have fallen in the charge (»r 
it'treat; and, it is pleasing to add, that these gentlemen afterwards 
became great friends. This rencontre, in the presence of both force.-*, 
occasioned a momentary pause, followed by a tremendous shout fiom the 
Brigade at the success of their own oiiicer, the efl'ect of whicli could only 



<;'f>8 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIOADKS 

l)t> ft'lt 1)}' a sptH'tator; and, at such a critical jnnctnro. tliat sturiliiif^ 
shout, and the event of ill omen to the Briti.sli with which it was con- 
nected, were remarked to have had a proportionalde inrtiicncc^ noon 
them.* Tiie Brigade being now sufficiently near, the British prepared 
to <,'ive them that formidable tempest of bullets, which was reserved for 
the last moment, in order to be discharged with the more deadly etfect. 
" Whether," observes our illustrious military liistorian, Napier, " fiom 
the ])eculiar construction of the muskets, the ])hysical strength and codI- 
iHss of the men, or all combined, the English fire is tlie most destiuctive 
known." And, by that fire, the Irish snlfered accordingly. Their brave 
eonunander, the Lord Clare and Earl of Tliomond, struck by '2 bulL'ts, 
most probably owed his life only to the cuiiass wiiit-h he woi-e, according 
to the royal army-regulation of the previous year; the Colonel and 
Chevalier de Dillon (3rd son of the late Lieutenant-General Count 
Arthur Dillon, and brother of the 2 last Lords Viscount Dillon in Trc;- 
land,) was slain at the head of the family regiment; and a laige 
number of officers and soldiers were likewise killed or wounded. 
But this did not arrest the impetuous determination with which tiuiir 
more fortunate comrades pushed forwai-d, to the cry, in the old Celtic or 
(laelic tongue, of " Re>nenil)er Linierih\ awl Sccou perfily!" and 'a 
I'ainie blanche," or "with the cold steel," to do business more etrectually, 
in Veudome's language, as '• bouciiers de I'armee," or "butchers of the 
army." Like their stout countryman in th(; song, represented, in opposi- 
tion to an English foot-pad with tire-arms, as relying only on coming to 
close quarters with his honest slick, and as finally exclaiming of the 
discomfited knight of the trigger, 

" His pistol it tiasliM, 
But his head I sniasliM, 
Oh! siullolah, jjoa mvcr mi^.s'd fiir f^ 

Avilhout nvj/ volley in reply to the blaze of shot from the column, tlie 
Brigiide ran ni u]ior) the British with fixed bayonets, thrusting tluMU into 
their faces 't And, although the Caiabinicrs, in the confusion of the 

* At the battle of t'asta'la, in Spain, in Aiiril, 181.'}, between the Allies un(h;rSir 
John Murray, and the French under Mamhal Sucl>et, a like eneounter oecurreil 
leiween an Irish oHicer oi the 27th Elnniskillen Font, .and one of the enemv'.s 
etfieers, tlH)nijh with a more fatal result to the olKcer defeated tliere, tluin at i'\);i- 
teiioy. While the French, says Najiier, " vvero luifoldinr;: their masses, a grenadier 
(lificer, advancing; alone, challenged the Captain of the "iTth yrcnidiers to siiij^ e 
coniliat. Waldron, an ai^ile, vigorous Irishman, ami of hoiling courage, instant y 
ppiuni: forward, the iiostile lines looked on without firing a shot, the swords of 
the champions glittered in the sun, the Fi'euchn a I's head was cleft in twain, and, 
the next instant, the 27th, jumping up with a deafening shout, fired a deadly 
volley, at half ]iistol-shot distance, and then chargetl, with such a shock, than, 
iiiauore their bravery and numbers, the enemy's soldiers were overthrown, and the 
siiie o! the Sierra was covered with the killed and wounded.' 

+ "The vicfcory of the French at Fontenoy," says an anin'tatorof Forman in 17^)', 
or hut t) years after the battle, "is chielly attrihutahle to the Irish; for, when the 
Allies, in all apjicarance, h:id the advania^e hy the br'avery of their troops, the 
I'^rencli King order'd tlie Irish to attack the ri-ht wing of the Allies; which they 
did, with so uiucli resolution and hravery, not firing a slmt till they pnx/i'U tlulr 
hii'i'iii''ti into 111.!'. J'nc'-n of tlu'ir (nnnuif.s, that, in S]iiuht of the inti'ejiid hehaviour > f 
the English, they were obliged to retreat." The alleged ciuiduct of the (') regiments 
of the Irish Brigade here, with res| ect to the "faces of their enemies." re.seinhled 
th.it of U;x'sar's (i jiicked cohorts of oOOO men at Phaisalia, l>y which the .'ictv.iy 
t'lere is stated to have been decided against Poiiijjey. See Plutarch's lives of (Jassai 
and Poni[>ey. 




morion's Histoire df.^ Conqum's dc Louis XV. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 359 

weUe, and from the similarity of uniform between the Brigade and the 
British, iinluckily charged, and even killed, Fome of the Irish, ere the 
error could be arrested by the cry of "Vive la France/" or "France /or 
ever!"* this temporary "mistake among fiiends" was soon rectified, and 
})venged, in the proper quarter. While the Carabiniers turned their 
steeds and sabres with due efi'ect elsewhere, or from their brother Celts 
and fellow-soldiers against the common Teutonic foe, down went, or away 
aloTig the far slope of the hill went, the immediate opponents of the Irish, 
before tlieir crimsoned or flashing bayonets. Of the ^0 cannon belonging 
to the late formidable Allied column, 15 pieces, with 2 colours, were 
among the recorded trophies of the Brigade; the 1st battalion of the 2nd 
or Coldstream Regiment of British Foot Guards being s]iecial]y noticed, 
as losing a pair of colours and 2 horsed guns to the Irish infantry i-egi- 
ment of the exiled English Jacobite, and brother-in-law of the late 
Marshal Duke of Berwick, Lieutenant-General Count Francis Bulkeley.f 
In a word, the enemy, pressed, on one side, by the irresistible vigour of 
"la furia Francese," and, on the other, where "the wrath of the Gael in 
its red vengeance found him," was, with great loss, so i-apidly broken, and 
driven from the field, that his forces disaj)peared, as it wei-e, by magic! — • 

" On Fontenoy, on Fontenoy, like eagles in the sun, 
With bloody plumes the Irish stand — the held is fought, and won! " — 

Davis. 

*' It seemed," to use the words of Louis XV.'s contemporary biographer, 
"as if we had been fighting against those enchanted legions which were 
visible and invisible at pleasure; it was," says he, "an affair of 7 or 8 
minutes" — or, as the French Minister, who was present, affirms of tlie 
time in which victory was achieved by this final attack, "in 10 minute.>< 
the battle was won ! " Then, we are informed, " the Fi'ench, astonished 
to meet with Frenchmen everywhei-e, at length took breath; they felt the 
joy of a victory, so long disputed." Of the Irish, 1 of their poets, in a 
ballad, "The Brigade at Fontenoy, May 11th, IT-lo," having noted, how 

"There were stains to wash away. 
There were memories to ilestroy, 
In the best blood of the Briton, 
That day at Fontenoy," 

• "The bayonet and the sword now came in use," relates the Private Life of 
lewis XV., of the last general charge ujion the Allied cohmin; "the fray was 
dreadful; and tlie confusion such, that the Carabineers, taking one moment tlie 
Irish, who weie cloathcd nearly the same, for English, obliged them to call out, 
France fur ever ! but, unfortunately, after some of iihcm had been killed." 

t My French Vv'ar-Olhce memoir of the Marshal de 8;i.Ke makes the n Timber of 
cannon abandoned upon "le champ de I'atalle,'' bj' the Allies, "20 pieces," as docs 
also Dumortous. My memoir, on similar otficial aiithrrity, of the Lord Clare ami 
Earl of Thomond, as Marshal of France having preiiused, how, as Lieutenant- 
Ceneral at Fontenoy, "a la tetc dv^s Brigades Irlandoises, il tomba sur le tlanc 
f e !a colonne d'Anulois et d'Kanovriens, qui s'etoit f dt j<iur au milieu de 1 arraue 
Franroise. " adds, how "il la cnlbuta, I'enfonva. la mit en fuite, prit 2 drapeaux, et 
15 pieccfi df caiioii.'" The )st battalion of the 2nd or Coldstream Regiment of Foot 
(juards is marked in the othcial " List of all the Eegiments in the British Service," 
in March, 1745, as in Flanders; and as consisting, accoiding to its due complement, 
of 639 privates, and 99 officers, or 738 men in all. The full French relation of the 
liattle of Fontenoy jmblished by authority at Paris, May 24th, 1745, (as translated 
in Exshaw's Magaziue for that year,) says -"The -nd Regiment of English Foot 
Guards, who had Bulkeley's Irish Regiment to deal with, must be almost destroyed. 
The latter took from them a pair of colours, and 2 pieces of cannon, with the horsea 
belonging to them, which were before the battalious." 



560 HISTJKT OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 



•As priz'd as is the bles?ing 

From an agdJ father's lip — 
As weiwme as the haven 

To the temjiest-driven ship — 
As clear as to the lover 

The smile of gentle maid — 
Is this day of lon^-sought venireanoe 

To the swords of the Brignde. 

* See their shatter'd forces flying; 

A broken, routed line! — 
See, Enicland, what brave laurels. 

For your brow, to-day sr-e twine! — 
Oh: thrice bless'd the honr, that witness'd 

The Bnt-'n tnm'd to flee. 
From the chivalry of Erin 

And France's ^jleur de lUf' 

•As we lay beside our camp-fires. 

When the snn had pass'd away. 
And thought upon our brethren. 

That had perish'd in the fray^ 
We prar d to God, to grant us. 

And then we'd die with joy. 
On': day, uwn our own dear land. 

Like this of FontenoyI " — Dowlisg. 

Sncb was the conduct of the Iiish at Fontenoy, where, inclnrlin?. of 
course, that of the able and gallant Lally, it is evident, as at Cremona 
43 years before, what tJiey did to gain the day was of such consequence, 
that, but for them, it wouM have been lost. The learned Dr. Matv, 
Principal Librarian of the British Museum, and Secretary to the Royal 
Society, in his contemporary Memoirs of the Life of Lord Chesterfield, 
refining to the very creditable behaviour of the British at Fontenoy, 
81»eaks of them, as owing their defeat there to the Irish Brigade, or as 
" retiring with this consfjlation, if it could be one, that they yielded the 
]';ilm t'» their own countrymen." To which assertion the D-jctor appends 
this note. " The great share which the Iiish Brigade had in the success 
of the day was fully ascertained by one of their most res| ectable country- 
men, Colonel Dromgold* He publLshet: two letten? in French, on purpose 
to exj»ose the fallacious account, given by Voltaire, in his poem on the 
battle of Fontenoy; a poem, which Lord Chestei-field, notwithstanding 
his partiality to the author, very wittily ridiculed, in one of his French 
lettei-s." And there could not have been a more respectable authority, 
in opix»sition to Voltaire, than this Iiish officer, named by Dr. Maty. 
He is thus noticed by Dr. Johnson, when at Paris, about 3(3 years after 
the little, or October 30th, 1775 — "I dined with Colonel Drouigold; 
had a pleasing afternoon" — and was subsequently spoken of, to Mr. Bos- 
well, by the Doctor, as " Colonel Dromgold, a veiy high man. Sir, head 
of LEc'h Milif.aire, a most complete character; for he had first been a 
Professor of Rhetoric, and then became a S'jldier." The Colonel was also • 
a friend of the celebrated Edmund Buike, and the virtuous and accom- 

* Abbe ilac Geoghegan mentions, "dans le Comt« de Lonth, une famille des 
I)ro,ni'olds." The name, otherwise written with an u, instead of a:i o, in the 1st 
s\ liable, is now generally printed Drom^o-Ae. Its most remarkable representative, 
after the Colonet was the learned Doctor of the Catholic Rrard, who ouce male so 
iriTsch noise, in the struggle for Emaucipadon. The ikmiiy are said to be " of DaiiisA 
d.--iceni." 



IX THE SERVICE OF FRAXCa 3G1 

plished Lord Lyttelton ; who, in some verses addressed to Lira, aiA 
eulogizing his literary abilities, observes — 

" Tho' now thy valour, to thy country lost. 
Shines in the foremost ranks of Gallia's host." 

^?? Voltaire's nigfjavdly mention of the Iiisli at Fontenoy, in his poem 
ou that engagement, is as follows: — 

" Clare and the Irish learn from us t'avenire 
Their king's, their country's, and their church's wrongs. '' 

His description of the battle in his Siecle de Louis XV., though in prose, 
and though, as such, it should have been more true than that in verse, is 
not better, if it is not woi-se, as regards the Irish. In opposition to otlier 
narratives, Irish, English, and French, which discountenance the notion 
of any attack having been made by the Irish until the last that was 
attended with decisive success, he says, speaking of the victoiious advance 
of the Anglo-Hanoverian column, in the eailier part of the day — "Some 
Irish battalions rushed upon the flank of this column; Colonel Dilhm 
falls dead: thus no corjis, no attack, had been able to break in upon the 
column," &c.* Finally, having stated how the Marshal de Saxe ]n-o- 
ceeded, "from the right to the left, towards the Brigade of the Irish," 

* The following Irish and English authorities sufficientlj' refute this groundless 
assertion with respect to the Irish. '"At the battle of Fontenoy," according to the 
Countj' Clare gentleman previously noticed as distuiguished there with the Irish. 
Brigade, " 1111=;/ were a part of the rf,-ien-e of the French army. The English were 
engaged all the morning with the French, and had the advantage, owing to their 
batteries, which were well served; and the Entrlish ha^'in£: advanced too far. the 
Irish Brigade was ordered to advance to susta u the French, and at a moment when 
the English batteries could not act against them, without endanc;ering the British 
arm}^ The orders to the Brigade were, to advance, and charge, without firiucr a 
shot. A wing of the British army was drawn up, on a rising ground, prepared to 
receive them; a tine body of men, but t'uti'jiieil, ofl'-r tlit work or the morning. The 
Brigade were very young men, in a high state of discipline, and/resA. They chargetl 
up the hill, in a qiiick pace, with tixe^l bayonets, until they came to close quarters, 
when the Euglish army gave way, aud fell l>ack with gre^it loss, and were driven otf 
the field of battle." &c. The English contemjiorary writer KoU, after describing 
the British soldiery, as so animated by the l>uke of Cunderland. and eiiconrasied 
by the other Generals, that, on the side of the Fi-ench, "'great part of their inf;uitry 
Avas broke, sevenvl of their squadrons routed, iind the French Mcmirch shudilered 
for the fate o^the day," adds, without meutioniui,' aiii/ ])re\"i.>iis eneouuter between 
the British aud the Brigade — "Such was the furious bravery of the British infantry, 
that Marshal Saxe was now reduced to his last, sole, and princijial effort, to retrieve 
the honour of the day. This was in brinaring iqi the Irish Brigade ; a corps, oa 
whose courage, aud behaviour, he entirely dependevl for a iavouraMe decision of so 
great, so dubious, so well-contested a battle. The Irish Brii;ude,'' [iroi-eeds IJolt, 
rfter nainiu:: the regiments, "beiuj; drawn uii, were sustained by the Ee^iments of 
>sorniandy and Vaisseaux, and marched uj^ to the British line without tiring. The 
British ranks were now prodigiously thinned, the men wearied, and, whei^ever they 
trod, obliged to tight over the mangled carcases of their d3ing countrymen, whde 
their ntw and bi'avest o]>poneuts were f'rrsh fur tiii/ai/.'-ineiU," &c See, likewise, in 
further refutation of Volt;ure, the statement jireviously given from the Frtncii bio- 
graphical account of Lally, as to his impatience, at the Irish Brigade not having been 
called into action he/ore the charge which decided the victory. .r.And, in tine, the 
large French official account v>f the battle, compared with the engraved plan of the 
ground and disposition of the troops published by Dumortous. gives «■» s;uictiv>u to 
Voltau-e's {••itpposition, or inreiition, of a repulsed attack of Irish battalions, or of 
those battalions having been engaged at all, until the eijcouutei- which teiuunated 
the Contest. 



3G2 



HISTORY OF TUE IRISH BRIGADES 



lie thus entirely disguises, in reference to the Brigade, the actual 
circumstances of the last charge. "The Regiment de Normandie, the 
Carabiniers, enter into the first ranks of the column, and avenge tlieir 
comrades, slain in their former charge. The Irish secund them." But 
in the French official account of the engagement, the Irish are thus 
named 1st, as Iteading the line of attack on tlieir side of the field. '■'■Th.e 
G Irish reginients^ sustained by those of Normandie and des Vaisseaux, 
being drawn up in 1 line, marched close up to the enemy without firing, 
and put them in confusion, by their bayonets fixed at the end of their 
muskets." And, indej)e.ndent of any further authority that might be 
adduced on this point, of the Irish having headed that attack, the fact of 
their having done so is placed beyond doubt, by what Louis XY.'s bio- 
grapher informs us, of the unlucky mistake of the Carabiniei's; from which 
mistake, the Irish could not have suffered at all, except as heading t\Q 
attack on the right flank of the column, and as consequently being the 
7it-ared infantry to the Carabiniers, who were on the left flank of the 3 
iiorse-corps, that constituted the van of the cavaliy, appointed, with the 
4 pieces of artillery, to break the column in front. 



Duke of Cumberland's Column. 









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1— 1 













CaKABINIEHS. (rENT)\IiME".TE. MaISON I)U Koi. 

Duke de IUchelieu's Cavalry. 

But, if Voltaire could write so, at first, to the prejudice of the Irish, 
though, even then, having such evidence in their favour, as hardly to 
admit tlie sup|)osition of mere error oti his part, what are we to think of 
liis subsequent conduct, in allowing his original mis-statement of facts to 
re.uain unaltered in ail the future impressiuus of his work, notwithstaud- 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 3fi3 

ing the aclditional and most unimpeachable means for ascertaining ^ind. 
writing the truth, afforded him by the 2 letters of a gentleman, a sclujUir, 
and a soldier, like Colonel Dromgold? — to say nothing of the number of 
other officers, Irish and French, whom he could have consulted. Thus, 
about 9 years after Voltaire's death, and 42 years after the battle, or in 
August, 17t>7, Mr. St. John, in his "Letters from Fi-ance to a Gentleman 
in the South of Ireland," after referring to his having,' at Ptiris, "fre- 
quently seen, particularly in the Luxembourg Gardens, many of the 
ancient officers of the Irish Brigade," says — "I met a group of these 
veteran soldiers, the other day, in the Luxembourg Gai-dens. They 
talked in raptures of the various battles and sieges they had fought; and, 
in a manner, having shaken off the burthen of old age, would delineate 
the ])lans of their encampments and encounters on the sand, and fight 
their battles o'er again ; imagining themselves in all the vigour of youth, 
and ready to wee]) on finding it but a dream. I have often heai'd them 
recount the whole affair of Fontenoy, where the Engli.-h army attacked 
the French, though posted in the most advantageous situation, with forts 
to defend them. <ni every side; and the rashness of the Duke of Cumber- 
land was on the point of gaining, I may say, alreudy had gained, the 
victory, when tlie Irish Brigades, with the French King's Household 
Q'roop.s, were ordered down to stop the Britons; and they absolutely 
turned the diiy in favom- of France." And Lieutenant-General Count 
Arthur Dillon, some years later addressing the National Assen)bly 
resj)ecting the Ii-ish in the French service, makes such an observation on 
the many officers of rank then existing who were at Fontenoy, as would 
include French, rather than Irish, oHicers. Having remarked on Fontenoy, 
how "the Irish covered themselves with glory there," he adds, "a large 
niiinl)er of General Officers, who were at this battle, a,re still living, and 
can attest that." Our indignation, therefore, at such unfairness of Vol- 
taire towards the Irish, would be great indeed, if it were not entirely 
supei-seded by contempt, at his shabby ingratitude towards the brave men, 
but for whom, among the battles fought by the French in Flanders, the 
day of Fontenoy under Louis XV. would have resembled in di.sa.ster that 
of Waterloo'"' under NaT)oleon le Grcuid, instead of ranking in success with 
that of Bouvines under Y\\\\]\)Yi(^-Auguste. 

The British and Hanoverians, after the dispersion of such of their 
troops as were thus engaged, having, with their reserve, and those who 
rallied, made an orderly i'etreat,+ Louis cau.sed his army to be re-arrayed 
after the confusion of the last charge, and leading it about 700 yards 
beyond the ground occupied by the enemy during the engagement, had it 
drawn out for review, in honour of the victory. The shouts of Vive le 
lioi! the hats waving in the air at the to])S of the bayonets, the standards 

* "Since St. Louis," remarks Dumortons of Louis XV.'s triuin])h at Fouteiioy, 
"no King of France had beaten the English, in person, in a pitched battle." With 
which French admission respecting the English in pruse may be cited the Irish 
statement respecting the Brigade in verse — 

"And Foutenoy, fani'd Fontenoy, had been a Waterloo, 
Wi re not these exiles ready ilien, fresh, vehement, and true!" — Davis. 

+ " That they did not push their success," alleges an English contemporary 
respecting the French, " and endeavour to destroy us in our retreat, may .seem an 
oversight in them ; but it was not their business to gain a complete victory over 
lib; the taking of Tonrnay was tiieir point; and they wanted uo more, than to 
prevent our moLediny them." 



3G4 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

riddlerl with shot, the fVilicitations of the officers embracing one another 
for joy, (i-c, formed a most exciting scene. The King rode, with tlie 
Daup^iin, tlnough the rntilcs. bestctwing on the several cor])S the praises 
which they merited. As the royal cortege approached the Irish Briga(h% 
tlie Dauphin ran forward to the brave Lally, who, having been the Isb 
to enter, svvoixl in hand, the enemy's colnmn* on its I'ight, was wounded, 
though sliglitly, and was sitting on a drum in front of the shattered 
remains of his regiment ; having, on each side of him, several English otRcers, 
Avhom he had himself disabled and made prisoners, but aiterwards had 
taken due care of, since his animosity to England, for her villainy ti) 
Ireland, did not extend to individual Englishmen. The Dauphin, an- 
nouncing to Lally the favours intended for his regiment by the King, 
Lally ob.served — " Monseigneur, they are like those of the Gospel, they 
<U^scend upon tlie blind and the lame !" — at the same time pointing to his 
Lieutenant-Colonel, O'Hegarty, wounded by a bayonet in the eye, and his 
Major, Glascock, t vvjiose knee was pierced by bullets. The King then, 
ordering Lally to advance in front of the ai'my, nominated him Brigadier 
on the field. In addition to these particulars derived from Lally 's 
biographer, Lieutenant-General Count Arthur Dillon relates, that "■Louis 
X V. came, the da// afler the battle, to the ca.mp of the Irish, and thanked 
each corps, one after the other, for the sercice theij had rendered hijn." As 
t ) their lo.ss in the action— some of which, it will be recollected, was 
unfortunately owing to friends, an well as to foes — they, we are told, 
'• lett 96 officers and 400 men bleeding on the battle field?' My French 
War-Office document, having noted how, "at the battle of Puntenoi/, 
fought May lith, 1745, the Irish Brigade distinguished itself, in, tlie most 
remarkable manner, in tlie presence of the King and of the Dauphin,'' and 
having also observed, " it was this Bkigade that principally con- 
tributed TO REsTOKE THE BATTLE, which had commenced in a m,ost un- 
Javotirahle manner, and to achieve the complete victory, that was 
ULTIMATELY GAINED," adds — '' Tlie King conferred numerous marks of 
favour on the Brigade. M. Stapleton, Lieutenant-Colonel in Berwick's 
Bt'giment, was made Brigadier. MM. de Lee and Cusack, Lieutenant- 
Colonels of Bulkeley's and Hothe's, got pensions of 1000 and 600 francs. 

Commi.ssions of Colonel and Lieutenant-Colonel were 

given to some of the officers of the different Regiments of the Brigade; 
gratuities to the Majors and Aides-Majors; the Cross of St. Louis to 
those at the heads of the several corps; gratuities of 600 and 400 francs 
to the wotuided Caiitains, and of 300 and 200 to the Lieutenants." 

According to 2 lists, published at the time, one in London, and the 
other in Dublin— the former premising, how " letters from Flanders say, 
that the Irish troops in the French service, who signalized the/nselve-i, 
reciivered tlie day in the late battle, when the French Guards ran" &c. — the 

* After the passage, already quoted, on EicheHeu's unfair appropriation of Lally'a 
sav^estion, Miclielet says of the- latter — " L'Irlandais antra le premier dans la 
colonne Anglaise, I'epee il la main." 

t The resiiectable family name of the Major of Lally's regiment lias been 
sulijected to various British and French misspellings, or corra[)t;ions from its 
c nr < form of Glascock. Thus the learned Walter Harris mentions, in 174{), as 
1 of his literary correspondents in France, "Sir Christopher Glascock, Knight <>f 
the Order of 8t. Loui.s," as "compiling a history of Ireland in the French 
language. " Other alterations or distigiirings of the Irish officers' names, as pi eseutod 
to the pulilic in the contemporary printed lists, I correct fi-oni my own knowleage, 
without further remarks, which would ouly give rise to several tiresome notes. 



IN' THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 3G5 

following were the fMinily names of the officers killed and wounded at 
Fontenoy in the Bi-igade — all Cliristiati names, as only sometiiaes given 
in those documents, heing hem omitted, for uniformity's sake — and the 
errors, or obvious niisin-iuts, of each list being amended from the other, 
and ])ersonal information. — Clare's Regiment. Lieutenant-Colonel 
O'Neill, Ca))tains Shoitall, Mac Elligot, Kennedy, Fitz-Geiuld, and Mnc- 
namara, killed; Major Shortall, Captains Creagh,* Grant, Mao4niri!, 
Plnnkett, Preston, O'Brien, Daniel, Mac Carthy, and Lieutenants O'Neill, 
Davoren, and 2 O'Briens, ivomided. — Bulkeley's Regiment. None kiJlf.,1 ; 
Mnjor Mac Sweeny, Captain Morgan, and Lieutenant Burke, woun-led. 
— Dillon's Regiment. Colonel Dillon, Lieutenant-Colonel Mannery, 
Captains Kearney, Manning, Nihill, killed; Captains Wogan, 
liagarty, Cnsack, and Lieutenants Gla.scock, Barry, Moriarty, Flanagrin, 
and 2 Burkes, vjoundeil. — Roth's Regiment. Captains Windham, St. 
Leger, Grace, and Christian, killed; Colonel Roth, and Captains Healv, 
Delany, O'Hanlon, Osborne, Byrne, 2 O'Briens, and 2 O'Sullivaus, 
wwMWf/fif/. — Beuvvic'k's Regiment. Captains Bourke, Anthony, and 
Cooke, killed; Captains Hickey, Colclough, and Lieutenants Plnnkett, 
Carroll, Mac Carthy, Dease, and Nangle, wounded. — Lally's Regimknt. 
Lieutenants Byrne, Kelly, and Fitz-Gerald, killed; Colonel Lally, Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel O'Hegarty, Major Glascock, Ca))tains Butler, Warren, 
Wt)gan, and Lieutenants Creagh, Hennessy, Stack, and Mackey, lyo/z.Weci?. 
— Of Fitz-James's Regiment of Hohse, as acting in the centre with the 
cavalry o})|)()sed to and repulsed by the Allied column, in its successful 
advance, and, as thus suffering severely, especially by the hostile cannon, 
I merely find, that the Irish officers, killed and wounded, were 2-5, with- 
out any specification of names. And, consequently, those gentlemen in 
Clare's having been ID, in Bulkeley's 3, in Dillon's 14, in Roth's 14. in 
Berwick's 10. in Daily's 13, and in Fitz-James's 25, the whole, (as already 
stated without these details,) would amount to 98. 

In this battle, which, from the conmiencement of the artillery-firing to 
that of the retreat, lasted about 8 hours, or from about 5 o'clock in the 
inoi-ning to about 1 in the afternoon, the French acknowledged a loss of 
533D infanti-y, and, in round numbers, 1800 cavalry, killed or wounded; 
forming a consequent total of about 7139 men. The Allies pul)lislied 
their slain, Inn-t, or missing, as 4041 British, and 372G men of (.tlu'r 
nations; or 17G2 Hanoverians, 1544 Dutch, and 420 Austrians, bein ; 
altogether 7707 men; but considerably more, it would seem, by contcn- 
jioraiy English complaint, in the press, of the "printed accounts" *>( 
Rritish casualties that day having, according to "private accounts," from 
''officers on the spot," been "too alleviating." f Of prisoners, the Frencli 
claimed to have made about 2500, while they alleged, that scarcely any 

* This Captain James Creagh was so severely "woimded," as to be pnblishcrl 
amongst the "killed;" which error I accordingly correct. The Captain, we are 
elsewhere informed, " received a ball in the breast, which shattered his Cross of !St. 
Louis, and ]>assed completely through his body. Several pieces of the Cross weie 
extracted from the wound, and h« recovered." He was a native of the County of 
Cork, born in 1701. Having finally, or in 1771, become a Marechal de Cam}), he 
retired from the service on a jiension, whicli he still enjoyed in 17S9. 

t See a letter in the Westnunster Journal of "June 22nd, 1745." A like disagree- 
ment, between the accounts }mbhshed as official in the London Gazette of July 18th, 
1815, and those of the regimental records, with respect to the amount of tlie British 
loss at Waterloo, is i/ek'cte.d by Captaiu Siborue, m his "Histmyof the War m 
France aud Belguun in iyi5." 



rCG HISTORY OF THE IRISH B?JGADKS 

were tal-:(^n from tliem ; and l«'^2oftlie Allied munition :ui(l ]irovisintTi 
AVM<i!j;oiis are also claimed to liave bfcn intei-ce|ited, the night after tlie 
iictioii, by a corps of 4000 men, sent, under tlie Lieutenant- Geuer-tl 
Comte d'Estrees, to follow the retiring army. Tlie artillery lost by the 
Allies — either with the Duke of Cumberland's colunui, or uidiorsed and 
aliandoned on the subsi^qnent line of retreat- — i.s stated, on their side, as 
about 40 cannon, and is represented as almost all tliey had by the Frendi, 
who refer to the captured pieces as between 40 and 50, or near 50, 
admitting their own cannon, in the engagement, to have been 110; so 
that, iii guns, the French were much superior, although, in nundier of 
men, considerably inferior, or only 40,000 against 55,000. The Allies 
affirmed, that they took 1 standard from the French; yet. says an English 
historian, "it is extremely remarkable, the French did not take a swingle 
jiair of colours, to wave, as a trophy, through the gates of Paris." But 
this, as has been shown from the French official accounts, was incorrect; 
'a ])air of colon r-s," as well as 2 cannon, of those 15 pieces won by the 
Brigade from the Allied column, being ])artieularly mentioned as wrested 
from the Coldstream Guards by the Irish regiment, originally JMount- 
cashel's, and, since 1733, that of Bulkeley. Thus, in the day of succesfi 
at Fontenoy, as in that of defeat, about 31) years before, at Ramillies, the 
only hostile colours to show in the French army were gained by Irish 
valour — at Eamillies by the Regiment of Clare, as at Fontenoy by the 
Kegiment of Bulkeley — and, on hotJt. these occasions, the colours captured 
were British colours. Yet if each of ihose memorable days was a day 
<'f glory, it was likewise one of soriow, to those gallant exiles — apart 
from the grief naturally felt for such as tell among their own immediate 
"brothers in arms, and partners of the war." In the account given of 
the battle of Ramillies under the year 170G, an instance has been related, 
of the painful situation in which the Irish Brigade were placed when 
fighting against the British, from the number of Irish in the British army 
— a circumstance imparting to such a contest the lamentable features 
<if a civil war. And of such a situation, and the feelings it excited at 
Fontenoy, the following description has been derived from the brave Mac 
Donough, previously mentioned as distinguished there. " When the 
British had retired,"' he said, "the Brigade was ordered to rest; and, 
when the officers came to mix with the men, they found several of them 
in tears. Being asked, ' What was the reason of this, when they so nobly 
did their duty?' they replied that, 'They did, and would do so again, 
when necessary; but it was hard they should have to fight against their 
own countrymen, and, perhaps, some of them even relatives! ' " Ta 
divert attention, therefore, from this sad topic of considei-ation, the 
band," he added, "were ordered to ])lay up ^Patrick's Day,' when the 
men instantly started up, shouted an *■ Hurrah for oUl Ireland!' and were 
as alert, and ready for a row, as ever!"* This meeting between the 
Irish Brigade and the British troops at Fontenoy is referred to in the 

• The gallant Anthony Mac Donough was sent over, after the affair of Fontenoy, 
to recruit, with an assistant, in Clare, for the Irisli Brigade. Tins, according to a 
letter of the Lord Clare aud Earl of Thomoud, was done sr.ccessfully; and his Lor^l- 
s!ii[> pressed Mac Donough to rejoin tlie Briga<le, as in very tine condition. But 
Mac Donough, having meantime married in Clare, naturally declined going bacli to 
France. He lived to be some years above 80, and was the maternal grandfather of 
tlic late Anthony Hogan, Esq., Solicitor, of No. IS, Kildare Street, Dublin. This 
geutlemau fortunately committed to writing the substance of what, as a boy, he had 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 3G7 

game melancholy light by English writers. One of tliein desicrnates sue 
K contest "an encounter like that on the plains of Pliarsalla, wher« 
brothers might enibnie their lands in fraternal blood, relations sluice out 
the tide of consanguinity, friends nnuder friends, coiintTymen counti-y- 
nien ; and where every dreadful act of war was dressed in more foruiidable, 
more awful horrors!" Another remarks — "It was horrible to see Iri h 
fighting against English and Irish : I may say, countrymen and relations, 
in a foreign country, slauglitering one another!" When C?esar beheld 
the ])lains of Pharsalia (above alluded to) hea])ed with so many Romans 
slain by each other, he laid the blame of that scene upon his enemii's, 
as political pei-secutors, who forced him, for self-preservation, into the 
position, which occasioned such a deplorable spectacle of civic slaughter; 
and he is recorded to have said — "This they would have; to this cruel 
necessity they reduced me." But, whatever may have been the justice or 
injustice of that assertion on Cfesar's part at Pharsalia, the Irish Brigade 
at Fontenoy might, with perfect truth, allege, of the authors of the legis- 
lation which drove them to arms there — "This they would have; to this 
cruel necessity they reduced us." Hence, in arguing for the Emanci]iation 
of his Catholic countiymen, the illustrious Irish Protestant, Henry 
Grattan — 

"With all which Demosthenes wanted endued, 

And his rival, or victor, in all he possess'd" — Byron'. 

eo justly observed — " We met onr own laws at Fontenoy. The victorious 
troops of England wei'e stopped, in their career of triumph, by the Irish 
Brigade, which the folly of the Penal Laws had shut out from th'e ranks 
of the British army." Hence, too, George II., when informed of the 
details of that battle, and of the troops to whose gallantry his son's defeat 
there, when almost victorious, Was chiefly attributed, is reported, on 
English authority, to have exclaimed, with unusual emotion, — " Cursed 
he the laws, XKldch deprive me of such subjects!" * So much for the famous 
day of Fontenoy, and the various recollections of vengeance, of glory, of 
triumph, and of sorrow, with which it was connected. 

The result, to the French, of this important victory, was an unvarying 
course of success in Flanders, during the rest of the campaign. That 
success comprised the reduction of the city and citadel of Tournay, the 

been often told by his grandfatlier ahout the battle of Fontenoy ; and, like his 
grandfather, he attained a tine old age; being, at his death, in 184.5, (100 years 
after the battle of Fontenoy) about 85. For a cojiy of the nanative resting on such 
good authority, I am indebted to Mr. Hogan's nephew, Michael Kichard O'Farrell, 
Esq., Barrister, "28, Upper Pembroke Streei, Dublin. 

• Plowden. George II., as a brave man himself, could proportionably value 
bravery in others; and seems to have had a double reason to wish, that he might 
have the Irish of both religions in his service. For while, on one hand, he had 
to lament, that victory was turned against his son, the Duke of Cumberland, at 
Fontenoy, by Irish Catholics ; on the other hand, he is I'elated to have been indebted 
for his own immediate preservation at Dettmgen, from the French cavalry, to the 
gallantry of an Irish Protestant regiment, Ligonier's 4th, or old Black Horse, the 
]>redecessors of the present 7th Dragoon Guards. "This service," writes a gentle- 
n)an, who belonged to the regiment at a later period, "was ever remembered by the 
Princes of the House of Brunswick; and, when a proposition was once made to good 
old George III., to reduce the 7th, he replied with energy, in his usual abrupt style, 
— 'No! no! never, never; saved my granl/ather at Dettinfjen. No! no! never hear 
of it — never!'" A regimental trophy, alleged to have been cajitured from their 
French opjionents on this memorable occasion, has been presers ed, to our times, by 
the victorious corps. 



3G8 HISTORY OP the IRISII BUIGADES 

overthrow of an Allied or British detached corps of several thousand 
men at Melle, the surprise of Gaud, or Ghent, the occupation of Briiges, 
and the captui'es of Oudenarde, Dendernionde, Ostend, Nieuport, and 
Ath. Louis returned to France in Septeniher, and, on the 7th, "made 
his triumphant entry into Paris, with the utmost magnificence. All the 
streets through which he passed were s]jread with tapestry; the shops 
were kept shut, by an edict of Parliament, for 3 days; and the fronts of 
tlie houses were illuminated, and fountains ran with wine in the streets." 
Nor were these public rejoicings disproportioned to the advantages they 
were designed to celebrate. "If Louis XIV.," writes Frederick the 
Great of Prussia, " subjugated a greater space of ground in the year 1672, 
he lost it, as fast as it had been conquei-ed ; but Louis XV. secured his 
possessions, and lost nothing of what he had gained." At the operations 
against Tournay, the Lord Clare and Earl of Thomond was wounded l>y 
a bomb ; and the Irish were more or less engaged in the several sieges 
down to that of Ath. When Ghent was taken, in which an immense 
Allied magazine had been established, a quantity of new clothing and 
eipiipments for the English i-egiments V)eing found among the spoil, Louis 
XV., the Comte d'Argenson (Minister of War) and the Marshal de Saxe 
complnnented the Brigade, by deciding, "that these goods should be 
distributed gratis to the 6 Irish regiments." The notice taken of those 
brave fellows in their own country, by its ruling sectarian oligarchy, 
was very diti'ereut. 

"The peasant here grew pale for fear 
He'd sutfer for our glory. 
While France sang joy for Fontenoy, 

Aiid Europe hymu d our story ! " — Davis. 

In Dublin, the anti-national representatives of the Penal-Code reglini^ 
njistermed an "Irish" Parliament, evinced a suitable sjiirit of animosity 
to the Irish Brigade, for its mortifying triumph at Fontenoy. " It was 
impossible," observes the historian of the Irish Catholics, " to detach 
these gallant troops from the French armies. By way of retaliation, an 
Act passed, that all Irish officers and soldiers, that had been in the service 
of France and Spain since the 8th of October, 174.5, should be disabled 
from holding any real or personal property; and that any real or personal 
jtroperty, in possession, reversion, or expectancy, should belong to the 
1st Protestant discoverer." This new enactment, which became " part 
and parcel of the law of the land" in 1746, was, however, no more heeded, 
tlian other hostile edicts of the "ascendancy," by the Irish military abroad ; 
whose sej'vices there so contributed to decide the general event of the 
war, as "left Great Britain no alternative, but ruin, or an inglorious 
peace." 

The year 1745, memorable for the battle of Fontenoy, was also remark- 
able for the chivalrous attempt of Prince Charles Edward Stuart, to 
reco'ver, with " native swords and native ranks," the Crowns of his fore- 
fathers, from the foreign or German dynasty, whom he, and his adherents, 
looked upon as usur/mig the government of Great Britain and Ireland. 
Tlirough various sources, including the Irish iuduence of the Lieutenant- 
General Lord Clare and Earl of Thomond, and of Mr. Rutledge, a 
capitalist in Fi-ance, the Prince, having realized the means for etfecting 
his passage to Scotland, reached that country at the latter end of July. 
His principal com]iauions iu the euter^irise, henceforth famous as " the 7 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 3G9 

mpn of Moidart," were 3 of British, and 4 of Irish, birth or origin. The 
3 Biitish companions of (Jharles, were the illus^trious old JVJarqnis of 
Ttillihardiiie, but for his Hanoverian attainder, as a Stuart ]<)yalist, in 
ITlo-lG, lineally, or by right, Dnke of Athol— Mr. apneas Mac Donald, 
a banker, in Paris, Mac Donald of Kiulochnioidart's younger brother, 
and an honest man to his I'lince and party — Fiancis Strickland, an 
Jl^nglitih gentleman, but of such a charactei-, that it was found, his ulisence- 
would be more desiral)le than his conijiany.* The 4 Irish companions of 
Charles were. Sir Thomas Shei-idan — Colonel John OSullivan - Sir John 
Mac Donnell, or Mac Donald — Mr. George Kelly. Previous to the 
fuller details connected with the history of the 2 former, I subjoin thtj 
shorter j/articulars known of the 2 latter. 

George Kelly was a Protestant clergyman of the Nonjuring branch of 
the Church of England; which, as believing in an indefeasible hereditary 
right of the House of Stuart to the royalty of Great Britain and Ireland, 
I'ejected, as no better than usurpers, the Sovereigns, who, in consequence 
cf the Revolution of 1G88, reigned in these islands, to the exclusion of the 
eldest representatives, or heads, of that exiled House. Preferring, liow- 
ever, the exciting path of politics to the comparatively monotonous coursw 
of the clerical profession, Mi-. Kelly hecanie 1 of the most active agf^i.'^ 
of his party, for the purpose of bringing about a "restoration" in tii-^ 
jierson of "James III. ; " on which point, he kejjt up, from Englaiid, v,itii 
the Continent, a regular correspondence, disguised in one fiirm or ;<nother, 
to evade the penalty attached by the Whig-Hanoverian government to 
such intercourse, as '• high treason." Mr. Kelly was most distinguished 
in 1722-3, when, for the detected "restoration" plot that brought him 
within the grasp of the ruling powers, he, with the fiuiious Dr. Francis 
Atterbury, Ijord Bishop of Rochester, the Earl of Orrery ,+ Lord North 
and Grey, the Duke of Norfolk, Captain Denis O'Kelly, (son of tho 
author of Maairice Excidium) &c., was conimitted to the Tower of 
London. It was Mr. Kelly whom the Bishop of Rochester was asserted 
to have employed as his most confidential Secretary for the corres[)on- 
dence with the Continent, that caused the proceedings to betaken against 
his Lordship, which teiminated in deposition from his See, and banish- 
ment from England. In the spring of 1722, Mi*. Kelly " was appre- 
hended," says my conteni])orary Whig account, " at his lodgings ui 
Buiy-street, by 3 Messengers, for treasonable correspondences; and having 
delivered his sword and jjapers to the Messengers, they plac'd them in a 
window, and went in search of other things. Their negligence gave 
Kelly an opportunity of recovering his sword, which he drew, and swore 
he would run the first man through that disturbed him in what he 
was doing; which was burning his j)apers in a caudle with his left hand, 
whilst he held the drawn sword in the other. When the papers were 
burnt, he surrender'd himself!" This destruction of documents contri- 
buted much to disappoint the Minister of George, oi' the knowledge for 
which he was on the scent, in order to run dov\n his g.-iuie. " We ai'C in 
trace of several things very material." he writes to his brother, "but we 
foxhunters know, that we do not always find every fo.< that we cross 
upon 1" Ml-. Kelly's defence before the House of Lords, in 1723, wna "a 

* Stuart correspondence, in Lord Mahoii'a HLstory of Euglaiul, ami Dr. Brjwn'a 
History of the Highlands. 

t Mentioned in Book VI., as the si'cretlij-iiensione:l betrayer or' the caiKne of 
Jaines to George— or the Leonard Mac Nally of Jacobitism J 

2 a 



370 n I STORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

very good one." according to a hostile historian, who adds — "After his 
Council had been lieafl, he made a very long s[)eech, and a much l)etter 
one, for style and method, than Bisliop Atterbury's, tho' that Bishop 
spoke and wrote as well, till then, as any one of his contemporaries." 
Mr. Kelly was sentenced to be imprisoned in Great Britain, at the 
pleasure of George I. and his successors; and, in case of attempting to 
esca|ie, was to suffer death, with any who might assist him, in such an 
attempt. His ca))tivitv in the Tower lasted till the autumn of 1736, when 
lie, in this manner, regained his liberty. From the injurious effects of 
the ct)ntiaement there on his health, he was frequently allowed, for change 
<if air, to drive out in a coach to any place within 10 miles of London, 
but always in the custody of a government officer, or Warder. On the 
evening of November oth, returning from Epsom, thus guarded, he w^ 
.st-t down within the Traitor's Gate of the Tower, where, it a[)pearing that 
he could only ])i-oceed, as usual, to his lodgings, and consequently that 
"all was rigiit," the Warder took leave of him. But, instead of going 
merely to his lodgings for the night, he, it seems, made for the Sallyport 
Stairs whiel) h'd to the Mint, and. meeting the same coach which had 
set him down at the Ti-aitor's Gate, man;iged, in some disguise, or change 
of habit, to p.iss undetected out of the gates, between 7 and 8 o'clock. 
In elR'cting this escape, he was aided by a Catholic Priest, his relative, 
the Rev. Myles Macdonnell, wlio, writing from St. Germain, May 4th, 
1747, to James III. at Rome, mentions Kelly, as "not only my very 
near kinsman, -but a ])erson for whom I exposed my life, to release him 
out of the Tower of London, and for whose sake I am actually in exile." 
A reward of i/300 — or £20;) from Government and jBlOO from the Earl 
of Leicester as Constable of the Tower — was otfered for a recapture of the 
Jacobite refugee; accompanied by a description of him, as about 48 years 
of age, and 5 feet 10 inches high, I'ather slender for his stature, fair com- 
]»lexion, good teeth, lai'ge blue eyes, broad and Hat face, rather thin than 
fat, and his hair, except where he was very bald, rather grayish. Sooti 
after this evasi(ni, he wrote 2 letters; the 1st to the Duke of Newcastle 
as Secretary of State, duly thanking George II. for his goodness to the 
writer as a prisoner, yet excusing the endeavour naturally made to escape; 
the 2nd to a gentleman in the Tower, making him a present of all the 
books, etc.. left there. From London he got to the Isle of Thanet; where, 
agreeing with 2 fishermen to convey him to France for £5, he sailed from 
Broadstairs in that island, and was disembarked at Calais. When set 
ashore, he gave the fishermen 5 guineas, observing — " If any one inquires 
for George Kelly, yon may say, he is safe, landed in France!" The 
fishermen were not aware of the valuable i)assenger they had on board, 
till after their return home; when, 1 of tliem, liearing in an ale-house 
the advei'tisement read for the capture of George Kelly, cried out— 
" Lord, this is the man we landed in France! " Persevering in the same 
course of Jacobite loyalty, Mr. Kelly subsequently appears, as an Envoy 
from Prince Charles to Scotland, in the spring preceding the Prince's 
arrival there ; then, as going back to the Continent, and, next, return- 
ing with the Prince, as 1 of "the 7 men of Moidart." After the war iu 
Scotland, he became, and was, for some years, Secretary to Charles, who, 
in a letter from Pari.s, December l!)th, 174G, to his father at Rome, thus 
expresses himself, in refutation of some aspersions directed against the 
Secretary's character — " It is niy humble opinion, it would be very wrong 
iu me to disgrace G. K.," *. e., George Kelly, " unless your Majestj? 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 37 1 

positively ordered me to do it. I must do him the justice, to assure you, 
I was surprised to tind your Majesty have a bad o|:)inion of him ; uufj 
hitherto I have had no reason to be dissatistied w^itli liim ; for this was 
the first I heard of his honesty and probity to be in question. I shall 
take the liberty to represent, that, if what he has been accused of to v<ni 
be wrote from hence, there is all reason to believe, id est, in my weak 
way of thinking, that such that have writ so to yon mi.stake, because of 
my never having heard any body accuse him to me here of such thin^.s; 
and my having declared, that my ears were often to every body, so as to 
be the better able to judge the characters of people."* As Secretary to 
the Prince, Mr. Kelly was ju-oportionably envied, and was accu.sed of 
being too partial to his own countrymen ; so that he, according to the 
exiled Scotch noVjleman, Lord Stratliallan, " never was a friend to any 
Scotsman." But this complaint must be received with a considerable 
allowance, as the com[)laint of a Scotchman — for, how few, if any, natives 
of any other country than Scotland, would a Scotchman promote % Hence, 
finally, or in Novemlier, 1749, the Irishman had to resign his Secretary- 
ship, through Scotch influence, represented by the famous Keith, Earl 
Marischal ; although apparently undeserving of blame, in reference to 
the immediate allegation which led to such retirement from office; 
that retirement, too, not being attended by any breach between him and 
the Prince, with whom he still corresponded in 17-'50. After tiiis, the 
stout and fixithful Parson "fades from my view!"t Sir John Mac 
Donnell, or Mac Donald, who is alluded to as having belonged to the 
principal Irish or Antrim branch of the name, was attached, in the Fi-ench 
service, with the rank of Colonel, to the Irish Horse Regiment of Fitz- 
James ; acted, as 1 of the Prince's Aide-de-Camps, in Scotland and 
England ; and was included among the Irish officers made prisoners, after 
the battle of Culloden. 

Sir Thomas Sheridan was of old Irish or Milesian origin, the family 
name being noticed in the national amials as early as 1087, at the battle 
of Conacliail, now Cunghill, in the County of Sligo, between Rory 
U'Conor, King of Conriaught, and Aodh O'Rourke, Prince or Chief of 
West Brefny, or Leitrim ; on which occasion, among the leaders slain 
with O'Rourke, was "'the .son of Godfrey O'Sheridan." The O'Sheridans 
were a sub-sept to the O'Reilly.s, Princes or Chiefs of East Brefny, or 
Cavan, down to the commencement of the 17th century. Since that time, 
several of the Sheridans (a race still uumerou.s, especially in the Barony 
of Clonmahon, in Cavan) have been comiected with high positions in 
church and state, as well as respectable for the utility, or eminent for the 
brilliancy, of their contributions to the literature of these island.s. The 
Prince's companion. Sir Thomas, would appear to have been the son of 
the Honourable Thomas Sheridan, Secretary of State, Privy Counsellor, 

• This Rev. George, or Parson, Kelly must not be (though he has been) confounrleil 
with auuther l^elly, a Monk, alluded to, in the Stuart pa])ers, as, from his too jrreat 
atldiotion to wine, a very bad companion for the Priuce. The Parson, and Sir 
Tiioinas Sheridan, as Protestants, appear to have been united in opinion, that; 
measures for a "restoration" should be conducted, as far as possible, by Charles, 
instead of his father,— by the former as the risiari rather than by the latter as tha 
ncttiiii/ sun— anil hence would seem the statements made against Kelly to James, 
reterred to in (Jharles's above-cited reply. 

fThis account of the adventuroiis George Kelly is collected from the state-triala, 
and publications of the day, as well as regular histories of the period, and the Stuaii 
correspondence. He was a credit to his name. 



/ 



o72 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

find Cominissioner of Customs in Ireland, under Kinj; James II., and 
who. adlieiing to the Kinji; in o))|)()siti<in to tlie Revolution, followed liiia 
to France. Young Sheridan, of whom tlie King is mentioned to lia.ve 
1 cen " very fond," and not without i-ea>on, from the promise given by the 
I'liy of future eminence as a man, was at first appointed to be a Page, or 
to some ]H)st of the kind, in the royal hou.sehold, at St. Germain. Under 
tiiat Monarch, ami his son, as James III., he continued to be attached 
1o the Stuart Court, removing with it to Italy; and, having hail much 
leisure at his dis])osal, he devoted him. self to study, particulat'ly in mathe- 
matics and moral philosophy; his general "literary accomplishments, 
join'd to his great sobriety, good sense, and fine behaviour," raising him 
no high in James's favour, as to be made by him Governor to his eldest 
son, Prince Charles.* This a]ipointment was judicious, proving not lcs3 
satisl'actory to the father, than agreeable to the sou; who had such i«i 
<\steem for his Governor, that "he chose never to be without him;" and 
consequently could not be ])revailed on to leave him behind, when under- 
taking the expedition to Scothuid ; though James, in regard to Sir 
'I'honia.s's "declining age, and growing infirmities, would have had him 
remain at Rome. But Charles, who had been used to consult him on all 
occasions, and could not think of entering upon any acticm of consequence 
Avithout his advice, foreseeing the many occasions he should have for him, 
during the pro.secution of his appi-oaching enterprize, resolved to cany 
liim with him; nor was the latter, who tenderly lov'd his JJupil, at all 
adver.se to accompany him, and .sharing his fate, let it prove never so 
adverse." During the suVj.sequent contest in Great Britain, Sir Thomas 
I'iitained his infinimce as Charle.s's Governor, in the capacity of his chief 
j'rivy Counsellor; and, after the battle of Culloden, he was fortunately 
able to effect such an early escape to France, as the bad state of his health, 
aggi-avated by the hardships of campaigning in Scotland, rendered most 
iieces.sary. Thence he proceeded to Rome, where he died, November 
2-''n.h, 1746, "greatly lamented by all his acquaintance."t In religion, 
ibir Thomas was a Protestant, like so many other adherents to the Stuart 

* Lord Elcho, 1 of the Prince's Privy Council in Scotland, with Sir Thomas 
Slieritlan, the Chevalier de Johnstone in his Memoirs, Norman Mac Leod corres- 
ponduiu- with the Lord President Forbes, au'i the contemporary London ainio;.ince- 
ment of Sir Thomas's death at Rome, all mention Sir Thomas, as havinj^ been 
"Governor" to Charles. This ])()st of "(Governor" should not be confounded, or 
ideutitied, as it has been by some, with that of "Preceptor," or "Tutor." So many 
had been intrusted with the education of Charles, that, as K lose notes, ' -fc is im- 
])ossiljle to say «'/(ai share furh had in eilucating t!ie Prince." Amonj^ them. Sir 
'i'homas is named laat — evidently as Governor, rather than Tutor or Prcceptur — yet 
liot, it is possd)le, without his having also aided to coniiilete the course of instruc- 
tion, commenced and continued by so manij predecessors. 

+ As Sir Thomas Sheridan's death was innnediately attributable to the injurious 
effects, on his constitution, ofwhatheliad suffered campaigning in Scotland, it is 
rather strange that Lord Mahon and Mr. Chambers could give ant/ countenance to 
ti>e untenaV)le assertion, how "Sir Thomas, having waited on Prince Charles's father 
at liome, was so shar])]y reprimanded bj' the latter, for pert^uddimj his son to under- 
take the expedition in Scotland on no better grounds than he did, that the severity 
or tlie reproof causeil Sir Thomas to fall ill, and die of grief!" But, it was not at 
Itoine th;it Sir Thomas ^''fdl ill;" and, if he ever received any such "reproof" as 
that asserted, it was nndesetveel. Piince Charles's Secretary in Britain, Murrny 
of liioughton, in his Examination, March, 174()-7. before the Biitish House of Lords, 
lelatos how he was told by Charles m Paris in 1744, that, even independent of any 
expedition from France, "he was determined to come into Scotland" — and, whea 
isiroii'jly represented, that, to come thus, would l)e a desperate undertaking, "not- 
Wit..ti,andiug which, he insisted upou coining." Theu, continues Murray of this 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 373 

cansn, wTio did not allow their creed to interfere with their lovnltv: anrl 
he was doubly connected with the exiled royal family, as Cliarl .s'sj 
Governor, and by his wife having nursed that Prince's younger brother 
the Duke, and future Cardinal, of Yr)ik. The anxiety of (jharles, Mftep 
his return from Scotland to France, to be rejoined bv his old "guidt?, 
])liilosoy»her, and friend," afipears in the Stuart correspondence. Writiu-'' 
from Clichy, November ()th, 174(), to his father's Secretary, Mr. Ed'^ar, 
the Prince observes — "I say nothing to Sir Thomas, because I am in 
hopes he is already set out, for to join me. My waiting on him gives me 
a gi-eat deal ('f trouble; for, though I have a very good ojiinion of Kelly, 
and must do him the justice to say I am very well pleased with him, yet 
neither he, or anybody else niuch less, I would absolutely trust in my 
secrets, as I would Sir Thomas, which occasicnis in me a great deal of toil 
and labour." Sir Thomas, 3 days before, had written from Albano, near 
Rome, to Charles, congratulating him upon his reaching France, ami 
saying — "I shall not trouble your Royal Highness with representing to 
you the cruel anxieties under which I have laboured, ever since the un- 
fortunate day that tore jne from your presence." Secretary Edgar, in a 
letter of December 2nd, announced to Charles the death of Sir Thomas; 
forwarding, at the same time, all the papers found in Sir Thomas's 
repositories, having relation to the Prince and his affairs; among whicli 
was a sketch of a dying speecli, v)]dch Sir Thomas had prepared, in cast 
of being taken, and to be executed ! Referring, in fine, to tlie difficulties 
occasioned by the demise of his lamented Governor and confidant, Charles 
thus expressed him.self to Mr. Edgar, from Paris, January 16th, 1747 — 
" Now that my old friend, Sir Thomas, is dead, I am at a vast deal of 
trouble; being obliged to write everything of consequence with my own 
hand." Sir Thomas left a son, the Chevalier Michel de Sheridan, or Sir 
Michael Sheridan, who was an officer in the Irish Brigade, and also 
engaged in this expedition to Scotland. Born in 1715, he entei'ed tha 
Regiment of Dillon in 1742, with which he made the campaign of 
Germany, or that of the battle of Dettingen in 1743; and the campaiga 
of x''landers in 1744; when he was appointed a Captain. In 174o, he 
Siiiled with Prince Charles Edward for Scotland in tlie larger of tin- 2 
vessels accompanying the Prince, or the Elizabeth, of between 60 and 7') 
guns; but, ere he c<juld i-each that country, he had to return ty Fi-:ince 
with several wounds, received in the shattering combat maintained by 
that vessel for 5 or 6 hours against the English ship, the Lion, of 58 guns, 
which had also to retire shattered to port. As soon as his wounds would 

obstinate resolutiou of Charles — " I was so much against it, that I spoke to 8ir 
Thomas Sheridan, a person who lived with him for so many years, and toifl liim of 
the danger of such an attempt; and that it would be the ruin of many families, and 
the destruction of the country. Sir Thomas Sheridan said, he would au/eavoirr to 
persuade him wiainst it; and, ujion his arrival in Scotland, told me lie had: but to 
110 purpose." We learn, also, from the original testimony in the Jacobite Memoirs, 
how, on Sir Alexander Mac Donald's and the Laird of Mac Leod's refusals lo join 
( !harles after his arrival in Scotland, Charles was generally importuned to sail back 
to France — "insomuch that the few who had come along with the Prince ((S'-r 
Thomas Sheridan not excepted) joined in urging him to return. The Prince," it isi 
added, "was single in the resolution of laniUng." How, then, could Sir 'I'homas 
Sheridan have merited amj such "re]iro(if" as that referred to?— and, consequently, 
has not his death been otherwise more naturally, or rationally, accounted for? 
Lord Mahon, too, should not have singled out Sir Thomas for censure, on account of 
some dniticiencies in the Prince's education, with which, as shown m the preceding 
note, so many persons were couuected. 



?>74 nrsTor.Y of the iri'^h brioades 

|>eriiiit. 1io joinefl tli<^ FrinoH in Rrotlmid; wiio, conferring on liim a })rovet 
<A' l^ioiiteimnt-Coloiiel, retained him as his First Equerry, ami Aide-de- 
Oairip, durino; tlie war tliere. After the fatal affair of Culloden, lie fought 
«gaiiist the English, off the Scotch coast, in La Bellone, accompanied by Le 
Afars, despatched from Nantes; and he was among the liisli officers, who 
finally succeeded in bringing away the Prince, with a number of his adhe- 
rents, from Scotland to France. He obtained, in connexion with this 
enter[)rise, a "gratification" of 2000 livres; and wa.s 1 of the household 
of the Prince to the period of his removal, after the Peace of Aix-la- 
Chaj)elle, from the French, into the Paj)a1, territory of Avignon. William 
Murray, by Stuart creation, "Lord Dunbar," writing from '.'Avignon, 
December 31st, 1748." .says — " H. R. H. the Prince arrived here, iii 
perfect health, on Friday morning, at 7 o'clock. I never was more 
Bui'prised than to see him at my bed-side, after they had told me, that aa 
Irish officer wanted to speak to me. He arrived, di.sguised in ane uniform 
of Ireland's regiment, accomjtanyed only V)y Mr. Sheridan, and 1 officer of 
the same regiment, of which H. R. H. woi-e the uniform," &c. The 
regiment here referred to, belonging to the Irish Brigade in the service 
of Sixain, was the Regiment of Irlandia, then quartered at Chamberry in 
Savoy, and the "1 officer" was Lieutenant O'Donnell — the Prince, in 
return for the honourable and loyal reception which he met with, in his 
adversity, from its officers, as " /he lip.ro iv.'io had latdy mad''. Kiu^latul. 
tremble, and ihf. son of hijii., lohoni thry stlli reognized as their King" 
having, "in compliimuit to his hosts, assumed tlie Ii-isli uniform." After 
Bheridan's return with the Pi-ince front Scotland to France in 1746, ho 
was nominated a ("Captain of Horse in the Regiment of Fitz-James; and, 
in 17G0, was l)revetted as a Marechal-de-Camp-de-Oavalerie attached to 
tliat regiment, with which he served in Germany, to the close of the Sevea 
Years' War. Included in the reform or dissolution of this corps at the 
ensuing peace, he received tiie Cross-of a Chevalier of St. Louis in 1770, 
Hiul resided at the ( 'hateau d'Estiau, lu'ar Beauf >i't, in Anjou.'"" I do not 
'know when he died. 

( I'luel John O'Sullivan, the most distinguished of the Tri.sh com- 
panions of the Prince in Scotland, was likewise of Milesian origin, and 
of 1 of the best of the ancient southern septs of Erin. The O'Sullivans, 
descended from the old royal line of Muuster, were seated, until the year 
11!) J, along the river Suir, in the piTsent County of Tipperary, in the 
I'ertile territory about Clonmel and Knockgraffbu ; on which last- 
mentioned eminence was their principal fort, or rath, particularly cele- 
"brated as the residence, in the 3i'd century, of their famous progenitor, 
King Fiacha of the broad head., conqueror of the renowned Ard-Righ or 
Mtmarch, Cormac, son of the Ai-t, who was consequently obliged to send 
hostages there from Taia. Compelled by the southward progress of the 
Anglo-Xorm.an invasion to "forsaki; the pleasant regions once their own" 
for the mountainous districts of Desmond, or Cork and Kerry, the 
O'Sullivans acquii'ed new possessions in the Baronies of Bt^are and 
Bantry in the former, and those of Iveragh, Duidvernm, and Glanarougri, 
in the latter County; and became more famous than ever niuler 2 
branches, or those of O'Sullivan More and O'Sullivai] Beare, till the 
j:eneral submission of Great Britain and Ireland to tlie sceptre of the 
House of Stuart in il)0.'5. Although, by tlie r(^sults of the long precedin;^ 

* Fier.ch ini!it;u-y notice of tlie Chovaler de .Sheridan in I^LSS. ou Irish Brigade, 
givcii to liio oy tiie latu Joha U Coimeil, &c. 



IN THE SERVICE OP FRANCE. 375 

struggle then terminated in Ireland, and by the snhseqnent Puritanic 
and Williamite contests during the same century, those of the name of 
O'Sullivan were subjected to great territorial losses, that nam« was still 
not without various respe'^tahle landed ri'|iresentatives at home. It has 
been honoured abroad, or in S|iain, Belgium, and Germany, with the 
titles of Count and Baron. It contributed its proportion of officers to 
the national Regiments of Clare, Dillon, Bulkeley, itc, in France. It was 
one of note in the service of Na])les. It has also attained high military, 
administrative, and diplomatic positions in the services of the United 
States of America, and the United Kingdoms of Great Britain and 
Ireland. In the annals of martyred Jacobite loyalty in l71o, after the 
mention of the arrest, at London, of Colonel Paul of the 1st Regiment of 
Foot Guards, as "charg'd" in Whig-Hanoverian language, "with listing 
men for the Pretetvhr's service," we find Serjeant Joseph O'Sullivan, a 
native of Munster, of that Colonel's company, and Avho had previously 
served in the Irish Brigade, named, as imprisoned upon the same account ; 
and after a due trial by a hostile London jury, as condemned to be 
" hang'd, drawn, and quarter'd," and to have his head "fix'd to a pole, on 
Temple Bar!" Tlie companion of Prince Charles in Scotland was a 
native of Kerry,* of, it appears, a good, though, in point of fortune, a 
much reduced, branch of the O'Snllivans. " His parents," says the con<- 
temporary account of him printed in London in 1748, t "being very 
desirous of his makinj; a tijcure in the world, for which his forward genius 
soon discover'd that he was naturally well qualified, but yet unable 
themselves to introduce him upon the great stage, on any other footing 
tiian that of an extraordinary educaticui, they spared no expence their 
small estate woidd admit of to n)ake hiu) a compleat gentleman, in every 
respect, but that of a large fortune; which, they thought, it would be liis 
business to acquire, after they had furnished him with such amj)ie means. 
Accordingly, being Roman Catholicks, they sent this, their only son, at 
the age of 9 years, to Paris, the best place in the world foi- the education 
of )outh, not only for the sake of cheaidiess, and the excellent methods 
the French have, of teaching children every thing that can be taught, but, 
on account of the great sobriety of manners, the sti'ictness of morals, and 
the early notions of religion and piety, which the tutors are remarkably 
careful to inculcate. At \o years of age, Mr. Sullivan went to Rome, 
where his education received a different turn," or towards a preparation 
for the Priesthood. The death of his fother, who had survived hia 
mother, rendering it necessary for him to return to Ireland, he did so; 
but, having no relations living, or any inducement as a Catholic to settle 
under the yoke of the Penal Code, he only remained there, until he sold 
his estate. |. He then " went again into France, where, soon afcer his 
arrival, he had the good fortune to be recommended to Marshal Maille- 

• The Colonel, with a brief general glance at his military career iu Corsica, on the 
Ivhine, and in Scotland, is mentioned, among the distinguished Kerry gentlemen in 
foreign service, by the contemporary writer of the unpublished History of Kerry, 
forming a portion of the Chevalier O'Gorman's MSS., in the valuable library of the 
Eoyal Irish Academy. 

+ The memoir alluded to is to be found, with 1, likewise, on Sir Thomas 
Sheridan, in the Su])plement to "Young Jul)a, or the History of the Young 
(JlievaJier." I have used hutli. memoirs, checking, or correcting them, where 
able, from otlier information. 

:;' Tn those "dark and evil days" of the Penal Code, Mr. O'Sullivan conld only 
have had this estate, as a Papist, through its having been held for him by soma 



376 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

bois, by whom he was tetaiiied as a donicstiL'k Tutor to his son. It was 
rot long ere tlie Marshal, perceiving in him some symptoms of a genius 
better adapted to the sword than the gown, encouraged him rather to 
ap})ly himself to tiie former than the latter profession. This advice waa 
well relisheil by our young Reveien/] ; he followed it, and that with sucii 
Success, that. atten(bng the Marshal to Corsica, when t!u^ FriMieli 
attempted to deprive the ])oor, but brave, inliabitants of that little islan.i 
of their liberties,* he acted as Secretary to that Genei-al. Maillebois, 
who was a bou. vivaiit, and used constantly to get drunk every day after 
dinner, was almost incapable of business the greater ])art of the 24 liours; 
so that, during the whole time of this General's stay on the isle of Corsica, 
all the weight of the war, and tiie whole power, devolv'd on Mr. Sullivan, 
who executed it in such a manner, as deriv'd great honour botli to him- 
self and his patr(m. In short, here he gain'd a, very high reputation for 
his military accomplishments in genei'ai ; l)ut, more jiarticnlai ly, for Ivis 
knowledge in what is called the art of making //■/• y?tW war. After 
finishing the conquest of C(n'siea, Marshal Maillehois letiirning to France, 
carried Mr. Sullivan with him into that king<lom ; in which, however, 
he did not tarry long, but going into Italy, made 1 cam])aign there, and, 
the next yeai', he served the King of Fiance, in another, upon the Rhine. 
Here he aequir'd so much fame ammig his Most Christian Majesty's Gan- 
erals, that 1 of them, mentioning him in a letter to M. de Argen.son, says, 
'That he (Mr. Sullivan) understood the irrkgular art of war better than 
any man in Europe ; nor was his knowledge in the regular much 
inferior to that of the best General then living.'" He next entei-ed the 
Stuart service, and James III. writes thus, respecting him, from " Rome, 
March 23rd, 1745," to Prince Charles, in Fi-ance— " I am glad to lind 
O'Snllivan is now with you. When a gentleman is capable of such detail 
and drudgery as that of family expenses, you will find it both of ease and 
advantage to you, because you can depend upon him, and he can act 
either with more franchezza, and less sog(/ezloi/f,, than one of an inferictr 
rank ; and, on all accounts, it behoves y(ni much, not to outrnn your 
small income." The London nairative pniceeds to inform us of O'Sullivaii 
and the Prince, how " Cliarles soon contracted such an esteem for him, 
that he was never e-Asy, but when this agreeable Irishtnan was with hiai. 
Indeed, no one who knows Mr. Sullivan can deny his being one of the 
best-bred, genteelest, comjdaisant, engaging officer in all the French 
troo))s, which, in these inspects, are certainly infei-ior to none in Europe. 
To the.se external accomplishments were added (aiul Charles soon perceiv'd 
them in Mr. Sullivan) a sincerity of heart, and an honest freedom of both 
sentinu^nt and speech, tern per'd v.'ith so much good nature and [iolit( ness, 
as made his conversation and friendship ecpially useful and agreeable. 
But. if Cliarles was highly pleased with Mr Sullivan, the latter thought 
himself no less happy in the regar-d paid him by the former; to Mdiom, 

worthy Protestant friend in his own name, or as apparently owned by a Protestant ; 
otherwise the Popish proprietor would have been divested of his U'eij'il i)osse5sion 
h^' the privileged land-robbers of the time, at Papists' expense, knovvii, to the ruiu 
of so many, as " Protestant discoverers ! " 

* Those shameless republican oppressors of Corsica, the Genoese, unable, by 
their own strength, to put down the C'orsican insurgents, or patriots, had negoi:iated 
with the Fi'ench, to restore, by their very superior military power, the broken con- 
nexion betv\een Genoa and Corsica. Aa au island, Corsica should belong only ta 
her.^ei/, or be inde^jendent. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE, 377 

in return, lie passionately flesii-Vl to render all the service his abilitiea, 
strengthened by the favour of the Grand MoiiMrcli, were {)ossil)lv capable 
of reiideritig. Of this Cli;irles was well satisHed ; and he, on the otlu^r 
hand, ex])ected no small things from the good sense, tlie solid judgment, 
■the political knowledge, and the military skill of Mr. Sullivan. Nor was 
he dece>v'd, either in the prosecution, or the end, of his famous ex])e(li- 
tion. For, to the abilities of this gentleman we ai'e chiefly to attribute 
the success with which the unexperienc'd Charles, with a handful of raw 
Highlanders, so long maintaiu'd a sharp, and. for some time, doubtful, 
dispute with the whole force of his Britannick Majesty, in which he so 
surprizingly over-run, and (as far as he ]>leased) plunder'd, not only the 
major part of the Kingdom of Scotland, but also a great part of the rich 
and powerful nation of England itself A nation which is, or might be, 
the terror and arbitress of all Europe ! But this (/reat spring^ and first 
or cliief m'lVir of all the StuaVt army's motions, like that of a clock, or 
Avatch, (which animates and moves the whole macliine) was unseen, ;in(l 
all its operations un|)ei'ceiv'd by the gross of Charles's followei\s. Mr. 
Sullivan's authority and influence over Ciiai-les, as the mUnmica.l sjiring 
in its box, was so closely conceal'd from the eye of the world, that none 
'but the most pi-ying, curious, aitful of the Kighland Chiefs, and those 
that were the most entrusted, and, as it were, let into the mystery, knew 
how greatly this gentleman was favoui'ed and conflded in both by Ciiarles 
and the French Government. Though, in fact, he was the ***** 
General,* he never openly acted as such; all his advice was given in 
secret, and his orders never came directly ftoiu himself While he did 
all, Charles ajipeared as the y)rincipal, and, in his name, was every 
tiling transacted." The ostensible posts of Colonel O'SuUivan under the 
Prince were those of Adjutant-General, and Quarter-Master-General. 
It was the decision of the battle of Fontenoy in favour of France, so 
attributable to the valour of the Irish Brigade, that determined the 
Prince to attempt, at this period, as the best opportunity, the vindication, 
in Great Britain, of the royal claims of his family. And, in this daring 
enterprise, to be commenced with disadvantagt-s, under which it would 
be necessary to "strive with tilings im[)ossible, nay get the better of 
them," he not unnaturally looked, from O' Sullivan's character, for sufth 
capabilities of service in hitn, as his chivalrous countryman Wogan had 
formerly displayed, in the a|)parently hopeless, though finally succes.sful, 
achievement of Inspruck ; but for the accomplislimeiit of which, Maria 
Clementina Sobieski would never liave V»een the mother of Charh-.s 
E<lward Stuart. The decision of fortune in the 2 undertakings wa.s 
dissimilar, yet the Kerryman deserved as well of the yoaiujer, as the 
Ivildareman did of the elder, Stuart; and Ireland, which had i\m' honour 
of producing the hero, who so gallantly freed the mother from the Austrian 
in the Tyrol, was likewise honouied by furnishing the chief milit;ny 
adviser to the son, in his brave efi^"ort to recover the dominions of hi.s 
ancestors from the Hanoverian in Britain. As an Irishman, so situated 
in Scotland, O'Sullivan was necessarily ex])Osed to the narrow criticisms 
of personal envy, and the peevish reflections of national jealousy. But 
in what hi(j}b estimation he wa.s, for his conduct, both then and after- 
wards, with James as well a.s Ciiarles, is attested by their family papers. 

• Eviileiitly rhyf, nr fir si, Genertil; the 5 asterisks correspouding iu number with 
tlie o leDLeis of those words. 



378 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

Tlie Piincp, cori'esponrling from Paris, December lOtli, 1746, (or when 
the expedition to Scotland was all over,) with his father at Rrtrae, 
remarks — "O'Sullivan slK)wed me the letter your Majesty did him the 
honour to write to him. I cannot let slip this occasion to do him justice, 
by saying, I r-^ally think he deserves your Majesty's favour." Writing 
to his soil in France from Rome, April 17th, 1747, James observing, "I 
am glad tu iind O'Sullivan is now with you," adds — " I have made him 
a Kniglit, since you desire it, and he deserves it, tho' it be against my 
present rule; but I have desired him not to say when he vvas knighted, 
so that that small mark of favour will be of no inconvenience. I must 
do him the justice to say, that by all I have heard, or marked of him 
myself, I am glad 3'ou have him about you; and I am persuaded he will 
serve you with diligence and fidelity, and never give you reason to be 
dissatisfied with him." B}'^ an allusion of James at Rome, Januai-y 2nd, 
174-8, to a document to be forwarded in successive portions by his Secre- 
tary, Mr. Edgar, to the Prince in France, it would likewise Feen), that 
an outline or abstract of the memorable campaigns of 174o-6 in Gi'eat 
Britain was drawn out by O'Sullivan ; who, as having so contributed to 
conduct them for Charles, was proportionately capable of supplying 
information to jtosterity for a regular history of the subject, 

" When many a deed mhjht wake in praise, 
That long had slept in hlaiiie." — MooKE. 

The King alleges — " Edgar will send you b}^ degrees O'Sullivan's paper. 
It were a pity that an account of your inifortunate expedition should 
not be put in writing, and that by a good hand. But such a paper should 
be composed with nice regard to truth and prudence, so as to give you 
honour, and, at the same time, not to disgust, much less wrong, particular 
persons, who appeared for you, on that unhappy occasion." I am nob 
aware, how long Sir John O'Sullivan lived beyond 174t'. B}' his wife, a 
Miss Fitz-Gerald, daughter of Thomas Fitz-Gerald and Louisa O'Connor 
(mo.st probably of the line of O'Connor-A'o'rv//) he left a son, Thomas 
Herbert O Sullivan, an officer in the Irish Brigade at the period of the 
American War of Independence, who, in consequence of a quarrel with, 
and a ))ersonal a.ssault, against the rules of discipline, upon the famoua 
Paul Jones, under whose command he then was for a proposed expedi- 
tion to the coast of Ireland, had to fly from Fi'ance to America, where 
he entered the British army under Sir Henry Clinton, at New York; 
and afterwards left it for the Dutch service, in which he died a Major, 
at the Hague, about the year 1824, niuch res])ected ; having had, for 
instance, among his intin)ate friends, the celebrated Prince de Ligne. 
The Major, noted as " an extraordinary handsome and elegant person," 
had a son, similarly distinguished, John William Thomas Gerald 
O'Sullivan, boni in Ireland, who, "after a romantic career of successful 
adventure," in the course of which "he was at one time the American 
Consul at the Canary Islands, and at Mogador in Morocco," terminated 
his existence very honourably by shipwreck, in 1825; when, as owner of 
the vessel in which he was, he perished "in an attempt to carry a rope 
Hsjiore, for the safety of the rest." He was father of the Honourable 
Jo!in I-juis O'Sullivan, Minister of the United States of America to the 
<Jnurt of Portugal, from 18o4 to 18-58, and a most amiable and accom- 
plished gentleuiau and scholar. He writes, at Lisbon, August 2uth, 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 379 

1F61, — "Of our name, in tliis line, I airi now the last" — arJdinpj, in 
«lill^ion to the iinfortiinate deatlis of an elder brother, and 2 line 
nephews, by accidents — "A fatality has seemed to pursue us. By what 
sudden end the name is to ex))ire with me, time has 'i/et to show." 
Among his family memorials, he mentions the watch of his celebrated 
great-grandfather of 1745-G, and his seal, containing his coat-of-arnis, 
besides the still more interesting relic of a beatitifiil medallion portrait of 
the Geneial, set in gold, I'epresenting him as advanced in years, as not 
unlike tiie illustrious Washington, and in a uniform of scarlet, faced with 
blue and gold.* Having premised so much with respect to the leading 
Irish associates of Prince Charles in commencing his memoral)le enter- 
])i-ise to regain the triple royalty of his forefathers, I now enter upon 
ench a narrative of that enterprise as has hitherto been a deskleraiuiii — - 
1st, in i-eference to the Irish of the Brigade, ifec, connected with the 
struggle, to the extent of whose participation in it justice has not been 
done; 2ndly, in reference to the old i'eelings of Scotch nationality, so inti- 
mately associated with the contest at the time, yet, to the glaring perver- 
sion of historic truth! comparatively ignored, in works, since compiled 
on the subject. 

Prince Charles, having touched, July 29th, at the small Isle of Erisca,+ 
anchored, the 30th, oft' the mainland of Srotland, in the Bay of Loch- 
nanuagh, on the coast of Inverness-shire. Thence he jn-oceeded to notify, 
to his most ti-nsty Highland adherents in those parts, liis arrival front 
France, as Prince Pegent for his father King James at Rome ; and 
observed, with i-eference to being unaccompanied to Scotland by any 
military force from the Continent, that " He did not choose to owe the 
restoration of his father to foreigners, \mt to his own friends; to whom 
he was now come, to put it in their power to have the glory of that 
event." J The various discussions and anangements which necessarily 
took place with the Highland leaders, ere they decided on' committing 
themselves to an enterprise so hazardous under such circumstances, jiost- 
jtoned the lantlir)g of the Prince till August 5th, when he di.-^embarked, 
with his 7 previously-mentioned foilowei-s, at Borodale, on the southern 

* According to the coloured representations of the "uniformes des 7 rvct^imenta 
Irlanfhiis en 1745," or those of "Bulkeley, Clare, Dillon, Roth, Berwiclc, Lally," 
and " Fitzjames Cavalerie " among the Frencli MSS. given to me by the late John 
O'Connell, tlie red or scnrlet coats of 2 of the regiments, namely, these of " Roth " 
and " Fitz-James," were faced, or turned up, with blue. The portrait of " Rrince 
Charlie's" Irish General and favourite is certainly 1 of too much liistorical 
interest, as regards Ireland and Scotland, to be kei)t unphotogra]iheil, or iin])nli- 
lished. For my correspondence with Ins last living rejireseutative, the American 
Minister in Portugal. I am indebted to an introduction to the Very Ruv. l)r. 
Kussell, President of the College of Corpo Santo, Lisbon, from my learned and 
patriotic friend, Dr. R. R. Madtlen. 

t "There," at Etisca, relates iEneas Mac Donald, of the Prince and his party, 
"they were all refreshed as well as the place could afford, and they had some Ijeds, 
but not sufficieut for the whole company ; on which account, the Prince, being less 
fatigued than the others, insisted upon such to go to bed as most wanted it. 
Particularly he took care of Sir Thomas Shei-idan, and went to examine his bed, and 
to see that the sheets were well aired." This su]ieriority to self-indulgence, for the 
accommodation of others, does Charles much ci'edit ; more especially his solicitude 
for the comfort of his elderly conii)ani(jn, Sir Thomas Sheridan. It reminds us of 
the care fif Achilles for old Ph'jenix in the Iliad. 

J The couj]>aratively biglorioits dejiendence of the "glorious revolution," and its 
dynastic representatives, \i\)on for <i(jn military sup[)ort or succour for success, has 
been already shown, and commented on, in Book VI. 



380 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

shore of Loelnianiia^h. The 1st gathering of the clansmen, and unfuri- 
ing of tlie Stuart standard — ^" of red silk, with a white space in the 
centre, on which the celebrated motto, 'tandem trifmphans,' was, a few 
weeks afterwards, insciibed" — occurred, August 30tli, in presence of 
Chailes, at the v;ijley of Glenfinnan, where, with about 2 companies of 
tlie Elector of Hanover's or George Il.'s infantry, disarmed and made 
j)risoners some days before, the Highland loyalists, from 1100 to 1200 
in number, j)rincipally Camerons and Mac Donalds, under their. Chief- 
tains Lochiel and Keppoch, musteied in martial array. 

"Tlipn loudly let tlie pibroch sound, 
And baiild advance each trae heart ; 
The word he, '' Sotlnnds K'un/ urul Law!* 

And " Dtath, or Charlie Slaartr " 

• 

That is, our word be, " The restoration of the national Dynasty, and the 
national Legislature!" Mr. Lockhart, writing from Scotland to the 
Prince's father at Rome, in 1725, remarked — "Aversion to the Union 
daily increases, and that is the handle by which Scotsmen will be incited 
to make a general and zealous appearance." Hence, in consideration of 
due assistance to reinstate his family in their ancient dominions, Chai'lcs, 
we are informed, •' promised many things agreeable to the Scots, and, 
among others, the dissolution of the Union with England," since, it is 
added, '' the Scots generally, but the Highlanders in particular, looked 
npon the Union with England, as a slavish subjugation." In fine, as 
Sir Walter Scott notes — " The words, ' Prosjjerity to Scotland, and no 
Union,' is the favourite inscription to be found on Scottish sword-blades, 
betwixt 1707 and 1746." 

Of the army, thus commenced for this "noble attempt," as it has been 
designated by Dr. Johnson, Colonel John O'Sullivan was made Adjutant- 
Geneial, and Quartermaster-General. From the 31st, when they marched 
forwards, till Sej)tember 7th, when they reached Lettei-tinlay, their 
strength, by other Mac Donalds, with Stuarts, and Grants, was I'aisnd to 
several hundreds more. Meanwhile, the Anglo-Hanoverian Commander 
in Scotland, Lieuteuant-General Sir John Co|)e, in order to confine tiie 
war to the Highlands, set out, August 30th, from Edinburgh; proceed- 
ing, with about 1400 infantry, and a train of artillery, towards the 
imjiortaut mountain-pass of Corriearrack, poi)ularly styled, the Drvi/'s 
staircase. But Charles preoccupied it, Septemljer 7th, by a rapid march. 
Still, in order to keep the Highland force northwards, or away from tho 
Lowlands, by the dread of a hostile advance into their own country, 
Cope, on finding himself obliged to retire from before Corriearrack, turned 
aside towards Inverness; calculating; on beinij followed, and fouijht with, 
in that direction. But, by this movement, having left the way to the 
Lowlands and Edinburgh open, through the mountain-defiles of Badenoch 
into the fertile valley of Athol, &c. — or the best districts for maintaining 
a force, only to be kept together from the resources of the country it 
could occupy — Cope showed himself to V)e no match for the Prince, and 
his Iverry head-piece, O'Sullivan. Charles, passing through the glens of 
Badenoch, where he was continually reinforced, desceniled into the 
"pleasant vale of Athol," and entered Perth, the 15th; when, of 4000 
louis d'ors, or guineas, he had brought from France, but 1 remained, whien 
he showed Mr. Kelly ; observing, he would soon get more. Dundee whs 
ticizud the same evening, and 2 vessels tliere, witli some anus and auiuiuni- 



IN TUE SERVICE OF FRANCK 381 

tioTi.* Besides refreshing, recruiting, and (as he had anticipated) raising 
funds for his army, at Perth, the Prince was joined there by several 
nohlenien and gentlemen, including the Lords Strathallan, Nairn, 
Ogilvy, the Duke of Peith, Lord George Murray, &c. Lord George, a 
younger son of the Duke of Athol, had fought for the Stuart cause in 
1715, again in 1719, and had consequently to retire to the Continent, 
where he passed some years in the Sardinian service; but, obtaining 
leave to return to Scotland, resided there, till he joined Charles. Accord- 
ing to a fellow-soldier of his Lordship, " he was tall and robust, and brave 
in the highest degree; conducting the Highlanders in the most heroic 
manner, and always the l.st to rush, sword in hand, into the midst of 
the enemy. He used to say, when we advanced to the charge— 'I do 
not ask you, my lads, to go before, but merely to follow, me.' A very 
energetic harangue, admirably calculated to e.xcite the ardour of the 
Highlanders." He was immediately nominated a Lieutenant-General by 
Charles, who, on the 22nd, after an interesting visit to "the ancient 
I'alace of his ancestors, the Kings of Scotland," at Scoon, or Scone, 
quitted I'ertli, and, strengthened en roiUe by some Mac Donalds of 
Glencoe. and Mac Gregors of (ilengyle, advanced the more eagerly to 
I'eacli Edinl»ui-gh, as Cope, in order to repair the miscalculation thmugli 
vliich he had been so outmanoeuvred, was ])reparing to embark his forces 
at Aberdeen, for. the metroj)olis ; while, the Highland army, instead of 
bring al)le to march by the most direct road, should take a longer one 
thither. 

Driving before him Gardiner's and Hamilton's 2 scampering dragoon- 
regiments,t and equally frightening the miserable Wiiig Volunteers and 
Trained Bands at Ediidmrgh, the Prince apju'oached and s\iinmoned that 
city on the 27th, and, by stratagem, soon effected his admission there; 
"which it was so important to do, ere Cope's expected arrival with hia 
tr-oops by sea, to preserve the place. From 800 to 900 Highlanders, 
under several leaders, including Lochiel and O'Sullivan. were detached 
by night towards the walls, and 1 ot the gates being o])ened for a 
coach, Captain Evan Mac Gregor of Glencairnaig, and "the foremost 
Highlanders," says Klose, "rushed in, seized the guards, secured the 
guard-house, while Colonel O'Sullivan sent small parties round to the 
other gates, which were likewise secured, without blood-shed, or disturb- 
ance." The Scotch metropolis, at night, under the House of Hanover, 
was, at moi-ning, under the House of Stuart! Charles, the 28th. enterwl 
Holyrood House, the Palace of his forefathers, and, as coming to rein- 
state, in the ])erson of his father, as " King James VIIL," the old dynasty 
ot the country, and to raise that country to its former rank of a distinct 
Kingdom, by annulling the so-called Act of Union, he was welcomed by 
the acclamations of all, who preferred loyalty, chivalry, and nationality, 
to Whiggism, sectarianism, and provincialism. Of the connexion of A nti-' 

* But "the 2 vessels must have been poorly laden," it has been remarked, "as 
the insurgents continued only half-armi'd, till after the battle of Preston." 

t These 2 regiments, so unenviably conspicuous, in this war, as "scarlet runners" 
from the Highlanders, were the predet'essors of the ]ii-er.ent I.Sth ami 14th l.i^kt 
Dr-agoons. They are thus, as keenly, as deservedly, ridiculed, by tke couUdiil- 
porary songster, Skirving — 

* '"Tlie bluff dragoons swore, 'Bloo'1 anil oo isl 

T'.iey >1 ni ikH til.', rp.lvH,< run ui.ui; ' 
Anil yet ihi'v fifli^ wiien tiu'in ^Uey 860, 
Aud wiuua Ure ti gua, ui<i.u 1 " 



382 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

Unionism with JacoLitisni, a remaikable instance occurred, at the Prince's 
entrance into Holyrood House. "When he," writes Home, " was near 
the door, which stood open to receive him, a gentleman stepped out of 
the crowd, di-ew his sword, and, raising his arm aloft, walked up staii-s 
before Charles. The person, who enlisted himself in this manner, was 
James Hepburn of Keith. . . . He had been engaged, when a very 
young man, in the rebellion of 1715; and, from that time, (learned and 
intelligent as he was,) had continued a Jacobite. But he had compounded 
the spirit of Jacobitism with another spirit; for he disclaimed the here- 
ditary indefeasilile right of Kings, and condemned the government of 
James II. ; but he also condemned the Union l)etween England and Scot- 
land, as injui-ious and humiliating to his country; saying, (to use his own 
■words,) that the Union had made a Scotch gentleman of small fortune 
nobody; and that he would die 1000 times, rather tlian submit to itf 
Wrn])ped up in these notions, he kept himself for 30 years in constant 
readiness to take arms, and was the 1st person who joined Charles at 
Edinburgh!"* In the festivities which took jtlace soon after at Holy- 
rood, 1 of the able minstrels, that were stMl numerous in Ireland as 
successors of the old Bards, was [)resent as a performer — the famous 
Dcmnis O'Hanipse}', otherwise Hampson, or Hempson, of Craigmore, 
County of Londonderry, born in 16')5, deceased in 1807, aged 112, and 
whose harp was celebrated as " Queen of Music" by his hearers. "la 
Ids 2nd trip to Scotland, in the year 1745," says the Rev. George Samj)- 
son, tlie historian of Londonderry, of this venerable minstrel, who was, 
at that time, by his own account, above 50 years of age, "being in Edin- 
burgh, when Charley, the Preteudei", was there, he was called into the 
great hall, to play. At tirst, he was alone. Afterwards 4 fiddlers joined. 
The tune, called for, was, ' I'lie Kiny shall eitjoij his own again.'' He sung 
here part of the words following — 

* T hope to see the day, 
When the VVhiis sha'l run away, 
And the King shall enjoy his own again!' 

T asked him," adds Mr. Sampson, "if he heard the Pretender speak? 
He replied, I only heard him ask ' Is .S'y/ra/t there?' On which some 
one answered, 'He is not here, ple;ise your Royal Highness, but he shall 
be sent for.' 'He meant to say Sullivan,^ continued Hampson, 'for that 
was the way he called the name.' " For this introduction to the Prince's 
j)resence, the Ulster harper was indebted to his countrymen. Sir Thomas 
Sheridan, and Mr. Kelly. t 

By the 29th, the day after his entering Edinburgh, Charles had gained 
more adhei'ents of consequence, or the Lord Kellie, and others from the 
Lowlands — "many," we are told, "induced to join him, less by personal 
devotion, than V)y an unconq\ierable aversion to the Union." He wjis 
Idcewise ix'iiiforced by other Highlanders; he obtained sevei'al requisit(>s 
for his troo[is, among which were some, yet comparatively few, muskets, 

* Like Hephnrn, as the annotator of the vScoteh .Tacohite Minstrelsy informs ua, 
— "Many nitellincnt, well-educated men were known to ha \'e favoured the iusur- 
rrction of 17-1"). less from attachment to the family of the Stuarts, than from .a hope, 
that their restoration would lead to a repeal of what was called the ileh'sl'^d, Umon.i' 
ISee, also, the letter of Burns to Mrs. Dnnlop, April Kith. 1701). 

+ Not, as Mr. Sampson says, a "Colonel Kelly of Roscommon." Who the Kelly 
was is obvious. But the mention of " Huscommou " is usei'ul. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. SS3 

ov-iiig to tlie previous conveyance of stich articles into the Castle; and, 
rotwitliHtiUiding tiiat many of his men were consequently still most 
incom[)letely armed, he reviewed the whole, in order to march, on the 
30th, against Sir John Co])e, who, by that time, had landed at, and 
was advancing from, Dnnhar, towards the Scotch metropolis. Cope was 
joined by his regnlar cavalry, l)esides a uninber of Edinburgh or other 
Lowland Volunteers, including some armed clerical zealots, or Presby- 
tei'ian Ministers; and he had written from Banff, on tlie 20th, in due 
anticipation of victory, — "Though damage may be dune by the quickness 
of the march, which the Highlanders are much more able to make than 
we arc, yet a solid body, like ours, must elfectually get the better of them, 
in the end." With similar confidence, in writing from Perth, on the 21st, 
how Co])e, instead of fighting at Corriearrack, "escaped to the north, to 
the great disappointment of the Plighlanders," the Prince had added, of 
that movement of the English force — " But I am not at all sorry for it — 
I shall have the greater glory in beating tliem, when they are more 
nnmerous, and snjiported by their dragoons." The 2 armies were iu 
sight of, and arrayed against, each other, October 1st, about 7 miles from 
Edinburgh, for the engagement, variously styled the battle of Preston- 
Pans, or Gladsmnir. Cope's force had such comparative advantages on 
its side as to be seemingly invincil»le: the infantry were about 21U0; the 
cavah-y, 2 dragoon-regiments, 1 on the right, the other on the left, were 
700 strong;* and these 2S00 men, generally disciplined and equii)ped as 
English regulars, had 6 field-cannon, besides mortars ; and were only 
apfiroachable through a morass, and narrow pass. The Prince's followers, 
on the contrary, a rural militia, collected within 5 weeks, and, in jiart, 
very imjiei-fectly weaponed — some having merely a sword, or a dirk, oj- a 
])istol, or A bludgeon, or a scythe-bhide fastened straight to a ]»itch-fork 
handle — were, besides, inferior in number, or, even by the hostile com- 
])utation of Home, not 2400 men; t their cavalry, as only about 50, having 
to be necessarily but a ])arty detached, or in reserve; and the artillery, as 
but 1 ii'on gun, only adapted for tiring a marching signal, had to be left 
behind; while, to reach the English, it was necessary "to pass before 
their noses, in a defile and bog." Nevertheless. Charles, through good 
l(;cal intelligence, having effected this passage by day-break cm the 2nd, 
his 1st line alo7ie, of but 1456 combatants, mastered with a rush the 
enemy's artillery, ere it gave more than 5 shots; next i)ut the 2 di-ago(m- 
regiments to a rapid and disgraceful flight, compared with that of "rabbits 
one by one;" and, having discharged and thrown down their musket.s, 
with a most tremendous shout, closed, target and claymore in hand, upon 
the hostile infantry. "The English oilicers in Cope's army," says my 
fontenqiorary London publication, "behavd very gallantly, and did all 
11 their power to oblige their men to perform their duty; but the terrible 
i.gure of the Higl danders, and the irresistil'le fury with wdiich they 
charg'd them, baffled their ntmost efforts, and struck such a dread into 

* In March, 1745, the regular complement of every dragoon-regiment quartered 
in Great Britain was published, as ;^.5-± "effective private men"— i. <?., 6 troops of 
59 each— and 81 "officers, &c.," or 4;:;5 for both. By this statement, 2 dragoon- 
regiments would contain 870 men of all ranl^s. A letter, in the Culloden Papers, 
from General Wightman, who was with Cope's force at Treston-Paus, refers to 
Cope's cavahy there as "the 700 dragoons." 

t Home's numerical estimate of the Prince's army at Preston-Pans seems trust- 
wortliy, as dednced trom a comparison of his own iaqniries with the statemei-t 
of Mr. Patullo, Muster-Master to that army. 



384 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

the soldiers, that tliey soon gave way to the impetuous onset of tlieil 
enemies." Tlie Chevalier de Johnstone, who was with the Prince, in the 
2nd line of his aruiy,'n<>t above 50 paces behind the 1st, running, as fast 
as possible, to ovei-take that line, and near enough never to lose sight of 
it, asserts, "in less than 5 minutes, we obtained a complete victoiy!" 
Tiie Pi-iuce himself, in his letter to his father, after noting, "oi^ly our 1st 
line had occasion to engage," adds, "fir, actually in 5 minutes, the field 
was cleared of the enemies!" General Wightman, who was with Cope's 
army, not serving, but as a looker on, and who says, he "saw all the 
dragoons quite out of the field, and the foot surrounded on all sides," 
alleges, that the entire affair "lasted about 4 minutes, and no longer!" 
Hence the boast, and witli so much truth, by the Jacobites, that ''■their 
young Prince could win a battle in 5 minutes!" Charles had, at most, 
115 hors de combat, or but 35, including 5 officers, killed, and 70 or SO 
men wounded. Of Cope's infantry, who were the sufferers on this 
occasion, as his dragoons fled at once, only 170 escaped, about 300 wei'e 
slain, 450 wounded,* and between 1600 and 1700, including 70 officers, 
were returned, by their own Serjeants and Corporals, as ])risoners; so 
that the Anglo-Hanoverians, or Georgeites, were diminislied between 
1900 and 2000 inm by this routing, t Their colours and standards, 
among which were 7 that had Vjelonged to the runaway dragoons, their 
artille.rv, consisting of 6 guns and 2 mortars, their camp, their baggage, 
and their military chest, containing some thousand ponnds, were captured 
by the Highlanders; whose victoi'ious loyalty, renewing that day the 
glories of their forefathers under Montrose and Dundee, was rewarded 
by " a fine plinider.'' The last triumph of Scotch nationality, in the 
national metropolis, under the representative of the ancient national 
dynasty of Scotland, and over the forces of her old national enemy, 
followed this dashing Celtic discomtitui'e of the Saxon, and the Southron. 
" Tiie Camerons," says my authority, "entered Edinburgh scarcely 3 
hours after tiie battle, playing their pipes with might and main, and 
exhibiting, with many marks of triumph, the colours they had taken from 
Cojie's dragoons. But the return of the main body of the army was 

reserved tor the succeeding day, Sunday The clans marched, 

in one, long, extended line, into the lower gate of the city, with bag-pi[)es 
exultingly jilaying the cavalier air, '■Hie King sJuill enjoy his own again.' 
They bore, besides their own standards, tho.se which they had taken from 
the royal army; and they displayed, with equally ostentatious pride, the 

• Of Coite's infantry, aViandoned, from the very commencement, by the dastardly 
dray;oons, Lord Mahon and Mr. Chambers s])ecify those who escaped as but 170; 
and the contemporary Loudon comi>ikition, "Young Juba," makes their slaiu 300, 
and wounded 450 — the Ip.tler, to be reckoned, of course, as amomj those takea 
prisoners. "For 1 that was killed by a bullet, 20 fell by the sword." 

t Lord George Murray, the Prince's Lieutenant -General, relates that, by the lista 
he caused the English Serjeants and Corporals to take of their commissioned and 
non-commissioned fellowcajitives after the engagement, the whole "made between 
1600 and 1700 men," or say I6o0; who, with the 170 escaped, and 300 slain, would 
make Cope's infantry 2120, or, in round numbers, 2100 ; and, adding to these his 700 
cavalry, his entire army would be 2620, or, in round numbers, 2800 men. Thi8 
coniputation moreover agrees with the contemporary estimate of Cope's force for the 
action by the English Whig Hay, who asserts, "of the King's troops, there wero 
about 2800, who .should have fought." He names (so far as I can make thera 
out) 78 of Cope's olficers as "killed, wounded, and prisoners." In the best Jacobifea 
and ( jeorgeite publications of the day, those oilicers are summed up aa 83 or 84 iss 
number. 



IN THE SERVICE OP FRANCE, 385 

vast accession of dress, and pei'sonal ornament, wLicli they had derived 
from the vanquished. lo tlie rear of their own body, came the prisoners, 
at least half as numerous as themselves, and then followed the wounded 
in carts. At the end of all, came the baggage, and cannon, under a 
strong guard." 

This important vietoiy rendered the Prince master of nearly all 
Scotland. exce[)t the forts held by the English in the Highlands, and 
the Castles of Edinburgh and Stirling, still garrisoned by them. His 
father was consequently proclaimed, in almost every town, under his 
national title (as in 1715) of " King James VIII.," and the public monny 
■was levied for his service; the previous Anglo-Hanoverian authorities 
having generally to skulk into privacy, or fly into England. " There is 
nothing to be seen, in town, and country, but people with wJdte cockades'^ 
exclaims a contemporary, "and even the ladies have fixed them on their 
head-dre.ss!" In .short, "the rebels were now absolutely masters of Scot- 
land," writes a howling Whig there, "and Ihey might, when they pleased, 
have cut all our throats!" — the designation of '■'■rebel foe," on the other 
jtand, being already ai)plied to the Whigs, in the exultation of Jacobite 
Diiustrelsy. 

"Xow Charles as.serts his father's right. 
And thus estal dishes his own; 
Braving the dangers of the tight. 

To cleave a passage to the throne. 
The Scots regain their ancient fame, 

.\n(l well their faith and valour show; 
Su]>i>orting then- yiung hero's claim. 
Against a powerful rtbel foe ! " 

The day after Cope's overthrow, Charles forwarded, to the northern 
English Jacoliites, intelligence of his "wonderful success" for their 
deliverance, and of his intention soon "to move towards them," when 
^^they loould be inexcusable, before God and man. if llvey did not all in tlieir 
jmwer, to assist and support him, in such an undeyrtaking ;'''' adding, as to 
the imperative necessity then for an honest or uncompromising co-opera- 
tion on their ]jart — " Th.ere is no more time for deliberation — now or never 
is the word!" * Mi". Kelly, too, was sent to France,, to rejjresent to the 
Ministers there the expediency of assisting the Jacobites in Scotland; 
which commission, after a narrow escape of that gentleman from arrest 
by the Anglo-Hanoverian consular agent at Camp- Veer in Holland, was 
executed; and Sir James Steuart, (the distinguished writer on political 
economy,) was subsequently despatched to France, to second the applica- 
tion of Mr. Kelly. In ''.he course of the month of October, 2 ships from 
France and 1 frc>ni Spa.n — where, as in France, the brightest hopes were 
excited among the Irish exiles by the Prince's success — reached the 
northern Scotch ports, conveying the Marquis d'Eguilles with a letter 
from Louis XV. to the Prince, £6000, some thousand stmd of arms, 6 
tie]d-])ieces, a detachment of French artillery-men, and several Irish 
officei's m the sicrvices of France and Spain. Of the " Irish officers in the 
service of France," the principal was a gentleman of the Regiment of 

• Chai'les, in corresponding, the year before, with the adherents to his family in 
Great Britain, "soon ]ierceived his Scotch partizans," says Lord Mahon, "to be 
greatly superior, in zeal and determination, to his English." And, niore recently, 
oi- in February, 1745, the Prince, -writing to his father, remarks — " The truth of the 
matter is, that ouv/rtends in England are afraid of their own .shaduw,' &c. 

2c 



3Sb HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADKS 

Lally, "Mr. Graiit, * an able mutheniatician, wlio h:u\ Ijeen em])loyecl for 
many years with M. Cassini, in the ObsiTvatory at Paris." 

As "the Act of Union was," observes the German biographer of Charles, 
*' an object of general aversion in Scotland, and the re-establishnient of 
Scotland, as a separate Kingdom, was, with a large portion of his adherents, 
a matter quite as important as the re-establish nient of the Stuart dyna.sty " 
— so that, remarks a noble English historian, " no saying was more 
common, among the Jacobites, than that they were bound to restore, not 
merely the King but the Kingdom of Scotland" — the 1st thought of 
the Prince was "to summon a Scottish Parliament at Edinburgh" — to 
which design, however, there were the>i such obstacles, that, as his better 
policy for the time, he had to relinquish it. But, in his Declaration of 
October 9th, O. S. (or 20th IST. S.) from the Scottish metropolis, as 
Prince Regent, warning all "liege subjects, whether Peers, or Commoners,^' 
from attending the Parliament, which " the Elector of Hanover had taken 
U])on him to summon to meet at Westminster" that month, Charles more 
especially prohibited any subjects of his fathei-'s " antient Kingdom of 
Scotland, whet] wr Peers, or Ci mm oners," to sit and act in "such an 
unlawful assembly," on ])ain of being " ])roceeded against as traitors and 
rebels to their King and Conntiy;" adding, ^' the pre'ended Union of 
the. Kingdoms being ttow at an end^ And, in another Declaration, IVom 
Holyrood House, next day, to all his father's. aii\)jects — a document of 
greater length and importance, drawn up by Sir Thom;is Sheridan and 
Sir James Steuart, aided, not improbably, by Mr. Kelly — the so-called 
Union was denounced, as, on the part of James, it so well deserved to 
be, and its repeal was accoi'dingly ])i'omised. " With respect to the 
2)retended Union of the 2 nations," says the document, ^^ the King cannot 
jii'ssibly ratify it, since he has had repeated remonstrances against it, from 
each Kingdom; and since it is incontestable, that the principal })oint then 
in view was the exclusion of the Royal Fanbily from th^lr undoubted right 
to the Crovm ; for which purpose, the grossest corruptioj/s were operdy 
used, to bring it aboutJ'' Anumg others of the Scotch ari.stocracy by this 
time attached to the Prince were Alexander Forbes, Lord Pitsligo, an 
elderly nobleman, from his general amiability and ])rudence "the oracle 
of the Lowland gentry ; " and tl^e Honourable Arthur Elphiiiston, soon, 

* The name of Grant — in its Norman form, " le Graiint," or " Grainite "— has 
Le'^n respectaVile, during the middle ages and suh.seijnenfcly, in Irehind, or iu 
Kilkeun_y, Waterfurd, and Cork. In the W;.r of the Jlevohition, Jasper Grant, 
Esq. of Kihnurry, Co\nity Cork, and Gran tstuwn. County Waterford, was a Captain 
of Dragoons in King James's service; and Walter <_irant of Cnrlody, County Kil- 
lienny, was, as a Stuart loyalist, attainted l>y the Wiliiamites. The gentleman uf 
tliis name, in the Regiment of Lally, sent fivim !*' ranee to serve under Prince (,'harles 
in Scotland, appears, by his Stuart title of " Haron of Iverk," (ir, as Frene.hilied, 
"Iverque," to have been from the County of Kilkenny, in wiiich "Iverk' is a 
Barony. He published in France a magniticent map of the British Isles, and a 
jiortion of the coasts of France, surmounted by the royal aims of Great Britain and 
Ireland, with the motto " Dieu et mon Droit ' underneath on a scroll; the object 
of the document being thus set forth. " C.vi.tk <iu Mint tracees toutes les differentes 
routes que S. A. li. Ciiakles £iav.a.kd, I'rinck dk. (jIallks, a suivies dans ia 
(iliande Bretagne, et les marches, tant de sen armee, que de celle de rEnnemi. 
Cn y trouve, aussi les Sieges qui ont e'te faits, et les B.;tailles qui out c'te donnc'es 
dans son entreprise. CcMi' Cartf sera fr.'^-i utih pour C H'lNtuire, le.-i elates des piinc • 
'j'«u.r ^venerneii.f y e'aiil mmyuecs avec exietUinle. Dresste et presentee a Son' 
Ai.rrssE Royale, par sou trfcs humble et tres obe'issant Serviteur. J. A. (irante, 
baron d'lverqne et ('olonel de I'Artillerie du Prirce en Fcosse." Were this map 
tcpuoiibhcd, tauni) copies of it ought to ted lu the liighlanus ul Scotland. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 387 

after Lord Balmerino, who had been in arms ag^unst the Hanoverian 
intruder in 1715; consequently many years in exile on the Continent ; 
and who finally became so illustrious for his intrepid death. "I miglit 
easily have excused myself taking arms on account of my age," he 
observed, being 57 when he joined Charles, " but I never could have had 
peace of conscience," he added, " if 1 had staid at home, when that brave 
Prince was exposing himself to all manner of dangers and fatigue, both 
night and day." Having, by November 11th, organized his utmost 
disposable strength, and overruled the argument of his Scotch Privy 
Counsellors, that "He should, for the present, merely aim, to secure 
himself m the possession of Scotland, and to defend that Kingdom, by a 
national war, against its ancient enemy,"* Charles quitted Edinburgh, to 
march for England ; where he calculated on being supported by due 
risings of the Jacobites, as well as seconded by an invasion from France, 
in opposition to the Whig-Hanoverian government. That government, 
on the other hand, since Cope's defeat, had, to their several regular cor|is 
quartered at home, and levies of Militia and Volunteers, added 2 regi- 
ments of infantry from Ireland, and had sent over to Flanders for all hut 
2 battalions, and 4 cavalry regiments ot the British army there, besides 
above 7200 foreign or Dutch mei-cenaries, for the greater security of the 
German sovereignty, or "Protestant succession," in England; while any 
transmission of assistance to Charles, from the Continent, was to be 
guarded against, at sea, by Admiral Vernon, Rear- Admiral Byng, and 
C\)mmodore Knowle.s. Of those troops, there were to be 3 armies: that 
of the north, under the Irish Piotestant veteran, Field-Marshal George 
"VVade;t that of the centre, uiider the Duke of Cumberland; and the 
last, or that for the ])reservation of London, under the Elector-King, 
George himself; the whole well armed, equipped, and artilleried, and 
making considerably above 36,000 men. 

The Scotch force, with which Charles, by the 19th, prepared to pass 
the frontier of the 2 nations into Cumberland, was below 5000 effective 
men. In noting the rank of the principal officers, as native Scots and 
noblemen — the Duke of Perth General, Lord George Murray Ijieu- 
tenant-General, who, soon aftei-, obtained the former post, etc., — a con- 
temporai-y Anglo- Whig writer, Ray, oV)serves — ^" But tho', in regard of 
their interest, these people wei-e honoured with such high commands, 
yet it was known, that the Pretender confided most in a fev/, that came 
over with him. At the head of his Council, was Sir Thomas Sheridan, 
an Irish gentleman, of a middle age, and reputed a man of capacity, 
who has long been about him." Then, alluding to Colonel O'Sullivan, 
as an Engineer, and his countryman. Sir John Mac Donnell, or Mac 
Donald, as an Aide-de-Camp to Charles, this writer adds — "Mr. Sullivan 
was a person the most concerned of any in the rebellion, and whose 
councils the Pi-etender chiefly relied' on." Another hostile contein- 
])orary. Captain Bradsti-eet, an Irish Protestant s])y, for the Anglo- 
Hanoverian government, in Charles's camp, informs us — "Colonel 

* "Some of the Chiefs even told him," accarding to the Chevalier de Johnstone, 
"that thej' had taken arms, and risked their fortunes, and their lives, merely to* 
seat him on the throne of Scotland ; l)nt that tliey wished to have nutluiiij to dn 
With ErKilnmW" The old Wallace and Bruce feeling ! 

f Of this gentleman, a native of Westnieath, and of his countryman, Arthur 
Wellesley, Dnke of WelliuLrton, it is worth noting, that txi'Ii were Colcntls of the 
saaie corps, or the 33rd Pieginieut of Foot, as well as Field-Alarslials. 



388 HISTORY OF THE IIUSII BRIGADES 

Sullivan was a fat, well-faced man; Sir Thomas Slieiidan was a droopinsf, 
old man ; the rebel Prince reposed his greatest confidence in those '2, 
and Secretary Murray." It was to the court he paid to the frisk 
favourites of Charles, including the brave and faithful O'Neill hereafter 
mentioned, that Murray is elsewhere alleged to have been mainly in- 
debted, for the regard shown him by Charles. Hence, too, when Murray, 
'*' desirous of a militaiy as well as a civil command, made some pro- 
gress in levying a Regiment of Hussars, designed for the light cavahy 
duties,'' they " were commanded under him by an Irish otiicer in the French 
sei'vice, named Lieutenant-Colonel Bag^t." The brave Gaels of Alba* 
crossed the border into England on the 19th, with a loud shout of 
exultation, and flourish of their drawn claymores in the air — though the 
glow of this outbni'st of martial enthusiasm was checked, when it was 

o . . . • 

remarked, among the clans, as an nnjjrojiitious omen, at whicli some grew 
pale, that Highland blood was first shed there; Lochiel, in unsheathing 
his weapon, having unluckily cut his hand ! The 20th, the Prince 
marched against Carlisle, remarkable among the old northern strongholds 
of England, in lier wars with Scotland. By the 22nd, he invested and 
summoned the place; at the same time, ])reparing to oppose the 
rumoured advance of Marshal Wade, with 10 English and 8 Dutch t 
battalions of foot, 2 regiments of horse, and 1 of dragoons, in oider to 
raise the siege. Furnislied with a castle or citadel, also surrounded by 
a wall planted with cannon, and so tliick that 3 persons could walk 
abreast upon it within the parapet, having a ditch about 4 feet broad, 
and a garrison of 80 Invalids, and some hundreds of Cumberland and 
Westmoreland Militia, with a population of 4000 inhabitants, of whom 
400 could liave aided the Militia, Cai-Iisle would have been defended by 
Lieutenant-Colonel James Durand, at least until something like honour- 
able terms of capitulation might be obtained from an enemy, unprovided, 
as the Scots were, with heavy artillery. Tlie lattei-, on the night of the 
21st, opened trenches "80 yards from the walls," alleges 1 of their 
narratives, when " Mr. Grant, an Irish officer of Lally's regiment, our 
principal Engineer, ably availed himself of the ditches of enclosures, 
by which we were able to approach close to the town, sheltered from 
the fire of the enemy. Our artillery consisted of the G Swedish iidd- 
pieces received from France with Mr. Grant, and tlie (> otlui- pieces of 
smaller calibre, which we had taken at tiie battle of Gladsinuir," or 
Preston-Pans. But the reduction of the place [iroi'tcdcd, continues this 
account, " ratlier from our tkre(den.i ag to lire red-lmt lialls u|ion the town, 
and reduce it to ashes, than from the force of our artillery, as we did 
not discharge a single shot, lest the garrison should becmne ac^quainted 
with the sniallness of their calibre ; vvliich niiglit have encouraged them 
to defend themselves!" In short, when no more than 2 of tlu; Scots 

•At the famous "Battle of the. Standard," in ll.SS, between the Anglo- 
Norman and Scotch forces, '' Scof/oriim exercitiis," writes Broiupton, of the onset, 
'■ exclamant A Ihani ! Alhnni!'" — that is, " Alhu/ntckl Albanach /" or men of Alba, 
the tiaelic name for Scotland. 

t A letter, dated "Berwick, Septemlicr 2.">tli. 1745," states — "Col. Herchet is 
landed here from HoHand with 7'--0 Dutch forces ; they seem mostly Pa|iists, 
use the Romish ceremonies, and ask, Where they may have Mass?" The Dutch 
were, by treaty, to furnish l)iit (JOOO men, though hi'va we liave so many more, or 
7220! On the non-exclusion of Catholics from the military and naval services 
in Holland, though a Protestant state, see the note in Book ii., under the Queen's 
Ivegiment of Infantry, or that of Luttrell. 



IN THE SERVICK OP FRANCE. 38D 

had been killed, or wounded, the s^hameless Militia, who should Imve 
supported Lieutenant-Colonel Durand at least to the extent above 
noted, shiank from their duty; submitting, on the I^Gth, not only to 
sui'render the town and citadel to Charles, but to walk away without 
arms, horses, or honours of war; and even agreed, not to serve ao^ninst 
him for a year! ''The conduct of that city," complains uiy Whi^- 
Hanoveiian letter from Kendal, " fell much short of what was expected 
from a place of so nuich strength, and i-eputed loyalty. . . . The 
rebels have taken above 200 good horses, and all the arms, from the 
Militia, besides 1000 stand lodged in the Castle !" — to which, from other 
Georgeite authority, or that of Henderson, may be added, a quantity of 
powder, military stores, "and the money, [)late, and most valuable effects 
of the country, for several miles round!" The Prince, having received 
the keys from the Mayor and Ahlermim on tlieir knees, and having 
caused his father to be procl*imed in form, as James III. of England 
and Ireland, &c., and himself as Regent, entered Carlisle on the 2Sth. 
mounted upon a vvliite charger, and ])receded by a great number of 
pipers. Leaving a garrison of 200 nun tljere, by which the army was 
reduced to about 4500, Charles, as the result of a Council which he 
held, resumed his advance, December 2nd, into England; still reckoning 
upon a jiroportionable native and foreign, or Jacobite and French, co- 
operation. 

Proceeding thi-ough Penrith, Shap, Kendal, Lancaster, and Garstang, 
he arrived, the 8th, at Preston, whei-e he was tirst welcomed in England, 
by cheers, and ringing of bells, and obtained, e)i pas-sat/t, some, though 
not many, recruits. Among these, was his U)ost eminent Englisli adherent 
in arms, Francis Townley, Esq., who, to literary attainments, united 
military knowledge, acquii-ed in France, and belonged to a Catholic 
family of very high antiquity in Lancashire, and remai-kable for its 
attachment to the Stuarts. " In this County," .says a Whig writer, 
alluding to the female feelings and fashions there in favour of Charles, 
" the women are generally very handsome, by which they have acquired 
the name of Lancashire witches, which ajjpellation they really deserve, 
being very agreeable. But some of the pretty Jacobite witches chu.se to 
distinguish themselves, by wearing })laid breast-knots, ribbons, and 
garters, tied above the knee," &g. By another English account, " if the 
Lancashire witches could have carried the day for Prince Charles, his 
success would, indeed, have been certc\in."* From the 9th to the 10th, 
the Prince, advanced by Wigan for Manchester, amidst ci'owds flocking 
to see him, and wish him success; but who, wdien offered arms, declined 
them, on the plea, that " they did not understand fighting !" At Man- 
chester, the Georgeite Militia " were all discharged, and sent home, befoi-e 
the Highlanders came," according to the local or Byrom diary, that 
remarks this was " well contrived." To which its editor adds — " Well 
contrived indeed; it was just so in Carlisle. The country gentlemen were 
very valiayit, before the arrival of tlie rebels; hut, as soon as they heard of 
their approach, they petitioned to be disbanded, on the plea of fatigue ; and 
disbanded they v)ere^ bevng clearly useless!''^ The sentiments of the 
Highland army on reaching Manchester, the most commercial town ia 

* With the attachment of so many of the fair sex to the Stuart cause in England, 
coTiipjire the very great and intluential enthusiasm of the same sex in Scotland, 
foi- '■ I'riiice Cliarlie," so pointedly referred to by the Lord President Forbes, aud 
duly noticed by other authorities. 



390 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

England noted for Jacobitism, and the sympathy which existed with their 
appearance there, have been best conveyed in verse. 

** Here 's a health to all brave English lads. 

Both Lords and Squires of high renown, 
Who idll put to a helping hand, 

To put the vile U.surpur * down! 
For our hrave Scots are all on foot, 

Proclaiming loud, where'er they go. 
With sound of trumpet, pipe, and dnim, 

The Clans are coming, oho ! oho ! &c. 

** To set our King upon the throne. 

Not Church nor State to overthrow, 
As wicked Preachers falsely tell. 

The Clans are coming, oho ! oho! • 

Therefore forbear, ye canting ci-ew, 

Your bugbear tales are a' for show ; 
The want of stipend is your fear. 

The Clans are coming, oho ! oho ! &c. 

*' Eous'd, like a lion from his den. 

When he thought on his country's woe, 
Our brave protector, Charles, did come. 

With all his Clans, oho ! oho! 
These lions, for their country's cause, 

And natural Prince, t were never slow : 
So now they come, with their brave Prince ; 

The Clans advance, oho ! oho ! &c. 

*' And now the Clans have drawn their swords, 
And vow I'evenge against them a', 
That arm for the f/swr/y' r'.s cause. 

To tight against our King and Law. 
Then God preserve our royal King, 

And his dear sons, the lovely twa, :J: 
And set him on his father's throne, 

And bless his subjects, great and sma' ! 
The Clans are coming, &c." 

The Prince's entrance was attended with pealing of bells, popular acclama- 
tions, an illumination, bonfires, a wearing of tlie white cockade, the ])re- 
sence of numbers to kiss his hand, and even a celebration, at the 

* According to the English epigram on the 4 Georges, the 2nd was not less, if 
not more, unpopular than the Jst. Of George II., Lord Macaulay says -''The 
interests of his kingdom were as nothing to him, when compared with the interests 
of his electorate. As to the rest, he had neither the qualities which make duhiess 
respectable, nor the qualities which make libertinism attractive. He had been a 
bad son, and a worse father, an unfaithful husband, and an ungraceful lover. 
!Not one magnanimous or humane action is i-ecorded of him ; but many instances 
of meanness, and of a harshness, which, but for the strong constitutional 
restraints under which he was placed, might have made tlie misery of his people." 

+ "The patriarchal system of laws u]iou which Highland society was con- 
stituted," says Mr. Chambers, on the attachment of the Higlilanilers to the 
Stuarts, "disposed t/iem to look ui)on those unfortunate Priuces as the general 
fathers or C/iiefo of the nation, whf>se natural and unquestionable power had been 
rebelliously disputed by their children "—and, in opposition to the English and 
Lowland Whigs, that writer adds of the Highlanders, how they 'could jjerceive no 
reasons for jireferring a Sovereign, on account oi cnu/ peculiarity in his religion." 

t Prince Charles, and his brother, Prince Henry, Duke, and subsequently 
Cardinal, of York. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 311 

C'lllt^Gjiate Church, of his avvivrtl, hy the Eev. Mr. Chiyton, in au 
ehiqueiit Mcl(h>\ss, which caused that gentleman to be subsequently 
clegr;itled by the Hanoverian ruler of England. No more, however, than, 
between 20U and 300 men had the courage to enlist, who, with their 
jiredece-ssors, were embodied as the " Regiment of Manchester," under 
Mr. Towrdey for their C lonel. On the"l2th, the Jacobites left Marv- 
Chester in 2 divisions, which joined at Macclesfield, and, after marching 
by Congleton, Leek, and Ashbourn, and dexterously gaining the start, 
towards London, of the Duke of Cumberland's much superior f<irGe, 
enter(;d Derby, on the 15th, with colours flying and bag])i]ies playing. 
Shortly after 11 o'clock, says a hostile nari-ative from that place, "the 
van-guaid rode into town, consisting of about 30 men, cloath'd in blue, 
fac'd with red. Most of tliem had on scai-let waistcoats, with gold lace; 
and, being likely men, made a good appeaiance. They were drawn up 
in the market-place; and sat on horseback 2 or 3 honr.s. At the same 
time, the bells were rung, and several bon-tires made, to prevent any 
resentment from them, that might ensue, on our shewing a dislike of 
their coming among us. About 3 in the afternoon. Lord Elcho, with 
the Life-Guards, and many of their Chiefs, also arriv'd, on horsel)ack, to 
the number of about 150, most of them clo ithed as above. The.se made 
a fine show, being the flower of their army. Soon after, their main body 
also march'd into town, in tolerable oi-der. 6 or 8 abreast, with about 8 
^standards, most of them wliite flags and a red cros.s. They had seveial 
bag-pipers, who ])lay'd as they march'd along." Then, having alluded to 
their Highland or plaid dress, ic, the narrative alleges of Charles — 
" Their Prince (as they call' d him) did not arrive till the dusk of the 
evening. He walk'd ou foot, being attended by a great body of his 
men, who conducted him to his lodgings (the Lord Exeter's), where he 
had guards placed all around the house." 

During this progre.ss of the Scots, " we," notes a contemporary in 
England, "had alarms, every hour, that the Duke's army and the rebels 
were engaged ; those dealers in news sometimes giving the victory to one, 
sometimes to another. 'Tis incredible to think, how all cares and busi- 
ness subsided, and attention was only given to the marches and motions 
of these 2 hostile armies. All other subjects were disregarded, but what 
related to battles, victories, oi- defeats, and their consequences." Anotfier 
eye- witness adds of the English, in these circum.stances — " ?Vie least ncrap 
vf gnod 7Leii;s exalts them most absurdly, and the smallest reverse offortime 
ciej)7'e.'<ses them laeanly." This was the more natural in England, from 
the final dissipation, by the '•'■ Fretf^nder'" in ])erson, of the swaggering 
delusion too long practised on the public, more especially throughout 
the country parts, by a dishonest ])re.ss, merely pandering to, or trading 
on, national vanity, at the expense of ti-uth. An honest writer in the 
Old England Journal (November Dth, O. S., or 20th, N. S.,) under the 
signature of " Agricoja," having ])i-emised, how " the first accounts they 
had by authority njentioned the landing of the young man only a^ pro- 
bability," (ire , then informs ns — " For many weeks, the thing was laugh'd. 
at in all companies; General Cope's march was looked upon as a parade 
of triumph, rather than an enterprize of danger; and the public, in idea, 
again saw the roads crowded with I'ebellious chains, and the gibbets 
loaded with Highlanders. Their niaich southward was the first step of 
theirs which transpir'd ; and we rather laugh'd, than were alarm'd at, 
their seizing Perth. Nay, so very wise, or so mighty sanguine, were our 



392 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

coftee-honse politicians, that Sir Jobn CV)])e',s passing t1iem was extoll'd 
as a master-piece of military stratagem ; since tlie small haiidt'ul of des- 
perate rebels were now betwixt 2 tires, that of his army, and that ot the 
valiant Captain R. Tennant, who had taken ni)on him the command of 
the troops which were to defend Edinburgh We then flatter d ourselves, 
that not a single rebel could escajie; ami all the difficulty was, where to 
find prisons sutiicient for stowing them, when they should throw them- 
Belves upon the mercy of the Government. Tiio.se pleasing ideas were 
heightened and encouraged by the loyal Address of the City of Edin- 
burgh, which was presented, in a manner, in the very teeth of rebellinn, 
and [by] the dutiful flourishes of the gallant Volunteers, who were to 
cock up the Pretender's beaver. But chiefly we were animated by the 
accounts published by authority, a few days before the fatal action of 
Gladsmuir, that the rebels were' not above oOOO naked, needy, miserablg 
wretches, and that their numbers were rather diminishing than increas- 
ing. After such a.ssurances, it was look'd upon to be the height of folly 
and madness, not without a small spice of disloyalty, to duubt of their 
utter ruin in a very few days. Every ]H.st brought accounts of their 
cowardice, their desertions, their unruliness; nay, the very mention of 
the King's troops had made them scamper. All this made me laugh at 
their vain, giddy, distant eflbrts. I. encourag'd my neighbours to do the 
same; and, tho' we weie astonished at the nnparallel'd defeat of the 
King's forces, yet the fresh accounts we had, in the papers, of the dissen- 
tions and mutinies of tlie rebels, ke])t us from being dismay'd. His 
Majesty's Speech from the Throne was the hist thing that rous'd us from 
this security. It was then but too plain, that our dangers had been, 
from foolish or worse views, conceal'd or diminish'd, and I soon found, 
how fatally I had deluded myself and othei.s." Indeed, "the terror of 
of the English," asserts an officer of Prince Charles, with reference to the 
Highlanders, "was truly inconceivable; and, in many cases, they seemed 
quite bereft of their senses. One evening, as" Mr. Cameron of "Lochiel 
entered the lodgings assigned to him, his landlady, an old woman, threw 
herself at his feet, and, with uplifted hands, and tears in her eyes, su])pli- 
cated him, to take her life, but to spare her 2 little children ! He asked 
her. If she was in her senses? and told her, to exji'ain her.self; when she 
answered, that everybody said the Highlanders ateciiildren,and madethtni 
their common food! Mr. Cameron, having assured her, that they would 
not injure her, or her little children, or any ])erson whatever, she looked at 
him, for some moments, with an air of sur])iise, and then opened a preb.s, 
calling out, with a loud voice, 'Come out, children; the gentleman will 
mo^ eat you!' The children immediately left the press, where she had 
concealed them, and threw themselves at his ftet.* They affirmed, in 
the newspapers of London, tliat we had dogs in our aimy, trained to 
fight; and that we were indebted, for our victory at Gladsmuir, to those 
dogs, who darted with fury on the English army. They rep'resented the 
Highlanders, as monsters with claws, instead ot hands. In a woid, they 
never cea.sed to circulate, every day, the- most extravagant and ridiculous 
stories with respect to the Highlanders." Among the English, as among 
the Romans, in a period of civil war, it might be remarked, 

* This anecdote ef the Chevaher rle JoTmstnne, as to the sii]>]iosed rannihaiixm of 
the Hiuhiaiiders, is .'-xipjuirted liy a like account of another neiitleujaii in Prince 
Charles's army, Mr. Haikston oi ItatliiUet. 



IN THE SERVICE OP FRANCE. 393 

" Co7j!xir/lfi thus their own inisfortunes frame; 

By their own feiiininii fancies are hetray'd, 
And groan beneath those ills thfin-sf/rf-t have made." 
Howe's Lucan's Pharsaiia, i., 847-9. 

In tliis iiuainer did such a comparatively small Iiody of Scots, oTi]y 
between 4()U0 and 5000 fighting nu-n, and the loyal Iiish gentlemen win) 
had the honour to accom])any them, advance, at a most inclenifnt period 
of the year, through the 6 Shires of Cumberland, Westmoreland, Lancaster, 
Chester, Stafford, and Derby, or above 180 miles into England, and to 
within 127 miles of her metro])olis ; pi'oclaiining their Prince as they 
went along; and levying the public money in his name! And this, in 
spite of 2 English ai-raies, each above double as numerous, or Marshal 
Wade's, atoned as about 10,000 men, and the Duke of Cumberland s 
listed as 12,700, of whom 2400 were cavalry, with 30 pieces of cannon — 
while the Hanoverian occupant of the thi'one at London could, it was 
announced, assemble, at Finchley Common, 14,000 infantry and cavalry, 
(including the Guards,) with 32 pieces of cannon — those 3 armies conse- 
quently forming about 36,700 men.* Such a bold and well-conducted 
movement, on the part of this handful of Jacobite loyalists, — the lowest 
number of Scotch invader.s known to have successfully penetrated so far 
into the "land of the Southron!" — was now, however, found to have 
been undertaken without auy appearance of receiving from English 
Jacobitism, or French invasion, that aid, on the prospect of which the 
movement was based. The Scotch ballad states — 

"Had English might stood by the right, 
As f/ii^i/ did vaunt fvll vain, jne ; 
Or play'd the j^arts of Highland hearts, 
The day was a' our ain, joe." 

Nor is this assertion in verse unsupported by due evidence in prose. The 
editor of the Chevalier de Johnstone's Memoirs in 1820, from a perusal 
of the Stuart archives in the possession of George IV., alleges, that Prince 
Charles " was Jirst invited into Great Britain, and then abandoned, to his 
fate, hy a great part of the English aristocracy. This fact cannot be 
denied, as tliere is evidence of it, in their own handivritingy From "these 
archives, which consist of more than 500,000 documents, equally curious 
and instructive," we learn, "tlTat the project of the Pretender was not so 
wild, as, since the result, it has usually been pronounced; and that the 
conduct of the Highland Chiefs, who staked their lives and properties 
ujion the issue, though certainly bold, was not so im])rudent, as it might, 
at first sight, appear to be." For, when those Chiefs had, continues this 
writer, "surmounted the greatest danger, to which every enterprise of 
that nature is exposed, namely, the danger of being cruslied in the outset, 
they could hardly anticipate, when they advanced into England, that the 
j)owerful party, which had promised to join them, would, vjhen the risk 
■ans so much less, be so much nmre regardless of their loord, than they them- 
selves had been." But the English High-Church Jacobites of the country 
so chivalrou.sly traversed by Charles, in reliance on their professions and 
promises, were generally mere braggarts and cowards. On the boastful 
assurances of many thousand recruits from their party, when constituting 

* I give the numerical strength of the .3 armies from Georgeite authorities. But, 
that the " gi-and total' of troops in Crveat Britain was much lay her in amount, wil 
be seen farther on. 



394 nisTORY OF the irisii brigades 

liy f;ir tlie majoritv of tlie populatiim. such Iligh-Clinrch caball(M's in 
171.") liail (liavvii the Scots and the Catholics in arms to Preston, and tlieu 
left them unassisted against tlie forces of the Whig-Hanoverian Govern- 
ment! Tlie Catholics, who had honestly taken the field for the Stuai fc 
cause along with the Sctits, an<l who suffered accordingly, (especially in 
tlie case <if ])oor Lord Derwentvvater,) were naturally so indignant at this 
treacherous poltroonery tlten, that they resolved not to be deceived, and 
sacii tired (K/d.iii. In consequence of w liich, and tlie subsequent lenity of 
the existing Government towards them, only 2 persons of any note beloiig- 
iiiLi to their religion, or Colonel Townley, and a Mr. Andrew Bldod of 
Yorkshire, as Captain in the Regiment of Manchester, now joined the 
I'rince ; * while the representatives of Pligh-Church Jacobitisui, though 
acting somewhat better at this juncture than in 1715, by supplying the 
Piince with, perhaps, 300 men at niost,+ yet, on the whole, were fonnti* 
Avanting, as doing notliing like what they had given him reason to ex]tect 
irom them. Hence, with irference to the wretched contrast between the 
acts and the boasts of those High-Cliuich Jacobite countrymen of his in 
1745, the contemporary English writm-, Hay. remarks — "The case was 
nuick the same in 1715; for, although a great many Lancashire gentle- 
men, with their servants and friends, had joined the rebels, yet they were 
most of them Papitais, which made the Scots gentlemen and Highlanders 
mighty uneasy, very much suspecting the cause; for thet/ expected all the 
Hiijh-C'lnirch party to have juin\l /he/u;^. who, accoi'ding to Patten's 
History of that Rebellion,, are never right hearty for the cause, till they 
are laeUoid over a bottle, and then they do not cure for venturing their 
carcases any further than the tavern. Tlier-e, indeed, (says he) with 
' High-Chukch and, Or:monj:),' they would make men believe, who do not 
know them, that they would encounter the greatest opposition in the 
world. But, after having consulted their pillows, a,nd tlv. fume a little 
evaporated, it is to be observed of them, that they generally become tniglity 
tame, and, like the snail, if you touch their housfS, they hide their heads, 
shrink back, and pull in their horns. Upon the wdiole, it may be said, of 
the English Jacobites, no people in the Uhiverse know better the difference 
bi-tween drinking and fighting. It is true, the latter they know not practi- 
call}'; and, I believe, they are so well satisfied of the tnith of what they 
have by relation, that they never will." Jlence, too, in alluding to "the 
Jacol)ites," his countrymen, Horace Walpole sarcastically notes, "of 
Avliich stamp, great part of England was. till — lite Pretender came.'" And 
another contemporaiy, the Rev. Mr. Owen of Rochdale, adds of such 
swaggerers and skulkers — " The young Clievalier complained bitterly, 
during the course of his English ex|)edition, of some political rats, that 

*1 have derived nmeh "useful hi^Jit," on Endi'^h Jacol)ite politics, from tlie 
" Lavcasliire Memorials of 1715," &c., contnlmted to the [)ul)lications of the 
C'hethain Society by the learned and liberal Dr. .Samuel llilibert Ware. 

t Accoriling to the Chevalier de Johnstone, the lleginieafc of Manchester " never 
exceeded 3UU men;" and if it eiii^r included so many, (as Voltaire, too, reports,) the 
greater numlier would ajipear to have soon deserted ; since the total, at the sur- 
render of Carlisle, presented only 114 men of evu-rij rank. 

X After the anival of (Jeorge L. from Hanover, the High-Church mohs made great 
noise in England, rough diandling Dissenters, destroying Dissenting places of wor- 
ship, to such cries as " (Jod da.mn Kiiui George. ! God blcn.^ KUkj Jaim^s III. ! " and 
indulging in other tumidtuary outbreaks, expressive of aversion to the furinvr and 
attachment to the hitter Prince But, in England, as elsewhere, it turned out, that 
such as were prominent at rows would be, by iio means, proportionably so, in tho 
ijcHulne " tug ot war." 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 395 

had long dranlc and ftwnrn in liis s^p.rricp,, avd thai ha/l foiKjht 'rnnny cnm- 
j)aig)is for him over the hotfJ".; but that, ivhen he invited them to join his 
stan/hirdy and vrake the cninprnrin, of danger, tlieg all fled., and. forsook 
him" Under tll(^«e cirenmstaiict^s, the little work on the Prince, entitled 
" Ascanius, or the Yonn,2; Adventurer," has. with reference to the English 
Jacobites, deservedly animadverted upon '■'■the treachery, or remissness, or 
u'ant of sincerity in these, raho made great professions of zeal for his interest, 
and who, after having drawn him into a vain de/>e7ida7ice vpon them, 
remained idle spectators of tire danger they had run him, into." From 
England no correspondence slionld have been held v.'ith, and no pro- 
mises of assistance shoidd ha\e been made to, the Stuai't family; or 
when lieM with, and made to, that family, shonld unqnestionably have 
been fonnd of more value, than they vjere, by Prince Charles, and the 
Scotch Jacobites. " The conduct of covxirds, who join a movement to 
gratify their petty vanity," says an Irish writer, "and then, in the day 
of danger, shrink into concealment, tends to lead brave men to destruc- 
tion, l)y giving them false notions of the su|)])ort they may reckon on, in 
a bold enterprise. The blood of the brave, ioh<) perislt so deceived, is on the 
head of the recreamts, ivho deceive them." 

While thus unaided by the worthlessness of his English friends on 
land, the Prince too fatally experienced the efficiency of his English 
enemies, in depriving him of a.ssistance from the Continent by sea;* the 
winds also, in this, as on other emergencies, being prejudicial to the Stuart 
cause! From Spain, where, as early lis August, the Irish refugees had 
such intelligence concerning Charles, that they hoped for a speedy return 
to their own country, 4 vessels were despatched, with due supplies for 
Scotland. Oidy 1 of the.'^e, however, (as previously noticed) arrived 
there. In October, the Trial privateer of Bristol, of 16 guns and 120 
men, took, and brought into that port, the San Zirioco, from Corunna, 
of 16 guns aiid GO men, with 2500 muskets, as many bayonets, 100 
barrels of powder, 150 quintals of mnsket-balls, .several boxes of horse- 
shoes and flints, and about 24,000 dollars in gold and silver; this ship 
having an Irish Captain of Horse, and an Ii'ish pilot on board, and being 
bound for Scotland; but sufficient information respecting it being with- 
held, by committing a box of pai)ers to the deep; and the Irish Captain, 
having been brought up to London, was sent to Newgate. Of the 3rd 
and 4th of those ves.sels from Corunna, 1 was wrecked off the coast of 
Ireland, and the other not heard of Another (or 5th) Spanish ship, the 
San Pedro bi-igantine of Corunna, under Don Caspar Guiral, sailed for 
Scotland, with 2oOO new muskets and bayonets, 110 barrels of powder, 
70 cases of ball, each of 400 pounds weight, a great number of flints, and, 
of mone}', 60,000 pistoles in bags. But she encountered such terrible, 
contrary winds, that, after Himjing her guns ovei-board, she w.is 
endeavouring to get back to Spain, when she was taken, in Decem- 
ber, by the Ambuscade yjrivateer of London under Captain Cooke, 
and brought to Crookhaven in Ireland; not, however, till she had dis- 
appointed the English, by sending her jiapers, and all but about 1217 
of her 60,0(^0 pistoles, in the same unremunerative direction as her 

* The Marqnis of Tweeddale, writins, as Secretary of State for Scotland, from 
"Whitehall, 17th September, 1745,' alleges— "The Channel is now so well 
guarded by different squadrons, that we are under no a[)preliensions of a visit 
either from the French or Spaniards, should that ever have been their iuteutiou, 
tbou;^h nothuig can prevent a single ship passing iu the night." 



303 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

cannon. " Tlin-e was aboard," states a contempoi-ary Irish jonrnal, 
"a vonnjj; t;-('iit]i'iiian who speaks tlie English language perfectly well, 
and who sms his nanit^ is Lot'tus: that he was boi-n in France, bnt that 
his iatluM' was born in the County of Limerick; and was, for many 
years, ;in eminent Banker in Paris. . . . He acknowledges himself 
to be a Captain of Horse in the King of Si)ain' s service." There was 
likewise on board a Catholic clergyman, the Rev. James Corbett, a 
native of Dublin, who, with Captain Loftus, was sent u]) for impr-ison- 
ment in the Castle there; and George II. rewarded the Captain of the 
Ambuscade, iov intercepting so much "warlike stores for Scotland, for 
the use of the rebels," by a present of " 500 guineas."* From France, 
■where the exciting accounts of Charles's progress, the presence of his 
brother. Prince Henry, Duke of York, and the general devotion of the 
Irish military to the Stuarts, led, especially through the zealous impor- 
tunity of the gallant Lally, to preparations in her northern ports fo? 
landing 10,000 men, including the Irisli and Scotch regiments, in 
Britain, of which expedition the Duke de Richelieu was to be General, 
and Lally himself Quarter-Master-General t — such detachments as were 
soonest ready to sail, or those of the Royal Scots under their Colonel, 
Lord John Drummond, of the infantry Regiments of the Ii-isli Brigade, 
and the Irish cavalry Regiment of Fitz-James, under Brigadier Walter 
Stapleton, a Munster veteran distinguished at Fontenoy, on December 
2nd, left Dunkirk for Scotland. But, on the 3rd, the ISheeraessoi ^0 guns, 
under Captain Bully, took, off the Doggerbank, the Es-perancp, and tiie 
following portion of the Irish Brirrade, &c., with a great quantity of 
aruis : — Dillon's Regiment. Captains. Charles Ratcliffe, brother to the 
late lamented Jacobite Earl of Derwentwatei-, and, as such, taking the 
title, his son, the Honourable Bartholemew Ratcliffe, Murdoch Mac- 
gennis, and Edmund Reill3^ — Berwick's Rkgiment. Captain, James 
O'Hanlon.- — Bllkeley's Regiment. Cajjtain, Patrick Fitz-Gerald ; Lieu- 
tenant, John Reilly; 2nd Lieutenant, William Fitz-Gerald ; Ensign, Cor- 
nelius Mac Carthy. — Roth's Regiment. Captains, Lewis Shee and James 
Seatoii ; reformed Captain, Robert Cameron ; Lieutenant, Edwaixl Dunne. 
— Lally's Regiment. Reformed Captain, Robert Grace; Lieutenant, 
Thomas Penally. Equerry to Lord Derwentwater, Clement Mac Dermott. 
— Dkummond's Regiment. Captains, Alexander Baillie, and Alexander 
Mac Donald; 1st Lieutenant, the Honourable Thomas Nairn, son of Lord 
Nairn ; Lieutenant, Adam Urquhart ; 2nd Lieutenant, Samuel Cameron. 
M. Devant, Lieutenant in a Fi-ench regiment. Of which 22 prisoner.s, 
13 noblemen or gentlemen, some of them English and Scotch, belonged 
to the Irish Brigade — exclusive of the Equerry; 5 to Drummond's 
Scotch corps; the remaining officer was a Frenchman; and 60 privates 
accompanied them, making, in all, 82 men, besides the ship's crew. 
About the same time, the Alilford, of 40 guns, under Captain Hanway, 
took, off Montrose, the Louis XV. of Dunkirk, manned by 27 sailors, 
and having on board 330 stands of arms, with bayonets, broad-s worsts, 

* George II. showed the importance he attached to this service; and, from 
what we are informed of the contents of those Spanish vessels lost to Charles, how 
very unfortunate it was for Jam, that (like the money, forwarded from the same 
quarter, for his father, in Scotland, in 1715,) so many valuably -laden ships could 
not reach their destination ! 

+ Voltaire iuforms us, how much those arrangements to aid Charles were owin"^ 
to tl.e ardent Jaoobitism of Lally, and his proportionate applications to the French 
Ministers on the subject. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 397 

horse-fnrnitnre, and a 2nd |>orti(»n of the Irish Brigade, thus particular- 
ized : — Bulkeley's Eegimem'. Ciiptaius, Nicholas Morris and .Richard 
Nagle; 1st Lieutenant, Patrick Meagher; 2ud Lieutenants, Jolin Ryan, 
Denis and Darby Mahonyj Cadets, George and Francis Matliews; 
2 Serjeants, 3 Corporals, 1 drummer, and 46 privates. — Clare's Regi- 
ment. Captains, James Conway and Valentine Mervyn ; Lst Lieutenant, 
Bernard O'Brien; 2nd Lieutenant, John Egar; 2 Seijeants, 3 Corporals, 
1 drummer, and 40 pi-ivates. — Berwick's Regiment. Captains, James 
Macraith, and Stephen Cullen ; 1st Lieutenant, Christopher Plnnkett; 
2nd Lieutenant, George Bainwell; 3 Serjeants, 3 Coiporals, 1 drummer, 
and 47 privates. Surgecms, John Dvvyer* and Thomas Hogan, and 4 
servants. Of which latter prisoners belonging to the Irish Biigade, the 
officers, i-eckoning the 2 Snrge( ns as such, were 18; the other military 
(excluding the 2 servants) 1.58; and the total of officei's and soldiers, 
176. Of about 150 of those conquerors of Fontenoy, thus intercepted 
at sea, and subsequently ])i-isoners at Hull, a contem])orary letter from 
that place states — "The men are all cloathed in red, and the officers 
have mostly gold-laced hats. To speak imjjartially, the officers are as 
])roper men as evei- I saw in my life, being most of them 5 feet 10, or G 
feet high, and between 40 and 50 years of age; and the common soldiers 
are very good-like men, and, if they had landed, might have done a great 
(leal of mischief." But some hundreds of the Irish and Scotch military 
(the former the more numerous,) were destined to sail, from the Frencli 
ports, with better success. Of these troops, the 1st ])ortion from Fitz- 
James's Regiment of Horse, and frcmi Dillon's, Roth'-s, and Lally's 
Regiments of Foot, belonging to the Brigade, with Brigadier Stapleton, 
and from the Royal Scots, with Lord John Dnimmond, effected their 
landing in the north of Scotland, where, remaiks a historian of Prince 
Charles, " all that vast tract of land, from the Forth to the Spey, was 
possess'd by his friends," and " the very boys appear'd in his interest, by 
wearing white cockades, and martialing themselves in comjumies, under 
some young, sprightly leaders ! " i^fter cantoning in parties along the 
coast about Montrose, &c., the main body of those Irish and Scotch 
regulars from France were to march ibr Perth, to join Lord Strathallan, 
stationed there, with the most considerable cor})s of the Jacobite levies, 
designed to oppose the Anglo-Whig forces, which, since the Prince's 
inarch to the south, had re-occupied Edinburgh, and were endeavoiiring, 
in various quarters, to regain po.ssession of the country. About the 
time of Lord John's and the Irish Brigadier's landing, the Jacobites 
also made an important acquisition at Montrose in the ca])ture of an 
English war-slooj), the Hazard, of 10 guns, 24 swivels, and about 80 men, 
commanded by Captain Hill. That officer, after tiring upon the town, 
and seizing 3 vessels laden with arms and stores, of which he burned 2, 
removing their cargoes into and manning the 3rd, was reduced to sur- 
render with his booty, partly by some Highlanders who boarded him in 
boats, and partly by the skill with which a battery was raised against 
him on shore by an able Jacobite partizan, David Ferriei', and Major 
Nicholas Glascock, of the Regiment of Ogilvy, and previously of 
Dillon's, in the Irish Brigade. On Hill's suirender, (for wliich he and 
his Lieutenant were finally cashiered by Court-martial,) the name of 
his vessel was changed to the Prhice Cliailes, the command of which was 

* Misprinted, in the Eni/l/sh list, " I'ivier." That a Dvvyer and a Hogan should 
be together would, not be wondered at iii Tipperary. 



oOS HISTORY OF TiiK i;;isn r.itio.vDEg 

given to 1 of tlio olliccrs wliosc sliip liatl liccn l)unuMl, jviid wlio liatl 
likewise been xvvy iustnimeiital in clitctiiig tlie ca|itiii't'; ami tliis prize 
Lt'caine most useful from its several suhsequtuit passages botvveeu Seotlaud 
ami the ( V)utiuent, uotwithstandiiig tlie vi'iy superior strength and num- 
bers of the Anglo- Hanoverian cruisers. Soon after tiie disiMtibarkation 
of the pre\ iously-mentioned Jacobite auxiliaries from the (.Continent at 
Montrose, Peterhead, itc, and the ca])ture of the IJaziml — besides the 
arrival of another large ship from Dunkirk at Montrose, which coni- 
l)elKHl the LtuUow Castle, as overmatched, to cat hei- cables at the nu)uth 
of the river there, and make olf to sea — Hear-A(hniral L>yng, '• vvitii t 
men of war," says an Knglish account, " came before that "harbour; Imt 
tlie rebels," it is added, "had planted their cannon so ad\autageously 
upon the beach, that it was impossibhi to get at them. The Mp/anl 
lost her bowsprit, and received considei-able damage in her rigging, ifi 
attempting it." The veteran regulars from France, at Montrose, seem to 
have understood gunnery too well for tiui h^uglish Re;ir- Admiral. Such, 
with reference to English and Continental aitl, was the state of tlie 
rrince's affairs, when he readied Derby. 

'I'he conver.sation of (Jharles at su|)per, on the evening of December 
ITuh, the day of his entering Derby, was about his approaching linal 
Kuccess, and whether he should enttu- tlui English nietropi.lis on foot, or 
on horseback, in a Jligliland, or an English dress'l Ihit the vt.'ry natmal 
uneasiness, which had already )nauifest,ed itself at Miinchestcr among the 
8cotch leaders, at finding themselves so Vi^ry far advanciid into England, 
witli wo visible likelihood of eithei- such Jacobite or French aid as they 
liud been led to expect, and exjioscd to 3 armies each above twice as 
inimerons as their own, rendered it im])ei'ative that a Council should 
be held by the Prince at Derby, tin? following day, or the Kith. There, 
ill op[>ositiou to Charles, who vehemently argued foi- pushing forward, to 
make way, through the Elector's army, at Finchley Common, into Jjondon 
— in which view, he is stated tt) ha\c been at first supp.u-lc<l by some of 
the Frish oHicers — the general opinion ultimately was -that. suiTounded, 
ill a manner, as till! Highland lorce w cie, by so many more than their 
(;wii number- (lei'eivcd with respect to Fiiglish and French assistanci- — 
(\cii it victorious at l*'iiicliley, too small in amount, especially if diminished 
l^ loss, to hold such a nuitropolis as London, vvhicii (jiimbcirland's and 
\\ .ule's armies would still be on foot to relieve — if defcateil at Finchley, 
ex,u)sed to be totally cut off— but, if desirous to retreat, being still able 
to retire to Scotlaml, where Lord Strathallan had from 3U00 to 4000 
nicn,A\ith a portion of the Royal Scotch and of the Irish Brigade — under 
smii i'ircumstances, the best course would be, a return to Scotland. Jn 
addition to this decision, the "dissatisfaction among the Hii^liland Chiefs," 
we are told, " reneweil in them the ln^lief, that it was of less importance 
to make conquests in England, than to take measures to secure the 
independence of Scotland," where, too, they would be recruited. With 
the utmost reluctance, therefore, or though passionately exclaiming, 
''leather than go back, I vHmld ivish to be L'O feet under ground/" Charles 
had to acquiesce in retiring to Scotland;''" the more so, as Sir Thoma.s 

•"I believe," concliules Lord Malion, with the best dociunciitary soin-ccs at 
CdMunaud fur forniiiit;- ///,s' belief, "that, had Charles marched omvanl from Uerby,, 
lie vvouUl have gained the Bntisii tinoiie. " (.'liaries, indeed, woiili/ have " luarcliwl 
oawaril." Yet, were ire eiieunistaiiced as his t^oimeil were at Derbj', or with such 
a ^(jubiuMy akirmiuy aspcoo of allaus about us, cau we say, tliat wo, tw, would uot 



IN TiiK sn:i!v:cE of rriA^ajE, 399 

Sherifl;in. Gonend O'Sullivan, an 1 Sfcrctniy Murray finally cnTr^nrrf-d in 
representing to Iiiin, liow the ai-my could not he ex|)ect"(;l to tight well, if 
all the (Jliief's should lie acting with luiwillingiiess. as they would lie, it' 
]ie ventured to oppose theAr prcniously-expressed conviction. The retreat 
was accordingly to take j)laco early the ensuing morning, or that of the 
17th. Meanwliile, during the 16th, on which this decision was emUraceil 
by their leaders, the soldiery under the influence of very dilfrent notions, 
or those of ''a Vjattle, and London !" occu|iied themselves in coirespondiu" 
preparations, or putting their weapons into the best fighting order, and 
receiving the sacrament at Derby. On the 10th, too, partial intelligence 
of the Scots having occupied Derby reached London. But, on the I7th, 
when it was universally known there, that the Highlanders had- done .so; 
having thus gained the start of the Duke of Cumberland's army towards 
the metropolis; the panic excited by the news was so great, that it caused 
the day (the 6th O. S. as then used in England) to be long remembered 
as ^^ Black Friday." According to a satiric, yet not the less credible, 
rhymer of the period, 

" Poor London, alas! was scar'd ont of its wits, 
With arjns, and alarms, as sad soldiers as cits!" — 

most of the irdiahitants being fillcij with anxiety for themselves, thi'ir 
money, tiieir ccmnexions, or tiieir fii^'uds; numbers Ht-eing to the country 
witli their valuables; so extensive a run being made upon the Bank of 
England, that it is saiil to have only escaped insolvency, by ])aying its 
notes in sixpences, to gain tim«^; the greater portion of the shops being 
closed, and public business generally at a stand. "Tlie trad:ng part 
of the city, and those concerned in the money corporations," observes 
Smollett, " were overwhelmed with fear and dejection. They repo.sed 
very little confidence in the courage or disci[jline of their Mditia and 
Volunteers ; they had received intelligence, that the French were 
employed in making preparations, at Dunkirk and Calais, for a descent 
upon England; they dreaded an insurrection of the Roman Catholics, ami 
other friends of the House of Stuart; and they reflected, that the High- 
landers, of whom, by this time, they had conceived a most terrible idea, 
were within 4 days' march of the capital. Alarmed by these considera- 
tions, they prognosticated their own ruin in the a|iproaching revolution; 
and their countenances exhil)ited the plainest marks of horror an<l despair. 
On the other hand, the Jacobitess were elevated to an in.sulence of hope, 
wiiich they were at no pains to conceal; while many people, who had no 
Jirivate property to lose, and thought no change wouhl l)e tor the wms-, 
waited the issue of this crisis, with the most calm indifference." Sm-U 
was the state of the public feeling in Lou<lon on the very day v\iicn 
the cause for so much apprehension there was already removed, b^ tiie 
Jacobite evacuation of Derby. 

The retreat of the Highlanders commencing early, or while it was still 
daik. on the 17th, they did not generally perceive, until daylight, that 
they were retracing their stejts; uj)on which, their feelings correspnndi d 
in bitterness with those of their Prince. "If we had been beaten," 

have voted to retreat, esfiecinlly as doing so implied a junction witli reinforcements, 
or the consideralde corps under Lord Stratliallan? W J.eu Lnglynd "was ttieci, and 
I'ni'.nd wanting," would it not seem the liest pi'bcy to retiu-n to Scotland? liesioes, 
hi>iiii> of tlie troo]is from France; liaviiig landed lu .Sootiaud, nii^lit uol stiil nioit, if 
not ait the rest, Lie expected to do so there ? 



400 IIISTOUY OF THE IRISIT ERIOADES 

exclaims a Scotcli (jtlifci-, " tlic grief could not have been greater." 
Another, in reference to their .situation at Derby, states — "One thing is 
certain, never was our Highlanders in higher spirit.s, notwithstanding 
their long and fatiguing inarch; they had, indeed, got good quarteivs, and 
plenty of ))rovisions, in their inarch, and were well ))aid; so that we 
judged we were able to tight double our numbers of any troops that could 
o))])oseu«!; and would to God we had pushed on tlio' we had been all 
cutt to pieces, when we were in a condition for fighting, and doing 
lionour to our noble Prince, and the glorious cause we had taken in 
hand, rather than to have survived, and seen that f;it;ill day of (■nlloden, 
wdien, in want of provisions, money, and rest, we were oblidgcHl to turn 
our backs', and lose all our glory." * The English, also, who had joined 
the Prince, "now saw nothing before them, but the melancholy alter- 
native of exile from their native land, or an unqualitied submission to the 
vengeance of the House of Hanover. " Tlie country, moreover, which 
had been peaceful as the Scots advanced, became hostile as they retired; 
so much so, in the subsequent couivse of their march, that a village, for 
.><hooting at a Highland patrol, had to be set on fire; the armed inhahi- 
taiits attempting, in turn, to revt'iige themselves on the sick, and on the 
stragglers, " who," as Avas com))lained, "could not be kept from going into 
houses, and committing abu.ses." 'I'he army jta.ssed that night at Ash- 
bourn, and, next morning, the ISth, marched, '' drums beating, coloui-s 
flying, and pipers playing," for Leek, where they slept, the entertainment 
they exj)erienced being generally little to their liking; and when, after 
entering Macclesfield in tJu^ usual military ])aiad(', and quartering there 
on the lOtli, tliey approached Manchester on the 20tli, they met witii a 
reception so very different from what it had recently been, that "the 
Devil had been among the peo])le, they were so altered ! " was tin; connuou 
exclamation at such ill-tieatment. "The party that, came in lirst, to the 
number of 40," relates a eontem])orary, "were jullcd \<y the mob with 
stones, as they came t\\vc) Hd'Tujiiig Diti-li. They sat on their horses, with 
their guns and j)istols ready cock'd, and tln-fatcu'd to lire, but did not. 
The Bellman, by order of the Magistrates, had hccii about tlie town, the 
day before, to order all persons to provide pick-axes, itc, to spoil the 
loads, and then to arm themselves with such weapons as they could get; 
n]H)n which, 10,000 of the countiy and town's folks were got together, 
ready to give the Jacobites an unwelcome rtrepticn. However, upon 
necond thoughts, the Bellman was again order'd about town, to bid them 
disperse; and, the same day, Charles and his army came in, and billetted 
themselves at their old quarters." Bradstreet, the spy, in noticing the 
treatment of himself, and the Jacobite oflicers with whom lie was 
associated, mentions an interesting exception to the change of conduct 
dis])layed here towards Oharle.s. At " my quarters, near Manchester, 
this ni..;ht we were all magnificently entertained liy a beautiful lady, 
\\ hose hnsliand was abroad for some time before. She had the greatest; 
desire to kiss the rebel Fiiiiee's hand, and had been ])romised by 1 of 

* But, under the great disparity, as rosjanls numbers and condition, between tlie 
2 armies at Culloden, could tlie vaiKiuislied l)e justly coiisidered to have lost glory 
liy their defeat, or tlie victors to have (la'nu'd glory by tlieir success? Mere success, 
ii respective of the circumstances under which it has been attained, cannot constitute 
glory. Tlio forcing of the pass of'f'hernioi)yl;c by Xerxes was a success on his part, 
but nothing more tlian a success; the (jlory \>Jn\'^ attached to the mtuiory of tho^e, 
■Whom he overpowered and killed there. 



IN Tnr. SERV.-CJ" OF FRANCS. 401 

the c-cntleiiK!ii, that lie would introduce liev to him next Tnorning. I was 
of oiuuiou, 110 Pinice, or man, could refuse lier his hand, or lips." For 
such disaffection, however, as had been manifested, the Prince imposed a 
contril)ution of ^£2500, ere he quitted tlie place, on the 21st; the rabble, 
as danger disajipeared, venturing to annoy his I'ear by a desultory fire. 
Ahead, not only of the Duke of Cumberland with his cavalry and 1000 
select mounted foot, followed by Sir John Ligonier, and a Brigade oi 
Guards, (fee, but likewise so many days in advance of Marshal Wade, 
that, hopeless of effecting anything with liis infantry, he only detached 
his horse, under Major-Genei-al James Oglethorpe, to aid the Duke by 
, forced marches in the pursuit, the Jacobites, whose rear did not leave 
Manchester till towards 3 in the afternoon, were, notwithstanding frost, 
snow, and the badness of the road, all at Wigan by midnight. The 
22ud, as they were quitting Wigan, a Wliig zealot, in wait to murdcir 
the Prince, fired by mistake at General U'Sullivan, but, fortunately, 
without effect. 

Pi-oceeding, the same day, to Preston, the Scots rested there all the 
next, or until the 24th; in connexion with which halt, a lady, corres- 
])onding from the place, aV)out Pi'ince Charles, his mistress, the famous 
Jenny Cameron, Sir Thomas Sheridan, and General O'SuUivan, writes — 
" O'S'illivan, one of the young Pretender's Council, and a very likely 
fellow, made free with our hou.se, and we were under a necessity to treat 
him civilly. He returned it obligingly enough. From him, we learned 
some little anecdotes relating to Jenny Cameron. She is, it seems, tiie 
niece of a pei'son of some fashion in the Highlands; and was sent by 
her uncle, to pay his compliments to the young Pretender," with the 
troops of that branch of the Camerons, a considei-able number of cattle, 
and other contributions to the Stuart cause. " When," continues the 
letter, "she a])peared before the young Pretender's tent, who received 
her very gallantly, she jump'd off her horse, and told him, with great 
•frankness, that ' She came, like the Queen of Sheba, to partake of the 
wihdom o^' Solomon.' He answered, 'And thou shalt, my dear, partake 
of ail that Solomon is master of.' He took her in his arms, and retired 
with her into his tent; and they were there some time alone. -The 
re.-t,' Mr. Sullivan says, ' we are to guess !'"* Another English notice, 
at this time of O'Sullivan, or " a further account (from the True Patriot) 
of the aforesaid Mr. Sullivan wliom the London Gazette of the 19tli 
mentions to have care of the artillery,"t after observing, how " the 
])iincipal person, upon whom the Pretender's son hath depended in this 
expedition, is Mr. Sullivan, by birth an Irishman, and educated in a 
Itomish College abroail, whei'e he entered into Priest's order.s,"|. concludes 
a sketch of his life (similar to that previously given) thus — "To the 
abilities of this man, we mny justly attribute the success, with which a 
handful of banditti have so long been able to overrun and plunder a 
large part of this opulent and powerful nation." The 24th, about 9 in 
the morning, the Scots left Preston, for Lanca.ster, where, (the interven- 

* Jenny Cameron, having accom]ianied the Prince in his march throncrh Enf^latid, 
and back again to Scutland, was taken l>y the enemy, and subsequently retiring to 
tlie Continent, died at Ghent, in 17<)7. 

t A mistake, however, for Mr. Crant of the Irish Regiment of Lal]y. 

X Sucli a combination, as this, of a I'opi.sh Priest witli a Popish Pretender, was 
"just t]ie thing," t.> excite the strongest Protestant prejudice in Great Bi-itain, 
against Prince Cliailes, aniomj; the masses there. But the notion of U'SulJivaus 
1,7-ltsthvod lias been ah'eady disposed of. 



402 HISTORY OF THE IIUSII DRIOADCS 

iiig distance being about 20 miles) the rear did not arrive till very late. 
Tlie same day, about 1, Major-General Oglethor])e, witli liis ea\;iliy 
desi)atclied from Marshal Wade's army, joined the Duke of CuiuIk rhmd 
at Preston, after a march of above 100 miles, in 3 days, over snow and 
ice ! The 25th, Charles halted for the day at Lancaster, a[)i)eaiing to 
contemplate fighting the enemy; General O'Sullivan, with Lord Gforge 
Murray, who commanded the rear-guard since the army lelt Derby, 
Lochiel, and other Highland officers, going out to reconnoitre the 
country for a good field of battle, or 1 best suited for the Highlaudera 
as irregulars ; a locality of which kind was found, and 2 or 3 ot the 
enemy's mounted Rangers picked up as prisoners, who mentioned tlie« 
lai-ge body of their cavalry that was collected at Freston ; so, it being the 
obvious aim of the Duke of Cumberland to come n[t with his horse, and 
detain the Scots, till, by the junction of his iniantry to his cavalry, Ite 
would j)Ossess an overwhelming superiority c)f force, Cliarles resumed his 
retreat, at 8 in the evening, towards Kendal. The 2Gth, at 8 in the 
morning, as the last of the Highlanders were quitting Lancaster at one 
end, Major-General Oglethorpe and his horse entered at the other, with 
orders, to refi-esh in the streets, and then |)ursue. But the recei})t of an 
express from London to the Duke of Cumberland to arrest his advance, 
also caused Oglethorpe to fall back about 10 miles, to Gartstang. This 
was owing to " a rej)ort," says my autliority, " that tlie French were 
actually landed in the south; which gain'd such credit, that the Ministry 
tliought proper to advise the Duke of it by an express; who thereupon 
lialted a day, in expectation of further notice. Genei-al Oglethorpe was 
likewise order'd to halt, till he should liear from the Duke. . . . 
But the coasts of England were so well watch'd and guarded by Admiral 
Vernon's fleet, that there was no possibility for the French to stir out 
of their harbours, without a manifest hazard of perishing, or being 
taken in the attem])t. And, therefore, the re|)ort of their being landed 
was current only for a day ; of which the Duke had soon notice by 
another express, and immediately resum'd his pursuit." Of these 2 
ex])resses to the Duke, the one " to halt," the other " to pursue," a con- 
temporary "letter from London" informs ns — "The 1st ex])ress was 
owing to an account sent to St. James's, that the French had landed in 
Essex; upon which, the Privy Council was summoned, and agreed to 
Bend the above express. But, the next day, the Government had an 
account, that they were wo^ Frenchmen who had Janded, but a party of 
armed smugglers, who wei'e conveying their goods into the country;* 
npon which, the 2nd express was sent, to purstu' the rebels." In doing 
so from the commencement, or since, as was said, " Foituue turned her 
face with a smile," the Duke had the great advantage, that "the country 
people voluntarily supplied his army with horses, carriages, pi'ovisions, 
and all other necessaries; while the adventurers could get nothing hut 
what violence forced from the grumbling English, who took all methoils 
to distress the/ii.'^ 

Meanwhile, or on the 26th, Charles, with his troops, artillery, etc., 
entered Kendal. Here, writes Lord George ]\Iurray, "Mr. O'Sullivan 

* "The fjreat lumiher of snnigglers in England," ohservcs Dr. Tucker, Dean of 
*;loiiuestc>- in 17;">:^, "are of iatinite detriment to trade. They carry nothing but 
bniliou, or wool, out of the knigdom, and I'eturn mostly witli the conmiochties of 
J'rance. 'i'hey are tlie nece.ss iry cause of creaUi-i;' niauy oliiced, miimlamuig sloops, 
buiacks, &e., to yuaid a^aiust tiieuj."' 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 403 

was at Slipper witli the Prince. He had got some mountain Mala^jja, 
>vhich he seemed very fond of. and gave me a glass or 2 of iv. Tlieie 
was always a Major, or ])rincipal officer of each regiment, for the order:=, 
■wdiich were to be copied, for the different corp'S. It was 11 at nigli!; 
before I left the quarters, and Mr. O'Sullivan had not then wrote tliPiii 
out." That Charles and his agreeable Irish companion should enjuv 
themselves, whenever they could, between their winter-marches, was 
but natural. 

" To-niixlit, at le.ist, to-jiio;ht be (ray, 

Wliate'er to-iuorrow brings. ' — MoOEE. 

Nor was their rest long. Between 4 and 5 o'clock next morning, the 
27th, the drums beat, and the men, in the order they had enteied, 
inarched out* fi-oni day-break till near 10, for Penrith, but had to stop 
for the night at Sliaj) ; Major-Geueral Oglethoi-pe, on the report about 
the Frenrh being coutradicted, having continued, during the day, hi.s 
cavalry pursuit. The 28tii, Ciiarles, after sevei-al hours' hard marching, 
carue to Penrith; the rear, nevertheless, under Lord Getjrge Murray 
being greatly dela^yed by the breaking-down of baggage-carts, by the 
repairing of them, and even by the necessity of having sometimes to go 
a cou|)le of miles off the i-oad to procure others us the country- peoyjle 
had ))ut everything they could out of the way. This day Major-General 
Oglethorpe, the Duke of Cninlierland, and their van-guard, entered 
Kendal, with increase<l iiope-s from the circumstances above-mentioneil, 
of overtaking the Jacobite rear. 'Ihe 29th, Charles and his main foi'ce 
Lad still to halt at Penrith f )r the coming up of the rear; which, having 
with difficulty reached, and stoj>[)ed the previous night so far behind as 
Shap, quitted that place at day-ltreak. The column was headed by Mr. 
Brown, Colonel en suite to the Irish Regiuient of Lally, with the 2 com- 
panies appointed to ])recede the artillciy; then came the artillery, under 
the command of Mr. Grant of the same Irish corjts, again referred to 
here as selected to act in that capacity, and as Engineer, from his- 
" great talents ; " next came the waggons, with 2 other companies attached 
to the artillery; the whole Vjeing brought up by Lord George Murray in 
person, with the Highland Eegiment of the Macdonalds of Glengarry. 
Ihe march scarcely commenced when it appeared how much the eneuiy 
had been able to gain ground, by a large nuudier of their light horse 
hovering about, though at a sufficiently cautious distance, or Iteyond 
mu.sket-range. On the van of the column reaching, at noon, writes an 
eye-witness, " the f(H)t of an eminence, which it was necessary to crf)ss 
iti our march to Penrith, about half-way between that town and Shap, 
the moment we V»egan to ascend, we instantly discovered cavalry, marcli- 
ing 2 and 2 abreast on the top of the hill, who disai)peared soon after, 
as if to form themselves in order of battle, behind the eminence which 
concealed their numliers fiom us, with the intention of disputing the 
])a.s.<age. We heard, at the same time, a prodigious nundier of trnmpets 
and kettle-drums. . . . We stopt a moment at the foot of the 
liill ; everybody believing it was the English arm}^ from the great 
innnber of trumpets and kettle-drums. In this seemingly desperate 
Conjuncture, we immediately adopted the opini(m of Mr. Brown, and 

* Does not the circumstance, of the Jacobite troops having evidently been 
designed to march out of Kendal in the fame order they had entered it, surticu'iitly 
defend O'^nllivan from the mmirc, in reference to the issuing of orders, appaveutly 
aimed at him by Lord George Murray? 



<in4 IlISTOKY OF THE llilSII liKKiAnKS 

resolved to rnsli upon tlie cDcinv swofd in li.ind, jind opon a pnswaofO to 
our aini\' at I'ciiiitli, oi' |i('iis|i in the aitiMMpt. TlniH, witlioiifc iiitoiinin£f 
Jj'id (Jcor^i' Mnn-ay "t «»tii- rt-solut ion, we daitt'd fbrward, vvitii gi'i-ut 
swifi iicss ; nnniin;j; np the hill, as last as our leg.s coidd caiTy mm. 
Lord Oi'oi-gc, who was in the I'car, seeing our niana'uvre at {]\(: head 
of the eoluinn, and, l)eing nnaMe to jiass tlu> waggons, in (he ileep 
r<iads. eonlinetl \t\ hedges, in whieh wc then were, inunediattdy ordered 
the I lighlandei's to proceed across the inclosure, and ascend the hill 
Irom another (piartei-. They ran so Cast, tliat they reached the smnniit 
of the hill, almost as soon as tliose who wei'e at the head ot" tlie eolsnnn. 
We were agreealily snr]irised, when we reached the t<>[), to li)id, insleail 
</(' the l'aii;lish army, <udy iUlO light-horse and chasseurs, who imme- 
diately lied in disorder. . . . Krom the great number of trum])et3 
and kel I le (iiiims which the light-horse had with them, there is eve(^ 
reason for supposing, that it was their design, to endeavour to induce us 
to turn aside from tlu; road to i'enrith, by making us believe, that the 
whole Taighsh army was on tlu; hill before us; and, if we had fallen into 
the snare whieh was laid for us, in a few liours every man of oui" detaeh- 
nieiit would either have been killed, or taken prisoner." 'I'his opinion 
Avas strengtlnmed by the intelligence subsequently dei'ived from a ea|)t\ncd 
footman of the Duke? of (himberland, who stated, that the Duke, " havinjjf 
given all Ids truni])et(Ts and ketthi-drumnKMS to the light-horse, had hoped, 
to retard the march of our detachment with tht; artillery; and, if we had 
bt^en, in any manner, tlu^ dupes of this artilice, we should have bec^n all 
destroyed; for, in half an hour the l>uke would have got between us and 
our ai'niy, and our communication would thus have been cut oil'." The 
detachment of light hoise here routed were, in fact, piccursors to the 
great body, or main force, of the Knglish cavali'y, aWout ll)l)(), that; 
emerging (tho\igh too late) i'rom tin; sid(;-roa<l l)y which they were to have 
separated J>ord (!eoi-ge Murray's corps from that of Oharles," as night 
came on appeared before the village of Clifton. 

The Dukt! (){' Cumberland, from the mass, whom lie kept drawn up in 
2 lines at a: due distancu', ordi'reil ."Jl'O of Bland's, ICerr's, and (^)bham"s 
dragoons, to dismotnit, under lji(mtenant-(-olon(d I'hilip lioneywood. as 
an attacking part\' ; making a short address to the men ere ihev ad\anced, 
ill which he referred to the hoiionrahle intrepidity of the I'aiglish at 
Dettingcai and l''onl-enoy, and iniiinatcd, that, he had no doubt of similar 
conduct being displayed here. 'I'iie ilelachmeiit of dismounted dragoons, 
so exhorted and complimented by iJk^ l)iike, and with sucdi further aid 
as to appear TjIIO strong, proceeded to disloilge fiom its post the Ifighlanil 
)-ear, then consisting of aJiout 1(10(1 men, under iioid Ueorge Miui-ay. 
l>ut Lord George, with iiroad sword and taiget in hand, shouting the old 
Jlighland wai'-cry, " rVay//;,o/'e.' " and leading on gallantly, con)pelled the 
as.sailants to betake themselves to their corps- de-reserve; he having 17 of 
is men, and his ojtponents, as they alleged, 40, though pi'obably a much 
nioie consitlerable n\unl)er, killed and wounded, t including Lieutenant- 

* See, in the (,'lievalier de Johiistane'a Memoirs, the engraved [il;m, entitled, 
"Skirmish cit (liftoii Hall, IKth December, 174;"). O.S." 

t The loss iif the (lisineuuted (IrageoiLS of the I'aiglisli at Clifton has been ])ul)lislie(l, 
for their tokil there, as 1 1 kiileil, and '1.) woinnleil, or 40 men. iiicluiling Ixi h. ISut, 
wiLhout going licyoiul i'lnglish evidence, it is certain the Duke of Cumljerland's los.s 
Was not iunif.eil to his ilr;ig(ions. 'I'lnis, in a list of deaths, for July, 171<>, I lind 
that c)t' ".laiii's JKiily ot I'reslon, Laiicasliiri!, a Voluntier uikIci' the Diike of 
Lu.iioeilaiid, vjI'v\ouih.U received, m lliu action al Cii/Coii." Macpheisou of Cluny, 



IN THE SICaVICE OF FRANCE. 405 

Colonel Honeywood, severely gashed, among tlie latter. Lord George 
reitiai-ks — " It was lucky I made that stand at Clifton; for, otiierwiae, the 
enemy would have been at our heels, and come straight to Penrith; 
•where, after refreshing 2 or .3 houi-s, they might have come up with ns, 
before we got to Carlisle. I am persuaded, that night and next morning, 
"when the van entered Carlisle, tiiere was above 8 miles from our van to 
our rear, and mostly an open country, full of commons. I have been the 
more particular about this little skirmish, because I observed it was very 
differently i-ehitcd in the English newspapers, as it' we had been beat from 
our post, at Clifton; whereas I was there, about half an hour after tlie 
enemy was gone." And again, affirms his Lordship — "It was half an 
liour after the skirmish, befoi'e w(i went off. I was the last man mi/sef/." 
Thus, through the i-esolution of Mr. Brown of the Regiment of Lally and 
of Lord George Murray, the meditated separation, by the enemy, of the 
Prince's rear-guard from the rest of his force, was prevented; and his 
army, in consequence, pre.served from tlie general destruction, which 
must have been the result of tlie cutting ofi' of 1 portion of it from the 
other. The Duke of Cumberland slept at Clifton ; evincing his une^asiness 
there, by keeping Iiis ti-oops under arms upon a moor all night, although 
it was very rainy, and although they had marched that day so far, in such 
weather, and over such roads. For " orders had been communicated by 
the Duke to the eouuti-y-people, to l)reak down V)ridges, destroy the roads, 
and attempt, by all nii-ans in tbfir power, to retard the insurgent army." 
Yet " while the hardy niountaiiicers found little inconvenience from eitlier 
storm in the air, or ruts in the ground, these very circumstances served 
materially to inijx.'de the English di-agoons." The Highland rear, after 
that check given to the enemy at Clifton which secured an unmolested 
retreat, joined the Prince, at Penrith, wiience the entire Scotch force, Ity 
about 8 that evening, proceeded for Cailisle, and, after a very wearisome 
niai-ch, arrived there, abf)ut 7 next morning, or the 3lJth. The Duke of 
Cumberland, on the 3(Jth, did not advance 3 miles, or only from Clifton 
to Penrith, and he continued there on the 31st; as well to rest his 
harassed cavalry, as, before venturing on any further operations, to wait 
for the coming up of his infantry, the last of whom joined him by the 
morning of the 31st, and were halted for that day and night. Tlie 
Jacobites stoj)ped from the 30th to the 31st at Carlisle, where, after 
leaving a garrison of about 400 men, and 10 out of the train of 13 held- 
I)ieces, Charles very late on the 31st, marched for the Esk, which separated 
Scotland from England; liis route thither being 7 long miles, as, by the 
nearer road, the winter had rendered the stream unfordable. In passing 
the river, says my noble Scotch narrator, "we were 100 men abreast, and 
it was a very fine show. Tiie water was higli, and took most of the men 
b.-east-high. Wiien I was near cross the river, I believe there were 20J0 
men in the water at once. There was nothing seen but their heads and 
shoulders; but there was no danger, for we had caused try the water, and 
the ford was good; and Highlanders will pass a water where horses will 
not, which I have often seen. . . . All the bridges that were thrown 
down in England, to prevent tlieir advancing in their march forwards, 
never retarded them a moment" Another Jacobite officer adds — "Fires 

in his letter, soon after, fz'oin Carlisle, makes the Highland slain or hurt 17 or 18, 
and, in his Memoirs, computes, that, of the Euglish, "besides those who we>it olf 
wounded, upwards of lUO, at least, were leit on the sjiot." lie was present, witk 
bib regiiueut. 



4()Cj iiisT(M!V OF Tin; ikisii i;i!I(; vhks 

vcic Iciiidlcd to i\r\ our )i<Mi|»lf ms soon ms tliry (luiltt'd the \v;\t(>r, ami tlio 
li;i'.;|iipt'rs liavinijj coininenced ])layiiig, the 1 1 iLflilaiulci-.s Ucifaii all to 
tlani-c, cxiacssiim- the iitiiiost jny, on i^eeiria; their eoiintry Hi:;aiii!" 

Such was the Jacohite march from Scotland to Derby, and from Derby 
back to Scotland: of wliich, from the participation oi' ao/ne of my country- 
meii in it, as well as of of/icrs in sup])ort of the ca\ise with which tliat 
inarch was connected, i havi; '^ivcAi this outline; one, 1 hope, not. among 
the worst of tliat remarkable event. It. was "an expedition," ol)s(>rves 
its able Scoteli historian, Mr. OhaniluM-s, "whicli, for boldness and addre.ss, 
is entitled to tank with the most celebrated, in either am-ient or modern 
tiiiies. It Listed (i weeks, and was directeil throu-h a country decidedly 
li.istile to the adventurers; it was done in the face of 2 armies, each 
(Mpalile of utterly annilulatiuij; it; and tlu- weather was such, as to add 
](»(MI personal misei-ies to the genei'al evils of the campaii;n. Yc^t sueh 
%vas the success which will sometimes jitteml the most ilespi'vate case, if 
conducted with i-esolul ion, that, from the moment the inimical country 
Mas entered, to that in which it was abandoned, only 40 men were lost 
out of neai-lv •")()()(), by sickness, maramling, or the sword of the enemy. 
A magnaniniit V was prescn'ved e\'en in retreat, beyond that of ordinary 
sohliers; and, instead of (lying in wild disorder, a ])rey to their pnrsueis, 
these desultory bands h;ul turned against and smitten the superior army 
of tli(^ enemy, with a vigour which ellectually checked it."* The great 
English historian (Jibbon notices the conduct of the English, with respect 
to this expedition, as, on the contrary, very inglorious. "In the year 
IT-fT)," savs he, "the ihione and constitution were atta(;ked by a rebellicm, 
Avhieh does not ivllect much honour on the national spirit; since the 
J'jiui is]i I'fu'niis of the Pretender wanted coiirage to joht li,is standard, and 
Ins ciieniies, {/hn balk of the people,) alluived hivt, to adoaitce into the heart of 
the. kiju/ddiii.." Nay, wome, Gibbon might have added of the Whig- 
]Iaiu)verian niass of his countr-ymen, since fhei/, with such a vast 
Kuperioritv of military numbers on their side, did not prevent the Stuart 
I'rince, and his litth^ Si'otch force;, getting out of the kingdom, after 
li.iving niai-ehed so iar tut > it. A i)ublished "letter from (Chester" in 
])ecember, IT-If), referring to the successful reti-eat of the Scots, a,llcges — 
'■ "Tis a pity, and, I thiidc, a disgrace to ns, that they shoidd get away." 
A\'liich opinion is but too strongly justitied by facts. The ])rinted olhcial 
talile, in Mandi, 174o, of every corps of the British army, including 
oHicers, s])ecilies the "total in Great Bi-itain, 'M)/){)-2," the "total in 
Flander.s, :i7,'.)!).S," or both as making 58,500 regidar troops. The far 
greater portion of those in Flanders, or as previously stated from Home, 
all but 2 battalions of infantry, and 4 i-egiments of cavalry, were ordered 
over to England, to ojjpose Prince Charles; and to these regulars, besides 
2 foot regiments from the army in Ireland, landed at Chester in October, 
and above 7:^00 Dutch, are to be added Militia and Volunteers; so that 
the Scots, who marched into England with the Prince, did it in of)position 
to a much larger "grand total" of hostile force, than historians have 
hitherto soiight to ascertain, and sum up, with anything like due clear- 
)iess, lor their re.iders. A London jiaper, the Old England Journal, in 
November, 1745, notes, of the advance of the Scots into England — "At 

" 'Many tilings," remarks Polybius, "which appear to he heyeiid measure daraj.;-, 
and full ot danger, are not less safe in the cxecntioii. tli.ui .■i<luiiralilc in tlie attomj^t ; 
iuul the (U'si.;ii it.s(!lf. as well when frustrated. ;i- whrn .ittcnai'd with sneces.s, will 
iliaw ufter it immortal honour, if it be only touiLucLed with uhiliLy, aiul s.cili." 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 407 

present, we are alarm'd, more than ever, by tlie news of tlieir darin;^ to 
enter Eiigland, at a time, when there are npwai-ds of C0,')00 men in arms, 
witliin the iskind, to o])]jose them!" And another London paper, the 
Tr>ie Patriot, in December, 1745, referring to the Scotch invasion, s|)ecifies 
it, as occurring "at a time, too, when tliei-e are above G0,0()() regular 
troops spread thro' the several parts of this United Kingdom," or England 
and Scotland, "in defence of the present establishment!" Had not, 
then, a very great deficiency of military energy been displaye<l by the 
English with respect to this invasion, sui'ely the mere handful of Scots, 
who penetrated so far into England unaided, should have been all slain 
or made prisoners there, as the comparatively few thousand Greeks, with 
whom Xenophon, under that real " Pi'etender, " the younger Cyrus, 
marched against Artaxerxes,* should, when they were unsup()orted by 
native assistance in the country they invaded, have all been destroyed 
or captured by the Persians. Referring to the diss;itisfactory light in 
which his countrymen too often appeared dui-ing litis war, both abroad 
and at home, Horace Walpole exclaims — "In sliort, we are a wretched 
people, and have seen our best days!" But as Xenophon's fellow-soldiers, 
victorious where tlieij fought at Cunaxa, and so distinguished by their 
successful march through an enemy's country back again to their own, 
will ever be glorious to Greece, the memory of Prince Charles Stuart's 
Highlanders, who 

"famM r41ailsmuir gaiii'd, 

And circled Derby's cross,'" ccc, 

will always be most honourable to Scotland. 

During the rest of the month in which the Prince retreated frori 
Derby, or to the end of Dec('m\)er, the apprehension, by the Whig-Han- 
overian Government, of a French and Irish landing in England, was 
undiminished owing to the information received of the prepai'ations carried 
on in the French ports, aided, as was stated^by constant intelligence there, 
of what was done in England, conveyed by English smugglers, who were 
likewise inost capable of serving an invasion as pilots. "It is a pity," 
growls an exasperated Whig-Hanoverian agent, "such pernicious villains 
cannut be desti'oyed ; their villainous trade is the least thing I think of 
at this time, for it keeps up, to my certain knowledge, a daily cor- 
respondence between England and Fi-ance; so that, there is not the least 
thing dcnie or ordei'ed, but the enemy immediately knows it by their 
means." t AVhen the necessity ceased for an extensive encampment at 
Finchley Common, the troops not required there were marched away to 
defend the coa-ts. Numb rs of privateers and small vessels in the 
Thames were engaged and manned by the Admiralty, to be additionally 
on the alert against hostile designs from Ostend. and Dunkirk. A 
Proclamation was issued from St. James's, " commanding all Officers, 

* See Plutarch's Life of Artaxerxes. 

+ Down to the ]iresent century, the smugglers of England were as injurious to 
their own Government, as serviceable to that of France. The Emperor iSapoleou 
I. said, at St. Helena, to Dr. O'iMeara—" During the war with you, all the intelli- 
gence I receive<l from England came through the smugglers. They are terrible 
people, and have courage and ability to do anj^thing for money. ... At one 
time, there were upwards of 500 of them at Duukerque. I had every informa- 
iiou I wanted through them. They brsught over newspapers and despatches from 
the sjiies that we had in London. They took over si)ies from France, landed ami 
kept them in their houses for some days, then disjiersed them over the couniiy, 
aiid Li'oiight them back, when wanted." 



4.08 HISTORY OF THE liilSH BKIGADES 

Civil and Military, to cause the coasts to be carefully watclied; and, nprui 
the first approach of the enemy, to direct all hoises, oxen, cattle, and 
other provisions, t > be driven and removed 20 miles from the place 
where the enemy sh )uld attempt to land. . . . Si<:nals were ordered 
to be placed on the Sussex, Kentisli and Essex coasts, by hoisting flags 
in the day, and tiring guns in the niglit; by which means, notice of an 
invasion would be at the Tower and St. James's Park, in a few hours. 
All the Life-Guards and Horse-Grenadiers wei-e ordered to be ready at 
tlie firing of some guns, which were to be as a signal. Orders were sent 
by the Lords of the Admiralty to all Commanders of Sliips in tlie river 
(Thames) not to fire a gun upon any account, that the signal guns might 
be the more ])lainly heard, in case of any invasion or insurrection; 3l)00 
foot and 1000 horse were ordei'ed for .the coasts of Essex and Suffolk; 
and 4000 foot and 1500 liorse for the coasts of Kent and Sussex, to be 
ready to oppose any foi-eign invasion." The state of alarm and vigikince 
throughoiit the metropolis corresponded with the extent of the jn-e- 
cautionary measures elsewhere. "Tiie Court of Lieutenancy of London 
resolved, tliat 2 llegiments of the Tniined Bands should he out every 
night, and 1 in the day-time. The Court of Aldermen ordered an 
additional number of Constables and Watchmen, to preserve the peace 
of the city." The Lord Mayor and Court of Lieutenancy likewise 
announced, that " his Majesty, having directed alarm-posts to be appointed 
"with pi'oper signals for the several guards to march on the first notice of 
any tumult, or insurrection, in the Cities of London and Westminster, 
the said signals were to be 7 cannon, 1 tired every half minute from the 
Tower, to be answered from St. James's Park, and vice versa; upon wiiich, 
every officer and soldier of 6 Regiments of Militia, witliout waiting for 
beat of drum, or any further signal, shcndd, immediately on hearing said 
signals, rei)aii', with arms powder and ball, to their respective places of 
rendezvous; the Red Regiment on Tower Hill, the Green Regiment in 
Guildhall Yard, the Yellow Regiment in St. Paul's Churchyard, the 
White Regiment at the Royal Exchange, the Line Regiment in Old Fish 
Street, the Orange Regiment in West-Suiithtield. Of tlie 2 Regiments 
of the Tower Hamlets under orders, the 1st was to meet on 'fewer Hill, 
the 2nd in Sun-Tavern Fields, Shadwell." The money-mai-ket was duly 
affected by these measures. "The stocks," says a Whig letter of the last 
day of the year, " have been exceedingly low this week, and the Bank 
itself in danger;" then observing of " the public disti-ess" which existed, 
"the dread of the French invasion has occasioned this;" and adding, 
"our political distresses, I assure you, have I'educed the town to a state 
of Presbyterian dulness." The same day. Admiral Yernon, who was iu 
command of 11 ships-of-war mounting 384 guns, besides 15 minor vessels, 
wrote over to Deal, to warn the people of Kent, to be upf»n their guard, 
"the Irish troops being inarch'd out of Dunkirk towards Calais," so that, 
he apprehended there might be "a descent from the ports of Calais and 
Boulogne, and which," he concluded, "I suspect may be attemj^ted at 
Dungeness," &c. The superiority of naval force on the side of the English 
preserved their country, indeed, from any such " descent," yet not from a 
•considerable commercial loss; for the concenti-ation of their shipping, to 
])revent the menaced invasion, enabled the French privateers, in the 
course of November and December, to capture "160 British vessels, 
valued at £060,000." 

In the autumn of 1745, at Avignon, where he had long resided on a pen- 



IN THE SEUVICE OF FRANCE. 409 

sion from the Court of Spain, died the great Irish Tory or High-CI:nrch 
loyalist, and Protestaut Jacobite cavalier, James Butler, l-'ltli Earl and 
2nd Didve of Ormonde, while success still .shoiie in Britain on .tlie la<t 
attemjjt to restore that dynasty, for wliich he, like so many of his counttv- 
men of a different faith, had abandoned everything but honour. The 
Life of the Duke, published in London in 1748, after mentioning this 
selection of "Avignon for his retreat, where he lived, as if he was no 
longer one of this world," adds — " His Grace was here, as tnroughout the 
whole course of his life, remarkable for his hospitality and beneficence. 
His doors were open to all; but, to an Englishman, his heart, also, with- 
out distinction of parties. His charity was so extensive, that he would 
have /m//,.fe//' wanted, had not his servants concealed, from his knowledge, 
numbei-s, who continually applied to him, for relief Tho' he was unalter- 
able in his religion, yet he did wot think the difference of tenets ought 
to make him distinguish in his charities. He had Divine Service per- 
form'd in his house, according to the Liturgy of the Church of England, 
twice every Sunday, and on every Wednesday and Friday morning 
throughout the year; at which all his Protestant servants were obliged 
to be present. The Sacrament was administer'd to the family once a 
C|uartei-, and, for a week before he receiv'd, the late Duke wou'd see no- 
body, his Chaplain excepted, who was his constant attendant, for that 
space of time. He never jtrepared for bed, or went abroad in a morning, 
till he had withdrawn for an hour to his closet; and, tho' he had publiek 
assemblies twice a week, to divert such melancholy thoughts as must 
naturally have occurr'd to him, when he reflected on his then situation, 
and the ingratitude of men, who had fisen, even from obscurity, by his 
countenance and bounty, notwithstanding his com))laisance for the com- 
pany, at these meetings, made him assume a chearful countenance, and 
endeavour to enliven the conversation, yet was it not difficult to discover, 
that this was an outside only, owing to his good nature and politeness, as 
he was sometimes absent; and, from the opinion of a good judge of men, 
who had the honour to be conversant with the late Duke of Ormonde 
sometime before his death, I may venture to say, his thoughts, even at 
tliese times, were more n])on heaven than on earth. In October, 1745, he 
complain'd of a want of a])petite; every thing at his table was distasteful 
to him, and the only thing he seem'd to relish was mutton-bri)th, after 
tlie English manner. He, at length, grew too weak to walk. Tlie 
Physician who attended him, seeing him in this declining wav, propos'd 
sending for 2 others from Mont])elier, which was accordingly done; they 
arriv'd on a Sunday, the 14th of November, N. S., and, after a consultation 
of these 3, they concluded on taking some blood from him; and, on the 
Tuesday following, (the 16th) about 7 o'clock in the evening, the late 
Duke left this world, 'tis hoped, for a better. On the 18th, his l)ody wa.s 
embalm'd by 4 Sui'geons and the 3 Physicians, and, in the following May, 
as a bale of goods, brought thro' France to England, lodged in the Jeru- 
salem Chamber, and soon after decently enterr'd in the vault of his 
ancestors, in King Henry Vll.th's Chapel; the Bishop of Rochester, 
attended by a full Choir, performing the cei'emony. He died in the 81st 
year of his age, after having suffered an exile of upwards of 30 years." 
The Duke, when about 40, has been described as "of a low stature, but 
well-shaped, a good mien and address, a fair complexion, and ve)y 
beautiful face;" and, it is added, "loves, and is beloved by, the ladies;" 
being considered " the icii-bred man of his ajce." He attended William 



410 illSTOHY OF THE IRISH CUIGADES 

IT I. (oho of tlie )rors/-\>nH] mon of liis a^c) in all his campni,i,nis;* to 
■whom lie was (jlciitleiiiaii of tlie Bedchaiuiifi-, C'aptain of Horse-Guards, 
and a Lieutenant-General; and, in those campaigns, "his ex])enses were 
so great abroad, that, it may be said, he gained more reputation by hia 
generosity, than many Gcnierals have by their armies." His generosity 
to those taken ))risoners with him at the battle of Landen, in 1G1)3, has 
been previously noticed, with his personal gallantry there. Appointed, 
after Queen Anne's accession, or in 1702, to command in tlui Allied 
expedition against Cadiz, which failed not through his fault, he, on hia 
return, effected, with Sii' George llooke, the imi)ortant d(>structioTi of the 
French and 8))anish ])late fleet, at Vigo ; and, conse(piently accom])anying 
the Queen to St. Paul's, for the solemn Te Deam to be chanted there, it 
then " appeared, how much he was the darling of the people, who 
neglected their Sovereign, and a])plauded him more, ])erhaps, than any 
.sul>iect was, on any occasion." Soon after, he was Lord-Lieutenant or 
Ireland, whei'e, it was observed, "his Coui-t is in greater splendour than 
eve)' was known in tiiat kingdom." In 1712, he maintained, (as successor 
to Mai'lborougli.) the dignity of Commander-in-Chief of the British Forces 
in Flanders with such un[)recedented gi-andiur, that, when the Flemings 
■went, we are told, to "see the Duke at dinner, they were wonderfully 
plea.sed with the siglit." One of theni "(h'clared, lu^ never saw any thing 
to come np to it; lie had often seen Marshals of France at dinner, but 
never in half that p(tm|)." The Duke's Deputy-Quart(;r-Ma.ster-General, 
after relating his having ])itclied upon a Priest's house, in its owner's 
absence, for his Grace's cpuirtt-rs, states- "At our return, the Priest was 
amazed, to see the Duke's kitcheu-teiits already pitciied in his orchard; 
30 or 40 cooks, scullions, turnspits, and other servants, bu.sy at their 
several enijiloyments; some sjjitting all sorts of flesh and fowl in season; 
others making jiies, and tai'ts; iuid ntlicrs making fires, and fixing boilers, 
and ovens. Jn short, in less than '.\ houis, thc^re was as grand a dinner 
served vip, as if it had come from the markets of London, or Paris. The 
Priest declared, that, if he had not seen it, lie could n(^ver hav(! believed, 
that such a dinner amhl be had in a canip, e\i'n for the gi-eat Loxiti 
QudtoQ'ze. . . . Then we went to s(>i- the diniiig-tc^nts, in tii(! largest 
of whicih was a table of 24 covers, in anotlier a tal)le of 18, and in a third 
one of 12, all looking into each oilier, willi a fourth for the niiisiek to 
play, while iiis (iiaee was at (liiincr. The Priest was as much ehanned, 
as surprized, at what lu; saw. I ask'd iiini, if he did not think, I had got 
a good lodger for him'? lie thank'd me. . . . We staid here alxuit 
10 days, his Grace shewing a great dt-al of respect to the Priest; for he 
dined and su]i})ed with him every day. and often sat with him. when at 
leisure. The night before the army marched, the Duke made him a 
liandsome jiresent." Of the Duke's ])rincipal family i-esidence in his 
native country, or the Castle of Kilke ny, and his style of living there, 
an English tourist writes in IG'JiS — "This Castle may pro])ei'ly be called 
the Elysium of Ireland, and, were not the Duke and Dutchess better 
])riiicip!ed than to forget Heaven for a pcirishing glory, they'd little think 
of mansions hereatter, who have such a Paradise at present to live in." 

■* A Whig wrier, reconUiio; William's eiiili:uk,itii>n, at Oravcsciul, in May, IGO"), 
for the caiii]iaii;ii on the ( '(Hitiiieiit, "attcudeil l)y the Duke of Onuoud, the E iris 
of ^lv.^l■x aiul I'ortlaiul," adds, "and so f(W others of the n.ohilitv, tliat it rctlocts ou 
tie liritish iKuiic, to have no more of tliem to inciitioii in history, aUcuduig their 
fcsovcic'ii;!!, ill the j)ursuit of true glory,' &u. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 411 

T{es](pcting that 0;istle, ifec, we learn, bj' another EnQ;Hsh tour in Irelanrl, 
soon after the Duke's death — " The many othces liere shew, what the 
older inhabitants of the city assured us, tliat, while this was the residence 
of that illustrious family, there was no officer wanting here, that is to be 
met within the Palaces of Sovereign Princes."* The Duke's English 
town-residence, in St. James's Square, London, (after his Whig- Han- 
overian iin[)eachment, and consequent retirement to France,) was sold to 
JVIr. Hucket, an Irish gentleman, for £7,500. His English country- 
residence, at Richmond, where "il vivoit avec grande magnificence^ tenoit 
table ouverte, et sembloit y avoir leve I'etendard contre le Roi George," 
was bouglit, for £0000, for the Haiiovarian Prince of Wales. The Duke's 
Irish and English rental, at a ]>eriod when the greatest estates of the 
British arist(K;racy very little exceeded £20,000 a year, was, after his for- 
ieiture, o^t6Vrt//y returned (omitting shillings and ])ence) as £21,163 per 
annum. And, how very considerable was tlie revenue from his public 
posts, or independent of that from his extensive estates, may V)e inferred 
from tlie tei-nis <jf liis Attainder in 1715, as "^Ae Most JrJ ujli. Puissant and 
Noble PKiNCK,t /awifis BiUler, Dake of Orniowie, Earl of Brecknock, and 
Jid.roa of Laiiihony and Moore-Park, in Eiujlarid — Duke, Marquis and 
Earl of Ormonde, Ea.ii of Ossory and Carrick, Viscount Tkurles, Baron 
of iJinyle aiul Arklow, in Ire'a/tid — Ba,ron <f Dingwall in Scot'aiul — 
Hereditary Lord of liegalifies, and Governor of tlh" County Palatine of 
Tij)pera/ry, and of tlie City, Tovni, and County of Kdkenny, JJ ereditarif 
Lord Chief Butler of Ireland. — Lord High Constable of Enghiad, Lord- 
Warden a.nd Admiral of the Cinqiie Ports, and Constable of Dorer Castle 
— Lord- Lieutenant of tlie Cuuuty of Somerset — Ijord,- Lieutenant mid Castas 
liiitaloruni of tlie County of Norfolk, Iligii-Steward of the Cities of Exeter, 
Bristol, and West'mihster, Chancellor of the U^iiversities of Oxford and 

* The following anecdote, as illustrating the vast benefit to Kilkenny and its 
vicinity from the Duke of Ormonde's iiresence, is given from the authority above- 
cited, "A Tour through Ireland by 2 English Gentlemen," jmblished in 1748. In 
mentioning liennet's-Bridge on the Nore, as 3 miles from Kilkenny, "Near this 
]i|ace," states the work, of the former locality, "the late Duke of Ormond reviewed 
the army in the year 1704, which will he rememl)ered here, and at Kilkenny, as a 
]>irticular a;ra; for I have heard several people say, / have not sfen or done such a 
thlnij, siiK-fi. the 7'eview at Bfiin>'l'/i-Briil(je; which made me curious in my enquiry. 
y>y all accounts, this was one of the finest sights ever seen in the kingdoin. The 
late Duke commanded not only the Military hut Civil Power to attend him, with 
all the ensigns of his high othi;e as Lord Lieutenant of the Kingdom. These pre- 
]iarations drew together the whole nohility and gentry of the nation. Kilkenny 
and all the neighi,ouring towns were so crouded, that an old Officer told me, he 
was ob'iged to give an English crown nightly for a truss of straw, to lie in the stable 
of an inn, in the town. The fields were oversi)read with tents; not meaning those 
of the army, but for convenience of lodging the multitude, that repaired, from all 
pans, to be witness of this glorious sight; and, by attendance, added to the 
splendour. By a moderate judgment, a 5tli part of the whole nation were assembled 
at this meeting. The master of an inn told me, he gained more, those few days of 
this review, by his beds only, than cleared his rent for 7 years. This very affair," 
conebide the tourists in reference to Kilkenny, " makes the memory of that great 
luifortunate man dear to many of the people of this city; and who can blame their 
revering such a benefactor, who made their trade fiourish?" 

t "Dukes and Marquisses of England," says Higgons, "are styled Princes." la 
a document of 1712, am<mg the Records of the Ulster King at Arms, Duhlin Castle, 
(for access to which I am imlebted to the kindness of Sir Bernard Burke,) the Duke 
of Ormonde is designated as " Prince Palatin of Tipperary." A native Irish Jacobite 
eouL', referring, with regret, some years later, to the exile of the Duke, terms hiia 
*'Pii luma lia n-Caoidheal," that is, "Prince of the Gaels," or Irisli. 



412 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

Dublin — Colonel of the \st Regiment of Foot-Guards and the \st Begiment 
of ILirse-Gitards, Ca]>tain-(jeneral and Connnander-in-Cliief of a^l Iter 
Mdjestifs Forces by Sea and Land thro'>i,ghi>'ut the British Domrnions, or 
acting in conjunction, wdJh the Allied Powers — one of her Majesty s Most 
Honourable Frivy Council in England and Ireland, Knight Gonipanion of 
the Most Noble Order of the Garter, and Lord-Lientenant-Genernl, and 
General Governor of Trehindr At the time of tlie Duke's im])eachment, 
■with (ither noblemen of his party, by the Whig-Hanoverian faction in 
Parliament, even the bitter ])olitical animosity of that faction was not 
nnmixed with sorrow for the Diike, as such "a noble, generous, and 
courageous Peer." As Sir Walter Scott justly notes — "i/?s fate was 
])eculiarly regretted, for the general voice exculpated }dni from taking 
any stej) with a view of selfish aggrandizement. Several of the Whigs 
themselves, who were disposed to prosecute to the uttermost the mysterious, 
Oxford, and the intriguing Bolingbroke, were inclined to sympathize with 
the gallant and generous cavalier, who had always professed openly the 
])rinciples on which he acted." And a writer of opposite politics to those 
of the Duke, after expres,siug a like regret for his fall, alleges of him — ■ 
" He is an Irishman, if there is any such thing in the world; he has been 
Captain-General of Britain ; and the greatest of his enemies will allow, 
that, as to personal bi-avery, Caesar,, or Alexander, never had more." 
Such was the illustrious head of the Jacobite aristocracy of these islands, 
like another illustrious aristocrat of Athens in her best days, the brave 
and numiiicent Cimon ; of whose riches, Gorgias, the Leontine, asserted, 
that "he used them, so as to be honoured on their account;" and whom 
the poet Cratinus celebrated, as 

"Cimon, the best and noblest of the Greeks! 
"Whose wide-spread bounty vied with that of Heaven!" 

The contemporary Continental notice of the Duke's death in the Mercure 
Historique informs ns, that the courier despatched from Avignon to Rome 
■with that intelligence, also brought several documents of the utmost 
importance, which the Duke had ordered to be delivered, after his decease, 
to his banished Sovereign there. "True to the last!" No one sacrificed 
so much for the unfortunate House of Stuart, as the lamented James 
Butler, 13th Earl, and 2nd Duke of Ormonde.* 

While, in this eventful year of the overthrow of England and her 
Allies at Eontenoy, and of the invasion of Britain by Prince Ciiarles 
Stuart, the expati-iated Irish signalized themselves in each field of action, 
their countrymen, the descendants of the old natives or Gaels of Erin, 
and the representatives of the later colonial population of Norman or 
English origin, who, as both Catholics, were subjected to 1 common 
yoke of religious ))ersecution and political slavery under the last Protes- 
tant intruders from Britain, felt, in such a manner as it was but natural 
they should feel, at the reverses which afflicted, and the dangers which 
alarmed, the Hanoverian dynasty and its supporters, from the advance 
of French conquest on one side of the Channel, and of Jacobite insur- 
rection on the other. Hence the dread of the local "ascendancy" in 
Ireland, based on Cromwello-Williamite land-spoliation. Limerick treaty- 
breaking, and Penal-Code intolerance, that "the Catholics," as their 

* My chief authorities, besides those above-named, for the several particulars 
respectino; the Duke of Ormonde, have lieen Mackey, Dr. King, Drake, Duuton, the 
Duke of Berwick, Oldmixon, Furman, and Lord Macaulay. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 413 

historian observes, "wonlrl eagerly seize the opportunity to hnrst their 
chains, and retaliate on their persecntnrs the, cruelty and injustice 
■with which they had been treated for half a cei.tury." This, however, 
it would have been too hopeless for the Catholics to attempt, without 
any weapons for insunection, in opposition to the dominant Anglo- 
Protestant oligarchy, by whose law, since the reign of William III., none 
but Protestants were permitted to possess arms. For the enforcement of 
that regulation, sevei-e penalties were allotted; information, if not to l)e 
])rocuved by the inducement of gain, or reward, might be extorted by 
lining, imprisonment, the pillory, and whi]»ping; general and periodical, 
as well as discretionary and occasional, searches were prescribed ; and, 
nnder these des])otic v)rovisions. the lai'gest powers were vested in the 
lowest magistrates.* The regular troops in Ireland, in the spring of this 
year, wei-e, indeed, no more tlian 9,261 infantry and cavalry, orlicers 
included ; and, e\en of these, thei-e wei'e 2 regiments of foot despatched 
to Endand, not loii" after the routing of iSir John Co|)e by Prince 
Charles. But, so apprehensive wc-re the existing "ascendancy ot 
Ireland of the fate which menaced them if the House of Hanover should 
be dethroned and the Stuarts restored, that the regular troops in the 
country were a mere handful of men, vv'hen compared with tiie hirge 
number of colonial Militia, Yeomanry, or Volunteeis. that armed iu 
defence of the order of succes.sion derived from the Revolution. Soon 
after intelligence of the Jacobite insurrection in Scotland arrived in 
Ireland, a great Protestant Association was formed, and signed through- 
out the island, in favour of the reigning dynasty. " A Proclamation," 
says an English coiitem])orary. Pay, " was issued by the Lord Mayor of 
Dublin, offering a reward of i..5o,000 for a))prehending the Freteii(ler 
and his Eldest Son, or either of them that shall attempt to land iii 
Ireland. Measures were concerted for rai.sing sevei-al independent 
regiments of horse and foot, to be as well train'd and di.seiiilin'd as 
the regular forces ; so that there was quickly rais'd an army of G.").0()0 
men. who were well clotli'd, arm'd, and discijAinVl, and many of them 
niarch'd to such places as it was judged they might be of the most 
service in." The military organization of the Protestants of Irelanil 
was the more extended at this juncture, since, to the quantity of 
•weapons already in their possession as the exclusively-armed class ot 
the country, their Parliament voted an addition of 30,()00 firelocks ami 
10,000 broad- swords ; and these were augmented by several thousaml 
muskets, sent over from England. The muster, in C)ctober, before Loid 
Chesterlield, of the City of Dublin Militia, will give an idea of the trooi s 
thus raised. A metropolitan journal, having premised how " the Miiitia 
of this City were reviewed, in St. Stephen's-Gi-een, by his Excellency, tlie 
Lord-Lieutenant," adds — "The horse wei-e all very well mounted, made 
a most noble appearance, and were upwards of 300. The foot, for the 

* The Penal Code statute law of Ireland with reference to the pos.session of 
arras was, in brief, according to my legal Protestant authority, the Hououriibie 
Simon Butler, (son of Lord Mouutgarret) a prohibition to all. ])ersoiis, not Proie^i- 
tants, to use or keep any kind of weapons whatever. And, a<lds a learned [\h\\ 
Catholic writer, Dr. Na.y, early in the last century, with reiert-nce to respectahle 
meuiliers of Ids Church, thus exjiosed to the insolence of cowardly si^ctari n 
upstarts and ruitians — "Many gentlemen, who formerly made a consideraMe 
li<:ure in the kingdom, are now-a-days, wlien they walk with canes, o'- s icks only, 
in their hands, insultea 1)y men armed with swords and pistols, wh ', of late, 
reise from the very dregs of the ^.'eople ! " 



414 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

most ])ni't cloatlied in tlie nniform of tlicii- respective regiments, could 
not be less than 4000 men, all well Hriiied. and, amongst them, a great 
number of the most eminent citizens. Such a sight could not fail of 
inspiring universal joy; and his Excellency was so pleased with it, that 
he walked on foot from one end of the line to the other ; expressing, to 
the nobility and gentry about him, the highest satisfaction." On the 
comparative merits of this armed organization of the Protestants in 
Ireland, and that of a Militia in England under its less military squire- 
archy, a Mr. Lutwidge of Whitehaven, writing to Hill Wilson, Esq. of 
Purdy's-Burn in Ireland, from the Dukt; of Cumberland's camp, in 
January, 1746, after the i-ecapture of Carlisle, while stigmatizing the 
jirevious loss of that place as " shameless," and " the result of fear and 
faintheartedness " on the part of " the country gentlemen " of the Militia 
there, observes — " I believe our country squires ai-e not e.xtraoi-dinary 
fighters, and it were to be wished, when there is a necessity of raising 
the Militia, that more care was taken, in considering of proper officers 
to head them ; without which precaution, there is little to be expected 
from them, as the course of this rebellvni has even/where shewn. You, 
g(Mitlenien in Ii-eland, are more frequently conversant in the use of arms, 
and are almo.^t all soldiers by practice ; and, were there occasion, I doubt 
not you would, many of you, do notable service." 

Among such of the old or native Irish and Catholics, who, as having 
retained ant/ landed ])roperty, had something to lose in a time of public 
commotion, this period was necessarily one of very great alarm. 
" During that memoi-able enterprise," observe the Memoirs of the 
venerable Clia.rles O' Conor of Belanagnre,* with reference to Prince 
Charles's ]>rogress in Creat Britain, "Mr. O'l^onor, and liis i'riends, 
thought it advisable, to see eacli other but seldom. Frequent meetings 
might give I'ise to frequent cahuany ; and suspicion was so much awake, 
tliat every thiisg, but perfect solitude, might be construed into combina- 
tion. . . . Such, to Mr. O'Conor, the vear of the rebellion was. 
'Over ns,' says he, in a letter to Dr. Dignan. 'there is a storm gather- 
ing, which is likely to involve us all iniliscriminatrlv in one common 
calamity. God hel[) us, when it bursts! For my part, I am endeavour- 
ing to piepare myself for the worst, and cautioning my friends to do the 
same. / have not seen the face of a denjijindn these 3 ujeeks, and I knoto 
ttot what is hecume of our Bishop.' . . . It was apprehended, at this 
time, that the flames of civil war would spread themselves throughout 
England and Treland., as well as Scotland," and " wjien oui' interests and 
])rejudices are deeply concerned, and our passions involved in a contest, 
it is not easy to be a frigid spectator." But the mass of the old natives 
of the country, left, as well by landed spoliation, as by religious and 
])oliticaI oppression, with too little interest in the existing order of 
society to modify or restrain their- feelings of hatred against it, longed for 
nothing more ardently than for such a change as might overturn the 

* Charles, or to use his Irish name, f'nthal, O'Conor was the son of Donchadh, 
or Denis, O'Conor, Esq. of Behinagare, County of Roscommon, '22iid in descent from 
'J'eige, surnamed ()f the Three Towerx, King of Connaught, deceased n\ 9.54, through 
Tnrlough O'Conor tlic (rn'nt. King of Oonnaught, and Ard-lligh of Erui, or Monarch 
of Ireland, for '2(( years, deceased in II.'H), and tludugh Tnrlou-h O'Conor Don, the 
last inauguraed King of the Irish of Connaught, slain in 14(U'> But Charles s 
services to his country, as a patriot, and a .-cholat;, "when all around was drear 
and dark," retlect more honour upon him, than any line of descent, however ancient, 
or any property, however ample, could collier. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 415 

Oromvvf'llo-Williamite iiionopoly of land and ]>ower foniult'd n])on tho rniii 
of the pluudered and enslaved Catholics; might enable tiieai to tike due 
vengeance on the Whigs, as the establishei-s of such an unjust svstem 
through the Orange Revolution; and might, in fine, reverse that Revolu- 
tion and all its detested results, by the success of Prince Charle-s, and 
consequent acknowledgment of his father as James III. These wishes 
of the naturally-disaffected majority of the populati(JU of Ireland were 
vigorously expressed by their .song-writers, more es))ecially such as wrote 
in the ancient national, Celtic, or Gaelic tongue; those successors of the 
Bards keeping a watchful eye on public occurrences at home and abroad, 
and consoling themselves and their fellow-sufferers witli pros|)ects of a 
2ud Restoration of the Stuarts; to be followed by a sort of millennium of 
enjoyment to the Catholic loyalists of Erin, in recompense for their Iou'T'- 
eiiduring fidelity to the exiled royal family.* The obnoxious ruling race 
of the upstart "settler," at the expense of the old lords of the soil, was 
thus denounced : — 

" Tt makes my grief, my bitter woe, 
To tliiiik how lie our nobles low, 
Without sweet music, hanls, or lays, 
Without esteem, regard, or praise. 
Oh! my peace of snul is lied, 

I lie outstretchM, Kke one half-dead, . 

To see our chieftains, old and young, 
Thvis trod by tlL<' r/unis of ih« disiii.al /oiiguelf 
Oil ! who can well i-efrain from te irs, 
Who sees the hosts ot' a thousand years 
Ex'peU'd from this, their own green isle, 
And bundsmeu to the base and vile! " 
Again — 

"But oh! my wound, my woe, my giief. 

It IS not for myself, or mine — 
My ])ain, my pang without relief, 

Is noting how our nol)les pine. 
Alas for them, and no; for me ! 

I'hey wander without wealth or fame, * 

Wlnle clowns and churls of low degree 

Usurp their gold, their lands, their name." 

The following lines are a portion of " A Whack at the Whigs," to the soul- 
siirring piper's air known as " Leaf.her th^ Wig."-l That is, "Thrash, 
with all your might, the Wig,^' which, in Irish, is synonymous with 
Whig. 

"Oh heroes of ancient renown ! 

(tOikI tidings we gladly bring to you — 
Let not your high courage sink down. 
For Erin has friezids who'll cling to you ! 

• For the Jacohitism of the Milesian or Gaelic jwpulation of Ireland in the last 
century, as shown by their popular jjoets or song-writers, see Mr. O'Daly's 2 
interesting collections, " Reliques of Irish Jacobite Poetry," Dublin, IS-t-i, and 
"Poets and Poetry of Munster," Dublin, 1850-1S60. From the able versitications 
by Mangan of the Gaelic songs in the 1st series of the latter work, my extracts are 
taken. 

t The breed of the "settlers" that spoke the English language, and that, in the 
version of another Gaelic song, are similarly designated, as "Hke sullen tribe of tlie 
drear}/ ton<jue." 

t I make a selection and arrangement of the words, and a modification of the 
chorus, to this tune in Mr. O'Daly's publication, suital>le to the mf)de in which I 
have heard it played. According to that mode, every 4 lines of tho words, includ- 
ing the choriie, should be repealed, or giv«n twice, in singing the air. 



41(5 HISTORY OP THE IRISH BRIGADES 

n^ose insolent Sassennch hands 

Shall hold their white mansions transiently; 
(Jurs shall a'j;.iin be those lands, 

Long tiird by our fathers anciently! 

Chorus. — Let us be thrashing, thrashing; 

Let us be thrashing the |)erriwig! 
Let us be thrashing, thrashing, 
Let us be thrashing the perriwigl 

•We'll muster our clans, and their lords, 
And with energy great and thunderous, 
With lances, and axes, and swords. 

We'll trample the Saxon under us. 
We'll have bonfires from Derry to Lene,* 

And the foe shall in flames be weltering — 
All Limerick hasn't a green, 

Nor a ship that shall give them sheltering! + • 

Chorus. — Let us be thrashing, &c. 

** Uji ! arm now, young men, for our isle! 

We have here, at hand, the whole crew of 'em. 
Let us charge them in haste and in style. 

And. we'll dash out the br.iins of a few of 'em ! 
A tribe, who can laugh at the jail, 

Have found, on the banks of the Shannon, aid— • 
Oh ! how the blue Whigs will grow pale, 
* When they hear our Limerick cannonade! J 

Chorus. — Let us be thrashing, &c. 

** Oil ! pity the vagabonds' case ! 

We'll slaughter, and crush, and batter them — 
They'll die of atiVight in the chase, 

When our valorous Prince shall scatter them ! 
Coming over the ocean to-day 

Is Charles, that hero dear .to us — 
His troops will not loiter or stay, 

Till to Inis-Loirc§ they come here to us! 
Chorus. — Let us be thrashing, &c. 

•' Our camp is protected by Mars, ' 

And the mighty Fion of the olden time,|| 
These will prosper our troops in the wars. 
And bring back to our isle the golden time ! 

• From fhe Lough of Deri-y in Ulster, or the North, to Lough LeiiP, or, the Lake of Killarney in 
Munster, or the South. O'Connell's expression, "from the Giant's Uauseway to iJape Clear," was 
better 

t 'i'lie autlior of this son'.' was a native of the Count,- of Limericlv. 

X All al usiou to the ilefcat. at the 1st siege of Limerick, in 1G90, of the great chimjiion nf the Wliij 
Eevuhitiim of Ki.ss, William of Orange. 

J A h iidiu appsllation fur Irolaml. 

I, Fion, or Fin. sou of Cumlial. known as Fin of " the golden hair," that " popular Irish hero," as Moore 
reiiiaikh. has liail ■■along course of traditional renown in his country, where his fame still lives, 
not only in legends and songs, but in the yet more indi-lible record of scenery conaei-ted with his 
liieniuiy. ' He is related to have flourished in the ord century, having been son-in-law of tie famous 
Ard-Kigh, or IVIonaroh, Cormac, and commander of a standing force, styled tlie b'ians. or Fini i.ms, nf 
Biin. -siill." notes Ur. O'Donovan, '-so vividly rempmbered in the traditions of the people.' In the 
fine C.iielic poem of -'The Chace," so spii-itedly versilied into English by Misa Jirooke, the yoet 
OisiiL, or ussiiiii, as 1 of that celebrated body of Wiirriors, says. 



-" to the Finian race 

A falsehood was unknown; 
No lie, no imputation base. 

On our clear fame was thrown; 

But, by firm truth, and manly might, 

That fame establish'd grew. 
Where oft, in honour h o fight, 
Our foes before us Hew.'' 

Tlie Finiana would appear to have been modelled after the Koman legions, then, nni long Biibs<»- 
Quenily, occupying South Ih-itaiii. which it was the custom of the fiaels of Krin to in . ,ile. of Fion, 
Or Fiii, and this force orgaaized by him, the Scotch historian, Pinkerton, observes — " He seems to 



adds — 



IN THK SERVICE OF FllANCE. 417 

Our cowardly foes will drop dead, 

Whon the French only point their snns on 'era— - 

And Famine, and SlaUL,diter, and Dread, 
Will together come down at once on 'em! 
(Jkorus. — Let us be thrashing, &c." 

The sympathy of tlie Gaels of Erin with their brother Gruels of Alba, or 
Scotland, for the cause of Prince Charles, is still more vividly expressed 
in another song, which, after stating — 

" We'll chase from the island the hosts of the Stranger, 
Led ou by the conquering Prince of the Gael! " 

" And you, my poor countrymen, trampled for ages, 

Grasp each of you now his sharp sword in his hand! 
The ivar that Prince Charlie so valiantli/ vmges 

Is oni that, ivill fihatter the chains of our land. 
Hurrah for our Leader! Hurrah for Prince Charlie! 

Give ]iraise to his efforts witli music and song; 
Our nobles will now, in the juice of the barley, 

Carouse to his victories all the day long ! " * 

"The lads with the dirks, from the hills of the Highlands, 

Are marching with piltrooh and shout to the Held, 
And Charlie, Prince Charlie, the King of tiie Islands, 

Will force the usurping old German to yield ! . . . . 
We will drive out the Stranger from green-valley'd Erin^ 

King George and his crew shall be scarce in the land. 
And the Crown of Three Kingdoms shall he alone wear in 

The Islands— OUK Prince — the man born to command ! " 

With these extracts before us, (which might be augmented by so many 
more), what then are we to think of this passage about Ireland, in 
connexion with Prince Charles's expedition, by a Continental historian 
of the Prince? — even if the passage did not embody, as it does, such an 
erroneous notions as that Ireland was "favoured," and that her "agricul- 
ture and manufactures flourished " in those times, when, and long after, 
English jealousy was so mischievously careful that they should not 
flourish ! f " There was no ])art of the British islands," says this writer, 
" where there was less prospect for the Stuarts than in Ireland. That 

have been a man of great talents for the ajre, and of celebrity in arms. His formation of a regular 
staniiing army, trained to war, iu which all the Irish accounts agree, se ms to have beet; a rude 
imitation of theKomm legions in Britain. The idea, though simple enou>;h, -hews prudenre ; for 
fiuch a forcn alone could have coped with the Eomans, had they invaded Irelmd." Honest Dr 
Keating, from the native authorities, states, how, whenever it was requisite to dispatch forces to 
Alba, or Caledonia, in order to support the Dalriadic settlement from Erin there against the Alm- 
huraigh. i. e... foreif/ners, (or Romans,) 7 c itha. containing l-'l.OUO men, were under the hero's command; 
and, it is added, the Fini .ns must have been frequently in Alba, since tlieir names nre hardly 1p,--s 
as>ociaied with recollections of the "olden tim'^ " there, tlian in Kr.n. The deatli of Fin, 'superior 
ki all wari-iors m war," is recorded to Ijave occurred iu MiLlhe, or Meath, a.d. 'JSl. Ii was he whom 
Cisian Macpherson has metamorphosed into Fiugal. 

* "On salt," observes Voltaire, "de quelle importance il est en Angleterre de 
boire il la sante d'un Prince qui pretend au trone; c'est se declarer son partisan. 
II ena coiitc chera plus d'un Ecossais et d'un Irlandais pour avoir bu a la sante des 
Stuarts." 

t To the admissions already cited on this ]ioint, I need only add heir, that of 
Mr. Pitt, addressing the British Parliament, February li'ind, 1785. "The sjiccies 
of policy, which had boon exercised by the government of England, iu legaid to 
Ireland, had, for its oVijecfc, to debar the latter from the enjoyment of its ov/u 
resources, and to make her completely subservient to the opulence and interests 
of England. She had not been suffered to share in the bounties of nature, or the 
industry of her citizens ; and she was shut out from every sjiecies of commerce, and. 
rcdtraiued from sending the produce of iier soil to foreign markets." 

2e 



418 1II8T0KY OK TllK IlUSIl lUMOADKS; TN THE SKKVICK OF F1!\N('K. 

irrtilc land liad bciMi inncli more favoured tliaii Si'ufland. AuriouUnre 
iuid uiauutiU'tuios iUniri.sluHl ; and tln> giMicral wish wliicli sci'nu'd to 
]>rovail ainon^'all classes, that traniiuillity might bo niaintaincd, ovcrboro 
!Uiy fViiMully t'l-cling that still might lingiT among tlu> |km)))1c tbr tho 
doscondants of Jamos II. In Ireland, therefore, Cliai'les had no prospect 
of active svipport." This last statement is only so far true, that, owing 
to the existence of snch a large amount of hostile or Whig- Hanoverian 
arnu-d force in Ireland, and to the Oatholics having been all disanued, as 
AV(>11 as destitute of any IHyhUmd advantage for organizing witlionb 
being immediate!)' overpowered, the Prince, under such einainistanet^s, 
certainly could not have landed, or hoped to land, in Iri'land, with the 
effect that attended his landing in Scotland. l>ut it aiipcars by no 
means true, that, had he disembarked in Indand with anything like due 
supjilies for standing his ground at iirst, he would lia\c •• had im prospwt 
of active su])port." The contrary, by the speeinuMis I have gi\iMiofthe 
]>opular sentiment in his I'avour, has been sullieiently s/tmrii, and, 1 may 
add, the (\\istenee and general prevalence of tiiat sentiment was, iu 
Home, well knoinn.. The dominant Orange authority in Ireland, at this 
period, might impose, within the imnKuliate spluu'e of its observation, an 
''outward and visible" aj^pearance of submission to the anti-national 
order of things which it represented. But, to that order of things, from 
its radical i'ottennes.s, or foundation n))on injustice and persecution 
towai'ds the nation at large, there could be no real, or " inward and 
spiritual." obetlience on the part of the many, as enslaved by the Jew. 
'I'he feeling of the country internally, however disguisi'd e.\tt>rnally, 
cainiot be better typitied than by the eontem])orary anecdote told of the 
acHMniplished Whig-llanoverian Viceroy of the day, Lord Chestertield, 
and a celebrated Irish Catholic, or Tory and Jacobite, beauty. This lady, 
Miss Ambrose, sub.sequently Lady PalnuM-, who, from her charms, was 
designatt'd tin; "dangerous Papist," having appeared at the Oastle, wear- 
ing orange, which was then the necessary etiquette, his Lordship, as he 
appioached lu'r, exclaimed — 

" Toll nu>, Aiuliresc, where 's tlio jest 
Of woariiig iiran^e on the lireast., 
Wliea, umlenuath. that Ihishiu sliows 
'.riie whiteiK'ss ef tho rebel rose''" * 

A^^ alhision to the tl()wer, which, on every anniversary of the birlli of 
James 1 l.'s son, as Prince of Wales, at St. James's J'alace, ljon(h)n, in 
.June, 1688, the Tories or Jacobites used to wear in honour of that 
Prince, as dejxre, though not de facto Kin(; James III. of England and 
Ireland, and James Vlll. of Scotland. Throughout Ireland, the Orange 
lily, indeetl, might be ]iresent(>d to the eye; but the whiti; rose bhK)med, 
with the shamrock, iu the heart of tlie country. 

• Early iu this century, my father residing at No. 38, (no\v No. 30) Upper 
(Jlouecster Street, Dulilin, whore I was horn, had, for his ueighhonrs, 2 wurtliy okl 
];uhes, the Misses Arelibohl. They were < f the respoetable Catholic family in the 
County of Kihlare, whose head, in the Penal Code times, owned tho I'audreen 
mare, so fan.ous upon tho Currauli; but whit^h lie was obliged to run there in the 
iiniiie of an honoui-alile i'rt)testant friend, lest, as tho law then stood, the valuable 
animal, if aeknowledi^od to be a I'apist's, might, by sonic scoundrel, calling hiuisolf 
a I'l'otestant, be made /*/*• prtipcrty for £5 Tw. ()(/. ! liy the Misses Archbohl, who 
were eousins-german to Lady Palmer, my mother was iutrochiccd to that once 
"dangerous Pajiist," then extremely advanced in life, and was subseciuently 
visited V)y her. On such aixthority, the \'icer^ gal couiplimciit iu verse is correctly 
jjivcu here, iusteud ol' mcorrectly as elsewhere. 



HISTOEY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

IN 

THE SERVICE OF FEANCE. 



BOOK VI I r. 



EA7»t.Y in January, 174G, tlie Duke of CiiniberlaTid, having Tinitecl and 
rested his troops, proceeded to reduce Carlisle. Against such a consider- 
able force and overwhehniug artillery as his, the Jacobites there could 
ordy make such a defence as was suHfieiently credital)le to them, wlieri 
contrasted with the conduct of the previous Anglo- Whig garrison, so 
much stronger, yet surrendering, as they did, to an enemy without any 
siege-trm'u. "The Didce," notes a Whig contenipoiury ivspecting Car- 
lisle, "■ was long enough bef»)re it, tf> prove lujw basely, or cowardly, it tons 
yielded to the rtLel." By the 10th, the besiegin<^ cannon and moi'tars had 
sucli an eliect upon the ])lace, that the Scotch Jacobite Governor, John 
Hamilton, lest his little band should "be all massacred, as they certainly 
would, if they stood the storming of the tosvn," surrendered, on the 
terms, for himself and his men, of not being put to the sword, but reserved 
for George's pleasure; at the same time, recjuesting from the cle/iinitcy of 
the Duke, that he would be pleased to interpose for them with his fatlier. 
But the veteran English Colonel, Townh-y, who had volunteered, with 
Ins Manchester Jacoljites, to form a portion of the garrison, was, ,iu 
onjiosition to Hamilton, for holding out to the last; or for perishing, 
sword in hand, rather than tiust to the pleasure of tiie Hanoverian, or 
the clemency of his son. And the doom to which the Colonel, and the 
otiicers taken with him, were consigned the following August — that 
of being "hanged, drawn, and quartered," on Kennington Common 
— too well justified his repugnance to subniit to such pleasure and 
clemency. With the JacoVjite garrison of Carlisle — consisting, at its 
surrender, of but 39G of all ranks, or 274 Scotch, 114 English, and 8 
natives of different places in the service of France — was a gentleman of 
Toulouse of old Irisli origin, the Chevalier Francois de Geoghegan, (or 
Sir Francis Mac Geoghegan,) Captain in the Irish liegiment of Lally, and 
commander of artilleiy in the town. While the place still held out, this 
officer of the Irish Brigade sent 2 letters, 1 to the Duke of Cumber- 
land, and the other for the officer in command of the Dutch troojjs, to 
demand, that, .siiice these troops were bound, by their recent ca])itula- 
tions at Tour-nay and Dendei-monde, to abstain from "any military 
firnction of what natur-e soever," until January 1st, 1747, they should 
serve no longer with the English. To that application with refereirce to 
the "per-jui-ed Dutch" — as I elsewhere find tlieni designated, for corning 
over to figlit for Geor-ge II., under* sack cir-cirrnstarroes, — tiie Duke sent tliis' 
reply, iu writing, by his Aide-de-Camp, Lord Bury. " To let the French 



420 HISTORY OF THE IRI^H BUIOa^d^IS 

oflficer know, if tliere is one in tlio town, tliat tlicre are no Dutoli troops 
l".n-(\ Imt enough of tliM King's, to chastisL> tlie rebels, an<l tliose who dare 
to give them any assistance." On whieh swaggering reply, in coiinexioii 
with its affected ignoi-ing of Dutch aid, the Carlisle histoiian, Mr. 
IMonnse}', ohserves — "This message contains a denial very unworthy of 
the Duke — ■j)/;^., that there ivere Dutch troops" — it " bding a notorious 
fact, that, although tliere might be none at his quarters, nor yet in tiie 
army which he had brought with him, yet 1000 Dutch had arrived fi'oin 
Wade's army, and were actually shelling the town, from their works at 
Stanwix Bank, which the Duke had visited and inspected, 4 days before!" 
Shortly after the Duke had taken possession of Carlisle, "an express 
airiv'd, that was dis])atch'd to him from Court, intimating, that the 
French were making vast preparations, and that a prodigious number of 
trans|)orts were lying in tlunr harbours, ready to take on board the 
troo])S destin'd for the invasion; and therefore it was judg'd necessary to 
send for his Higliness, in oi-der to head the forces that were to oppose 
the French, in case they should think fit to proceed in their intended 
enterprise." The Duke, by the 15th, was consequently on the road for 
London, after appointing, as at once "his favourite General and E.Kecu- 
tioner" for Scotland, that most brutal, self-sufficient, and cruel specimen 
of an English military ruffian, Lieutenant-General Henry Hawley. Of 
this fellow, according to my authorities, "one of the first measures, on 
arriving at Edinburgh to take the chief command, was, to order 2 gibbets 
to be erected, ready for the rebels, who, he hoped, might fall into his 
lifinds; and, with a similar view, he bid several executioners attend his 
army on its march," against those whom he spoke of as " Highland rabble." 
In tine, we are likewise informed, that the common sarcastic saying, among 
liis own soldiers, was — "He confers more frequently with his hanj/iien 
than with any other of his Aides-de-Carnp!^' 

The leading ports whence the hostile embarkations for England were 
designed to take place were Boulogne and Calais, about which the forces 
for the invasion, including the Irish and Scotch regiments in Louis's 
service, were encamy)ed; Prince Charles's brother, Prince Henry, Duke 
of York, with sevei-al noblemen and cavaliers exiled for their loyalty to 
the old J'oyal family, being prepared to accompany the troops. Tlie Irish 
Brigade, luider the Lieutenant-General Lord Clare, and Earl of Thomond, 
were jmrticularly animated by the prospect of getting over to Kent, and 
of the English being so rich, tliat every man of the corps might make 
his fortune by ])lunder. The run across the Channel was to be attempted 
by moonlight, but was fru.strated. jiartly by the unfavourable state of 
the wind, and partly by Admiral Vernon's lying ofi' Dungeness, with 
such a number of men-of-war as to ])revent a landing. The notice of 
such an attempt from France, accompanied by the intvlligence which 
the English Admiral i-eceived and communicated as to the march of the 
Irish towards Calais, occasioned, in the beginning of January, measmes 
of precaution in Kent on the ])art of the l)t'|)uty-Lientenants of the 
("iMiuty; all who would defend theii' country licing sinninoncd to appi'ar, 
on the 2u(l. as well mounted and aruitMi as pussiMe v.ith 2 days' provi- 
sion, at Swmlield-Minnis, about 3 miles from Dover. The vigilant 
appieliension and superior naval sti-ength wirh whirh the coast of 
England continued to be guarded bv Vernon's successor, Admiral 
Martin, and tii«! retreat of Prince Ciiarles into Scotland, rendering it 
ueccsbary that landings should be uLlempLed for tlie future Iha/X, Dun- 



I^f THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. " 421 

kirk nnri Ostend. instead of Boiilo2jne ami Calais, heeame the sites for 
artMUi^eiiH'iits to succour the Prince, con-esponding with the chaii^je of 
his ])ositioii. Annoyed, however, at the nn])ro2;ressive nature of his 
corninand, and likewise in ill health, the Duke de Rich(>1ieu demanded 
liis r'call, leavinr; subsequent measures for the aid of Priace Charles to 
lie carried out principally by the devotion of the Irish, but more es|)ecially 
T)V the s])irit of the gallant and indefatigable Lally, who is alluded to as 
distinguislied by a zeal and a lioldness suited to the achievement of the 
greatest enterprises. With a view to landing in Scotland, upon tlie 
earliest o]jportunity that miglit arise, the remainder, or by far the larger 
])ortion of the Irish Horse Regiment of Fitz-James and sevej-al great 
officers of the Brigade, of the houses of Fitz-James, Tyrc(Minel], Roth, 
Nugent, itc, were, witli Lally's own Regiment of Infantry, to be k(!i)t in 
special readiness to sail. Meanwliile, to try whether something favoui- 
able to the Prince might not be elfec'ed in England itself, Lally, in 
sjtite of the numerous and watchful vessels of the enemy, managed to 
cross from Bouhigne to Sussex in disguise; though not without the 
circumstance becoming known to the Anglo- Hanoverian officials, it being 
thus announced in a letter from on board the Weasel sloop, in the Downs 
— "Col. Lalley went over to England in a smuggling boat, dress'd in a 
sailor's habit, where I hope he will meet with his deserts." His plans for 
creating a diversion there were based on the connexion kept up fioni 
France witli the smugglers, who, notwithstanding the war, anS tlwir 
calling being made so great an offence by Parliament, wei-e both 
numerous and daring; 1 body of them, for example, about Hastings, 
estimated at above 301), domineering at the expense of the farmers in 
those parts. Among these bold "free-traders " contrary to law, Lally 
exerted himself to form a corps, entitled " Prince Charles's Volunteers," 
till a I'egular force was despatched against them, which caused them to 
dis[)erse at the time; several of them, nevertheless, openly appearing, aa 
late as the f dlowing March, under the Jacobite designation which they 
had ]>revi()usly assumed. " You," complains a letter from Hastings in 
that month, " will be surprised at the violences of some of the prin- 
cipal smugglers who appear sometimes in these parts, but live near 
London. They have the assurance to wear a uniform — viz., the coal 
and breeches red. lined with the same colour, buttons and holes of gold ; 
the waist-coat blue, buttons and holes of silver; and insolently call 
tliemselves P'ince Charle.i'f Volunteers." From the scene of this orga- 
nization, Lally pi-oceeded to London. There a price was placed upon his 
liead, and the government-agents having discovered his place of abode, 
v/ere actually apf)roaching to arrest him, when he had the good luck to 
escape them, disguised as a sailor. Meeting, in his flight, some smugglers, 
to whom he was yiersonally unknown, and who were in want of a sailor, 
they enrolled him among their crew by force. He had not gone far with 
this gang, when 1 of them suggested, what a good thing it would be, to 
keep on the look-out for that Brigadier-General Lally, for whom, if Oiiught, 
they would be so well rewarded! From this, Lally, with due presence 
of mind, dissented; alleging ht)W much more they wevv likely to realize 
on the coasts of Fiance ; with which, he added, how ])erfectly he was 
acquainted. They emliarked accordingly with him as their guide, and he 
so directed the vessel that it might fall as soon as possible into the hands 
of the French, and be conveyed to Boulogne ; where the Marquis d' Avai-y, 
and the Marquis de Crillou, commanding in the province, and thea 



422 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

ill the town, joyfully released their adventurons friend find comrade-iu- 
anns from the strange enrolment to which he had been subjected. So 
much for Lally's advefttin-es in England;* which ciniitry, although so 
extensively alarmed at the end of December and commencHinent of 
Jri-nuary by the preparations that menaced her coasts from France, had 
less and less cause, as January advanced, to be apprehensive of a French 
landing. For, as Hoiyce Walpole observed, " we have a vast fleet at sea; 
and the main body of the Duke's army is coming down to the coast to 
])revent their landing, if they should slip our sliips. Indeed. I can't 
bnlicive they will attempt coming, as they must hear of the destruction 
of the rebels in England; but they will, probably, dribble away to 
Scotland, where the war may last considerably." And the result 
justified Walpole's anticipation, as he was able to add, with reference to 
England, ere the conclusion of January, " the French invasion is laid 
aside"- — Fitz-James's horse at Ostend, and Lally's infkntry at Dunkirk, 
being only embarked, with reference, as already noted, to a landing iu 
Scotland. 

Meantime, or after recrossing the border into Scotland on the last 
dav of 1745, Prince Charles proceeded, in the direction of Dumfries, 
towards Glasgow. January 3rd he ])assed the night at Drumlanrig, the 
seat of that James Douglas, 2iid Duke of Queens\)ury, of execrated 
memory among the Jacobite or old national party in Scotland; since, 
thouglf his family owed its Dukedom and a large fortune to the Stuarts, 
yet he was the first to go over to the Prince of Orange at the Revolu- 
tion ; was thenceforward among the most inveterate enemies of the 
exiled royal I'ace; and finally rendered himself even still more obnoxious, 
by taking the leading part he did, in carrying the Union. The portraits 
of William, Mary, and Anne, presented to him for his " Union " 
services, were placed on the grand staircase at Drumlanrig; the sight of 
which, as no better, in Jacobite eyes, than the likenesses of so many 
Usurpers, or infringers upcm the direct line of succession, and the cau^e 
f"r the i)resentation of such gifts to him, vvere both so offensive to the 
Highlanders, that, ere they dejiarted, they displayed the irritation r.f 
tlieir dynastic and national feeling, by slashing those paintings with their 
Hsvords — " an outrage," yet " «o<," as remarked, " one of a very serious 
nature, when the popular indignation against the Duke is taken into 
consideration."t The Prince entered Glasgow, with his reai'-guard, on 
the Gth, and he remained there about 8 days, having, in the cour.se of 
his westward march, and jjarticularly during his stay in that city, 
refitted his harassed troops for new exertions, by proportionable requisi- 
tions from those Whig districts, which had evinced an inveterate spirit 
of Hanoverian hostility to his cause ; a spirit connected, in some 
localities, with insulting provocations or acts of violence, and, even at 
Glasgow, with the aggravating circumstances, of a regiment (then 

* Lally, amongst other adventures apocryphally or traditionally attributed to 
him, is said to have been at the head of the Irish piquets in the liattle of Falkirk, 
an assertion, simply refuted by the circumstance, of Brigadier Stapleton having 
commanded those pitiuets there and elsewhere in Scotland, or from first to last, iu 
that country. Klose has fallen into thin error with respect to Lally, whom 1 have 
tracked, in England, through the magazine and newsijaper press. 

-|- Lockhart of (Jarnwath, after referring to this Duke, as altogether void <^f 
honour, hiyalty, justice, religion, terms him, "an xin grateful desertei' and rebel to 
hi<« Prince, the ruin and bane of his country, and the aversion of ail loyal and 
trtio Scotsmen." 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 423 

absent) having been raised against him, and of an attempt being made 
there, as previously at Wigan, in England, to assassinate him. Yet 
here, as elsewhere, the magiianiniitv of Cliarles appears to have left the 
guilty altogether uni)anislied ! * This last effort of a murderou.s fanatic 
to ])istol him was, no doubt, more or less owing to the fact at Glasgow, 
that "the Presbyterian clergy, one and all. declaimed against him, from 
their pulpits, with indomitable zeal," alleges his German biogra])her, 
'' one of them going so far as to declare, that all the marks of the Beast, 
mentioned in the Revelations, might be traced in the mild and amiable 
features of the Prince ! "t The Presbyterian clergy of Scotland were 
generally hostile to Charles in 1745-6; so much so, that some of them 
did not confine their Hanoverianism merely to the " moral force " of 
preaching, but resorted to " physical force," in the capacity of armed 
Georgeite Volunteers. In thus opposing the Prince, they had, as yjre- 
viously at the Union, a due professional eye to self-interest, under the 
designation of, says a Scotch writer, ''Christ's cause, the epithet they gave 
their own! " 

Oti the 14th, Charles quitted Glasgow, in order to reduce Stirling, which, 
as fortified and garrisoned by his opponents, to command the chief pass 
i'rom the Highlands to the Lowlands, prevented a suitable communicatiou 
between the 2 main or southern and northern divisions of the Jacobito 
foices, and, if taken, would thus be a very useful as well as creditable 
conquest. The Governor of Stirling Castle, with a garrison of 600 men, 
was an Irish Protestant officer, Major-General William Blakeney. He 
was a County-Limerick gentleman; the place of his birth and fimily- 
.seat being Mount Blakeney, about a mile from the Borough of Kilmal- 
lock, which he, for many years, represented in Parliament. A veterau 
survivor of William's and Marlborough's wars in Flanders, he was now 
above 75; but in that period of "a green old age," united with such a 
knowledge of the military profession, especially as a gariison-commander, 
that, even 10 years later, or when above 85, his conduct in the defence 
of Foit St. Philip, at Minorca, against the French, gained him the highest 

* With Prince Ctiarles's conduct on these occasions, contrast that witli respect to 
the Duke of Cumberland, mentioned in this extract of a letter from Kilmarnock, 
in February, 1746 — " One John Eiddle, horse-hirer at Edinburoh, was taken at 
Stirling. He had ofFei-ed 3 guineas to see the Duke of Cumberland, in order to 
shoot him, and he was hanged Immediatehi I " Or, although he is not stated to have 
actually fired at the Diike. 

+ There was no act of Charles, during his expedition in Great Britain, indicative 
of any religious illiberality, or intolerance, on liis part. Nor has liis private cor- 
res[)oudeuce been found to evince any feelings of the kind, but the contrary. 
Thus, in writing to his father, from Perth, in September, 1745, and alluding to the 
efforts that would be made to frighten several against a "restoration," on the 
plea that the old church and abbey lands in their possessiou would then be 
resumed, he repiuliates such policy, observing — "You have lived too long in a 
( atholic country, and read the history of England too carefully, not to have 
observed the many melancholy monuments to be seen there of the folly of those 
jiious Princes, who, thinking to honour religion, have lessened it, by keeping 
superstitious rit«s in the Church, whereby they have insensibly raised up a power, 
which has, too ofteu, proved an overmatch for their successors." And he adds — • 
" I cannot close this letter without doing justice to j'our Majesty's Protestant 
subjects, who, I find, are as zeahuis in your cause as the Roman Catholics," &c. 
But, in reference to the vile outcry of viilfja.r sectarianism against Charles, I may 
remark, tiuit a bigot ciiiiuot conceive an existence without bigotry ; the pole-cat 
of reliuious prejudice cannot imagine how others can be without a raukness and a 
raiicuur equal to his owu. 



424 HISTORY OF TII"^ IRISH BRIOADES 

renown at home and abvoarl, and elevated liim to the Peera<j;\ A 
remai-kaV)le circnmstatice, at such a vei'y advanced time of life ! — and liis 
Lehavionr at Stirling was worthy of that elsewhere. Between the 15th 
and 21st, Charles, having intimidated the burgher garrison of the town 
of Stirling, (then containing fron) 4U(Ml to oOUO iidiabitants,) to give up 
the place without tighting, and being joined by the native northern levies 
under Lords Sti-athallan and Lewis Gordon, as well as by Brigadier 
Walter Stapleton's and Lord John Drunimond's [tiqnets of Irisli and 
Scotch regulars in the French service, with battering-guns, &c., from the 
Continent, the entire Stuart foi'ce consisted of about 921)0 men, and 
operations to reduce Stirling Castle were undertaken, after summoning 
the veteran Irish Governor to surrender. His reply was, " he would 
defend his post to the last, determined to die, as he had lived, a man of 
honour;" and his defence was such as to prevent any effective progress 
by the Jacobites towards a reduction of the Castle, ere what was 
considered a sufficient Anglo-Whig army to raise the siege, having 
been collected about Edinburgh, was on its march for that purpose, 
under Lieutenant-Genei-al Hawley. Upon this, Charles, leaving the 
Duke of Perth and Gordon of Glenbucket, with about 1200 men, 
to watch the Castle, advanced to meet and engage the English Com- 
mander. 

The Prince's fighting force — of whom the Highland clansmen, and the 
Irish and Scotch from France, were, as contrasted with the Lowlanders, 
the choicer portion — amounted to aV)out 8000 men. Hawley's ai-my — 
whose infantry included 12 old regiments of the line, most of which had 
served abroad, and 2 of newly-levied local or Argyleshire and Glasgow 
Militia, with sevei'al English and other Volunteers, and whose cavalry 
consisted of 3 regiments of dragoons, were above 8000, if not about 
9000, in number.* The 27th, Charles advanced to Bannockburn, to give 
the English, if they wished, a meeting there, as on "a field," he observed, 
"of happy augury to his arms!" But, finding they did not stir, from 
their camp near Falkirk, to fight him, he proceeded, the 28th, to bring 
them to action. His march was so directed, that he had, at the back of 
his troops, a violent storm of wind and rain, which, by blowing and 
splashing in the faces of his opponents, would proportionably confuse 
their sight, and render their musketry mostly useless, from the effects of 
the wet on their powder; and the locality of the combat was also such, 
that, although the movement he made, to bring it on, obliged him to leave 
his artillery behind him, the enemy had to do the same with theirs. 
Hawley, " who had boasted, that with 2 regiments of dragoons, he would 
drive the rebel army from one end of the kingdom to the other!" began 
the battle on his left, by ordering that Colonel Francis Ligoniei', com- 
manding there with 3 regiments of dragoons, or his own, (late Gardiner's,) 
Hamilton's, and Cobham's, should charge the Highlanders of the Prince's 
right, under Lord George Murray. "As we came within pistol-shot," 
relates 1 of the Mac Donald officers there, " the dragoons made up to 
us at full trot, thinking to bear us down by their weight, and break us 
at once; and, indeed, being well mounted and accoutei'd, they made a 
glorious show, suiffcient to have struck other hearts than oui'S with a 
]>annick." But this "glorious show" too soon became a very ingloriosu 

* Hawley, according to 1 of the coutemporary Georgeite accounts of the action at 
Falkirk in tlie Marchmont Papers, had 12 regiments of foot;, o of dragoons, 120i) 
Campbells, lU'JU other Voluuteers — "in all about UOOU." 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 425 

one. For, with the crpdifa1)le exc(^ptinTi of a single ti-oop. under Licii- 
tenant-Colonel Shuckhiu-gh Whitney, who was speedily shot dead, and his 
followers put hors de combat^ Ligoniei"'s and JTaniilton's heroes, after their 
manner of signalizing themselves at Preston-Pans, wheeled ahout, and 
galloped off, amidst cries of " We shall all be massacred this day!" as 
they i)artly ran over, and ]mrtly suffered from the avenging musketry of, 
their maltreated and indignant reserve of foot,* that weie thrown into 
irretrievable disorder. Cobham's dragoons, who behaved better, likewise 
fled ; to betake themselves, however, to another part of the tield, where 
they miglit be more useful, acting with soldiers than with such poltroons ; 
some of whom did not pull bridle until they got near Linlithgow, about 
S miles from the engagement; while others prolonged their flight by a 
ride of about 24 miles in o hours; or until towards 1), that wet and stormy 
night, they i-eached Edinburgh, with alarming statements of what they 
]iad seen, and sundry additions with respect to what they had not seeti, 
as usual on such miserable occasions. The infantry of the centre, under 
Hawh y himself, consequently uncovered on its left flank, and unable in 
front, from the wind and rain, to make such a fire as could avert the 
dreaded close of the Highland broadsword, was next, for the most part, 
ra[)idly broken, and driven away in confusion. But Majoi--General John 
Huske, wdio commanded Hawley's right, having his own infantry pro- 
tected Ijy a ravine, and being supported by .some of Plawley's infantry and 
Cobham's di-agoons, checked by a flanking tire the Highland pursuit of 
the mass of the beaten centre, and was, moreover, so successful in front, 
with his musketry across the ravine, against the Camerons and Stuarts 
on the Jacobite left, which he outwinged, that those clans had to give 
ground; while, of the Lowlanders with them, (the majority there being 
Lowlanders,) numl)ei's ran off", as believing the battle lost on their side. + 
At that critical juncture, Charles, from the rear of his centre, where, for 
tlie best view of the field, he was posted with his own mounted Guards, 
and the contingent from Fitz-James's Regiment of Irish Horse, and where 
he had the foot, as well as horse, of the regulars from France sutKciently 
Jit hand for action, hastened forward to the left, in order to regain the 
fortune of the day. These regulars, under Brigadier Walter Stajdeton, 
consisted of the piquets from the Irish Brigade, or between horse and 
foot, about 350 men, that united with about 150 men, of Lord John 
Druramond's Royal Scots in the .same service, would form, in all, about 
500 men; whose gallant and orderly advance here, descrilx^d by Haddock, 
an Irish soldier present, as that of tho.se " who only kept in a body," con- 
tributed so much to rectify what was previousl}' amiss, by reinforcing the 
Camerons and Stuarts in front, and, with otlier battalions from the -Ind 

* Hamilton's regiment was more particularly noticed, to its disgrace, by the publica- 
tions of the day. A letter on the battle says — " Hamiitou's dragoons, to retrieve 
the honour they lost at Preston- l^ans, went on Hke furies. But their courage soon 
CO' "led, and they, as usual, turned t<dl ; wherefore their horses suffered most in their 
huUorks from the balls. By their confused retreat, the Eoyal Scotch Regiment of 
Foot suti'ered not a little," and, in conse(|uence, "having received oi'ders, tired after 
them ! " Another account informs us, how, when Hamilton's cravens br>re back 
upon the Glasgow Regiment of Militia, it maile such an effectual discharge upou the 
niounted cowards, as "brought several from their horses!" A newspa])er para- 
grai>h from London in February also states — "We hear the Court Martial at 
Edinburgh has already sentenced 2 C'ajitains, 1 Lieutenant, and 6 private men of 
Hamilton s rrff.ment to he shot, tor cowardice, in the late action.^' 

" l-*art of (he Iviug's army, much tiie greafcei' pirt," re au'lcs Home, " was flying 
to the eastward; and part of the rebel army was tiyiug to the westward." 



426 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

line, extending:; the front, till then outlined by the enemy, that this move- 
ment, adds my English writer, Mr. Jesse, "turned the scale iu favour of 
the Highlanders." A Scotch authority, the Chevalier de Johnstone, 
referring, in terms of especial admiration, to the conduct of " the Irish 
piquets" on this occasion, mentions them, as "these piquets, who belinved 
loitJi the most distinguished bravery and intrepidity at the battle of Falkirk, 
preserving always the best order, when the loJiole of the rest of our army was 
dispersed, and keeping tJie enemy in check by the bold countenance which they 
displayed ! " * The change, in short, ejected by the coming up of Chai'les 
with this reserve was such, that Hu.ske, too, quitted the tield ; yet, with 
his men, on the whole, in good order. The beaten Georgeites, fearful of 
being cut off from Edinburgh, abandoned their camp at Falkirk, retii-ing 
that night to Linlithgow; and they continued their dreary and mortifying 
retreat until about 4 o'clock next day, when they re-entered the Scottisli» 
metropolis, in a plight very different from the state in which they had so 
recently quitted it ! There, "at no time from the beginning to the end of 
the rebellion," says the Scotch Whig, Home, " were the real friends of 
the constitution of their country more dejected, or more apprehensive, • 
than they were, when they saw the troops return from Falkirk, who had 
marched against the rebels, a few days before, as they thought, to certain 
victory/" Which reflection, he remarks, was the sadder, as the men 
defeated there were, not " raw soldiers," but " the veteran troops of 
Britain, who had fought the battles of Dettingen and Fontenoy!" The 
Er^gli-sh Whig, H(jrace Walpole, having alleged of Hawley's force of 17 
regiments at Falkirk, " we had scarce 3 regiments that behaved well^'' 
exclaims, "with many other glories, the English courage seems gone 
too!''' — and he then observes, "the ill l^ehaviour of the soldiers lays a 
double obligation on the officers, to set them examples of running on 
danger." 

Bv this affair at Falkirk, of not above 20 minutes' duration, the 
Georgeites lost 10 pieces of artillei-y, or 7 cannon and 3 mortars, t 2 pair 
of colours, 3 standards, 1 pair of kettle-drums, 25 waggons of all sorts of 

* Haililock, the Irish soldier referred to as nf tlie battle of Falkirk, was born in 
Dublin, where his lather was I of the Ulerks in the Court of (Jhancery. Made 
j!ri;^oiier at I^'ontenoy by the French, he joined the Iveu:imeiit of Lally, with the 
detach mout from which to Scotland, in the autumn of '45, he arrived there. After 
the affair of Falkirk, getting back to Ireland, rid Belfast, and being taken u]), he 
gave useful information to (jovernmenc. It is more creditalile to Mr. Jesse to have 
n,i/iii!ltei/ tile honourable share of the piquets from France in gaining the battle, than 
for Sir Walter Scott, Lord Mahon, and Mr. Chambers not to have duly noticed a 
fact so evident from Smollet, Voltaire, Home, Johnstone, — to say nothing, of 
Haddock's statement, and tjie allusion, not to be in'mtaktn, in the passage hereafter 
cited, from Lord (ieoi-ge Murray. 

t Captain Cunningham of Hawley's artillery "was tried for deserting the train 
in tlie action at Falkirk,'' says nw English authority, and "he was sentenc'd to 
have hi.s sword broke over his head by tlie Provost, his sash thrown on the ground, 
and hinuself turn'd out of the army ; which was executed accordingly, at the head of 
the artillery." After remarking, how, the day following the action, the storm and 
r.iin continued, so as to keej) all under co\er, the Chevalier de Johnstone writes, in 
connexion with the captui-ed Ceurgeite artillery, - " Having repaired to the Prince's 
quarters, about 7 o'clock in the evening, 1 found no one in his anti-chamber; but, 
when I was aliout to withdraw, Mr. Sullivan issued from the Prince's closet, and 
informed me, that, from the badness of the weather, the cannon, taken fi-om the 
enemy, had to be left on the field of battle, without any guard ; and he recpiested 
me. to go instantly, with a guard of a Serjeant and 20 men, and pass the night 
beside them. He added, that 1 should liud the guard be.ow, ready to march. I 
so.- out with this detachment." 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE 427 

military stores, 600 nniskets, 4000 pounds' weiglit of gunpowder, all the 
baggage, and the tents they could not burn, the latter enumerated as 
sufficient for 4700 men ; and, instead of but 280 of every rank, for killed, 
"wounded, and missing, as officially alleged, are more credibly referred to 
by other authority, on their own side, as having hai 10 officers, including 
1 Colonel and 3 Lieutenant-Colonels killed, and from 300 to 400 privates ; 
besides 500 made prisoners. The Prince's loss was acknowledged as but 
193 killed or wounded : no more than 7 of his officers, or 3 Captains and 
4 Subalterns, having been slain ; and 1 officer, a Major, having, by ill 
luck, or a mistake, become a priscmer. Anting the Irish piquets, fell 
Alexander Comeiford, Captain in the Regiment of Bulkeley, a gentleman 
of a name eminent in the service of Spain, as well as of creditable record 
in that of France, -from the campaigns of Flanders, during the War of 
the Spanish Succession, to those for the Independence of the United 
States of America. Of this battle, according to the contemporary history 
of Charles, entitled, " Young Juba," it was com])]ained, in /lis army, that 
"the clans, and the French picquets. were the only people that stood the 
brunt in the late action when the Angus battalions, and those who join'd 
them at Edinburgh, tock to ihe'ir hpels, alniust as soon as tliP.Jiyht bs'jan!"* 
As to the officers of the Irisii Brigade in the reserve, whose o|)|)<)rtune 
appeamnce on the left, under the Prince, decided the victor}', the Jacobite 
official accduiit of the engagement, written by Sir Thomas Sheridun, for 
"valour and ])rudence," notices " pai-ticularly Mi-. Stapleton, Brig.ulier in 
ills Most Christian Majesty's Army, and Commander of the Irish Pickets; 
Mr. Sullivan, Quarter-Master-General of the Army, who rallied part of 
the left wing; and Mr. Brown, Colonel of the Guards, and 1 of the 
Aid-de-Camps, formerly Major of Lally's regiment." This gentleman 
was appointed to ccmvey the intelligence of the combat to Versailles, and 
was made a Chevalier of the Order of St. Louis by the King of France. 
The Mac Donald journal, too, in the Lockhart Papers, after mentioning 
of the Highlanders, "both our officers and men behaved with the greatest 
bravery, and our oi-der in marching and attacking wei*e allowed to be 
far beyond expectation, in the judgement of officers who had been in the 
wars abroad," has this fui'ther admission to the credit of the Irish from 
France — "It must be acknowledged indeed, that the Irish ojficers were of 
yreat use to us, in going through the different posts, and assisting in the 
severaU dispositions that were •mader 

Voltaire, in his sketch of this encounter, having duly specified, how, 
when the Scotch were broken, the "6 piquets of Ftench troops covered 
them, sustained the combat, and gave them time to rally," adds, how the 
Prince "always affirmed, that, if he had only 3000 men, regular troops, 
he would have made himself entirely master of England." And this 
assertion of Voltaii'e, with respect to the Prince, is quite correct. In the 
Memoire presented to Louis XV. by Charles, a month after his return 
from Scotland to France, or in November, 1746, he says — "With 3000 
men, regular troo{)S, I would have penetrated into England immediately 
after having defeated Mr. Cope, and- there was nothing then to oppose my 
reaching London, since the Elector was absent, and the English troops 
Lad not yet come back "^ — from Flanders. Charles, indeed, is here so far 

* Bj' oU accoTUits of this war, the Ediiibiiro;hers an<i Lowlanders were contemptible 
as soldiers, comi)ared with the Hiuhlanderis; and. as ret^ards the Anvils men, at 
SliPiiff-Mi.ir in 1715, as well as here at Falkirk iu 174(5, we find tlieir courage 
jjopuiarly unjiugned- 



428 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

mistaken, that tlie Elector, as lie calls George II., luul retunieil fiom 
Hanover to Loudon, about 3 ■A'eeks previous to Co))e's defeat. Biit. if 
we consider that, with such a body of regulars, (which the Irish BiigaiK? 
Cfuild furnish,) and with a correspouiling sum of uiouey, Charles would 
certainly have been joined by sevei-al thousands, who held back, from h:-; 
not having brought am/ troops with him fn»m the Continent — and if, 
v/ith those regulars, and the additional strength and contidence that would 
hi connected with their i>resence, he might have ".struck the iron while 
hot," by advancing immediately after his victory into England, instead of 
having to stop, above 5 weeks, to oi-ganize an army for that march — ilons 
his assertion, as to what he could have effected, through the sujtport of 
such a small regular force, appear improbable? The zealous English 
Georgeite, Ray, after exclaiming, of the delay of the Jacobites in Scotland 
subsequent to their success at Preston-Pans, " hajjpy was it for us, that 
they stayed so long with their friends at Etlinburgh !" e.xpresses himself 
to the same effect as Chai'les — " For, had the rebels, flush'd with victory, 
foUow'd their blow, whilst the hearts of his Majesty's subjects were 
dismay'd by General Cope's defeat, and very few di.sciplin'd troops iu 
England, it is hard to say what would have been the consequence; by 
which it appear-s, that an overruling Providence retarded them ! " The 
Marquis of Tweeddale, Secretary of State for Scotland at London, in 
corresponding thence, notices, even S()me weeks pi'evious to Chailes's 
jeduction of Edinburgh, the alarm in England, as " the panic, that seems 
to have seized this nation to such a degree, that it is almost impudence to 
pray for success, in such a state of trepidation I " Mr. Henry Fox, like- 
wise, a member of the Georgeite administration, who.se opinion, as a 
civilian, was countenanced, it will be observed, by that of oUi Marshal 
Wade as a military man, writes thus confidentially before Charles's victoiy 
at Preston-Pans — " England, Wade says, and I lielieve, is for the first 
Comer; and, if you can tell, whether the GOUO Dutch, and the 10 batta- 
lions of English, or 5000 French, or Spaniards, will be here first, you 
know our fate. . . . The Fi-ench are not come, God be thank(»d ! 
But, had 5000 landed in any part of this island a week ago, I verily 
believe the entire conquest would not have cost them a battle ! " So 
much for the civil and military opinions of those Anglo-Hannveiian 
authorities. And, would not the difference between 5000 and 300 ; men 
be far more than compensated by the very consideralde addition of home 
aid which Charles would unqueslumably have obtained, had ln^ brought 
over 3000 regulai-s with him, especially if belonging to tlie Irish an<l 
Scotch corps in France, instead of his 'not having been accom|ianied, on 
his landing, by rmy force of the kind? Lord Mahon alleges on this point 
— "Had Charles really been able to push onwards, with a body of 2 or 
3000 men, there is strong reason to believe, from the state of things I 
have described in England— the previous apathy — and the recent terror 
—the want of trooj)S— and the distraction of councils— that he nii<,dit 
have reached the capital with but little opposition, and succeeded in, 
at least, a temporary restoiation." At all events, the Highlanders, as 
irregu/ars, having been unable, in this affair at Falkirk, to turn their 1st 
success to such account, as, if better di.sciplined, or regulars, they might 
liave done, the result of the action was such, as to convince the more 
reflective portion of the Highland ofiicei-s, remarks Lord George Munay, 
"that a body of regular troops was absolutely necessary to .support tlii-m, 
when they should at any tiuie go in, sword in hand, for they wure 



IN TIIE SF.nVICE OF FRANCE. 429 

seTisiT)lf>, tliat, \vithont more leisure and time than they conld expect to 
liavp to discijjline their own men, it wotild not be possible to make them 
Ici^e)) tlieir ranks, or rally soon enough, upon any sudden emergency; so 
tliat any small body of the enemy, either keeping in a body when they," 
the Highlanders, "were in confusion, or rallying soon, would deprive them 
of a victory, even after they had done their best." The allusion here to 
the necessity there was lor a larger number of regulars from France, on 
account o^ the yi-fiat henpfil dfrived from the small number at the battle, is 
()V)vious, especially when combined with the conviction expressed by Sir 
Thomas Sheidnn, in his French correspondence from the "Chateau de 
Blair d'Athol," February 8th, ^746 — ''Si voits avians eu 2000 hommes Je 
troupes reylees a la derniere bataille, Vennemi ytauroit jamais pu se retirer 
ovec rappurence d'une armee." A foreign historian of the Prince, having 
noted, how, in the line of battle, the "troops, recently arrived from 
France, formed the reserve," states — "-Tlteij would willingly have occupied 
a more prominent ])osition; but Charles could not venture to deprive the 
more important of the Clans of the honour of marching in the van." 
And how well it was, that, even the small number of regular troo])s from 
France were forthcoming from the rear, when disaster, menacing defeat, 
had taken place in the van! 

Accoi-ding to a letter, in the Culh)den Pajiers, from a General Officer, 
that saw; Hawley and Cope after their respective defeats, "Hawley looked 
inost wretchedly, even worse than Cope did;" and, while the countenance 
of the English savage thus so strongly attested his deep mortification at 
the unexpected overthrow he had received, he sought to compensate him- 
self at Edinbui'gh, in the absence of captured Higlilanders for the gibbet, 
by indulging his "passion for executions." at the expense of his own 
unfortunate men. Some of them, on his gallows there, known as Hawlfi/s 
shambles, were consigned to the halter; and others subjected to the lash, 
to skelp them out of such cowardice as that of the past into mure courage 
for the future — this last i)laTi of slashing due soldiership, against the 
Highlanders, into his miserable runaways, reminding one of the shameful 
discipline inflicted ui)on the Asiatic .slaves of Xerxes at Thermopyhe, to 
virdce them fight the Greeks there. "Behind each troop," says Herodotus, 
of the army of Xerxes, "officers were stationed, with whips in their hands ; 
com])elling, with blows, their men to advance." Meantime, Charles, after 
a]>propriately issuing, from Bannockburn, the site of the most glorious 
Scotch victory over the English, his gazette of the last defeat of the saiite 
enemy, and their adherents, at Falkirk, returned to Stirling, to resume 
the siege of the Castle. Thei'e, though the food and fuel of the garrison 
had so decreased when its relief was prevented by Hawley's defeat, old 
Major-General Blakeney was not discouraged, but replied as before to the 
summons he received to sui-render; and continued his defence, in the 
manner best calculated to gain time for his Government to re-organize 
their strength, for another efTort to save the place. Yet, however well 
defended by one Irishman, it would, mo.st probably, have been taken by 
another, Mr. Grant of the Eegiment of Lally, had his counsel been followed. 
"Mr. Grant," writes tiie Chevalier de Johnstone, "had already com- 
municated to the Prince a j)lan of attack of the Castle, which was, to 
ojien the trenches, and establish batteries in the buryiug-ground, on that 
side of the town which is opposite to the Castle-gate. He assured the 
Prince, that this was the only ])lace where they could fiiul a parallel, 
almost on a level with the batteries of the enemy; and that, if a breach. 



430 HISTORY OF TllK IRISH BIUGADES 

were effected, in the lialf-ninon wLioh defoiK.ls the entry of the Castle, 
from a battery in the bnrying-gronrid, the ndiltish of the work would till 
tiie ditch, and render an assault pi'acticable through tlie breacli, and the 
works would be ruined near the gate. He added, that it was eiitii-ely 
useless to think of making an attack in any other y)lace, fioui the imijossi- 
bility of succeeding ; that the hills, in the neighbourhood ot the Castle, 
being 40 or 50 feet lower than tlie Castle itself, our battei-ies could 
])roduce little or no eifect, whilst their batteries would coniinand onrs. 
Besides, supposing it even possible to effect a breach on that side, we 
could never mount to the assault; the rock, on which the Castle is built, 
being everywhei'e very high, and almost perpendicular, except towards 
that part of the town opposite to the buryiug-ground." Such was the 
evidently just advice of the Irish officer. But the inhabitants of Stirling 
remonstrating to Charles against its execution, on the i)lea that the« 
erection of besieging batteries in the burying-ground would cause the 
town to be laid in ashes by the fire from the Castle, the Prince api)lied 
elsewhere, or to M. Mirabelle de Gordon, a French Engineer and Chevalier 
of St. Louis, to learn, if the Castle might not be reduced ti-om some other 
j)oint of attack, than that laid (iown by Mr. Grant? "It was supposed," 
continues my authority, " that a French Engineer of a certain age, and 
decorated with an Order, must necessarily he a person of experience, 
talents, and capacity; but it was unfortunately discovered, when too late, 
that his knowledge, as an Etigineer, was extremely limited; and that he 
was totally destitute of judgment, discernment, and common sense. His 
figure being as whirasic;il as his mind, the Highlanders, instead of M. 
Mirabelle, called him always Mr. Admirable. . . . As it is always 
the distinctive mark of ignorance to find nothing difficult, not even the 
things that are impossible, M. Mirabelle, without hesitation, immediately 
undertook to open the trenches on a hill, to the north of the Castle, 
whei-e there were not 15 inches depth of earth above the solid rock; and 
it became necessary to supply the want of earth with bags of wool, and 
sacks filled with earth, brought from a distance. Thus, the trenches were 
so bad, that we lost a great many men, scmietiraes '25 in 1 day." By 
other accounts, it appears, that the Highlanders, as irregulars, being 
equally ignorant of, and averse to, the siege-service here required, the 
])iquets of regulars from France, "perhaps," states a Scotch historian, 
" the best soldiers in their army," had to be specially ordered upon that - 
laborious, harassing, and destructive duty — such a necessity was there ou 
this occasion, as in the previous engagement, for those regulars! Hence, 
too, the severe loss incurred was, alleges the Chevalier, " ])articularly of 
the Irish piquets," of whom he justly exclaims — "What a pity, that these 
br-ave men should have beeu sacriliced, to no purpose, bv the ignorance 
and folly of Mirabelle!" 

At last, or February 10th, Mirabelle unmasked his battery, whea 
only, ])roceeds the Chevalier, " 3 embrasures of the 6, of which it was to 
ha\e been composed, were finished, and immediately began a very brisk 
fire, with his 3 pieces of cannon; but it was of very short duration, and 
}>roduced very little effect on the batteries of the Castle, which, being 
more' elevated than oiu's, the enemy could see even the buckles of the 
shoes of our artillery-men. As their fire commanded ours, our guns 
were immediately dismounted; and, in less than half an hour, we were 
obliged to abandon our battery altogether, as no one could approach it 
without ineetiug with certaiu destruction ; while our guns, being poiuued 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 431 

tipwards, cov.ld rlo no execution whatever. Tlius, a work of 3 weeks, 
whicli prevented ns tVorn deriving any advantage from our victory at 
Falkirk, and whicli had cost us the lives of a great number of brave 
men, was demolished, in an instant, like a castle of cards, and rased as 
level as a ])onton, and all our guns were dismounted. Justice ought to 
Vie done to the merit and good conduct of General Blakeney, who 
perceived o>ir ignorance from the position of our battery, and did not 
dist\n-b us while constructing it. Convinced that we could do him no 
injury from tliat quarter, ho remained quiet, like a skilful General, and 
allowed ns to go on, that we might lose those precious moments which 
we ought to have employed in pursuing the enemy; well knowing, that 
he could desti-oy our battery whenever he pleased, and level it, in an 
instant, with the ground." My contemporary memoir of the Limei'ick 
veteran, after noting how "his conduct in this service was very singulai'," 
adds — " He suifered the rebels to raise their works unmolested, and 
forbid his cannon to tire, till he saw they were ready to begin the 
assault. The inferior officers, in the meantime, suspected, that as he 
made no opposition, he intended to give up the foi't. Upon which they 
held a private consultation, and were just^n the point of putting him 
under an arrest,* when he sudderdy ordered all the works to be manned, 
and the cannon to V)e charged, not with their proper shot, but with bags 
of nmsket-balls. When the rebels were within 10 j)aces of his battle- 
ment, he ordered a general discharge, which brought down whole ranks, 
that fell at once, like grass under a scythe." Thus successful was the 
defence until February 12th, when Charles's army, unable to effect 
anything against the place, pinched by a scarcity of provisions, harassed 
by their prolonged winter-campaigning, r-educed by stragglers after the 
battle, into tlje Highlands with their booty, and elsewliere, to not above 
5000 immediately-disposable or effective men, and consequently too 
weak to maintain their ground before Stirling against such suy)erior 
numbers as were then advancing to attack them, had to blow up their 
magazines, abandon their heavy ar'tillery, and retire over the Forth on 
the ajipi'oach of the Anglo-Hanoverian force of about 10,000 men ; which, 
dui-ing the siege, had been put into the best order at Edinburgh, and 
])laced, instead of Hawlt;y, under the Duke of Cumberland, when the 
])resence of the Duke was no longer required in England, with reference 
to a French invasion. 

On the 1.3th, about 1 in the afternoon, the Duke entered Stirling, 
where, being suitably coujplimented by the Governor of the Castle and 
the officers of the garrison, his Grace in reply expressed a satisfaction, 
proportioned to the success with which the Castle, as a post of such 
consequence, had been defended. The London Gazette extraordinary 
announced— " His Royal Highness is pleased to commend extremely 
the behaviour of Major-General Blakeney, who, by his conduct, as well 
as courage, has saved the Castle of Stirling, which is a place of the 
greatest importance, from falling into the hands of the rebels." When 

* This imdeserved suspicion of the Limericlc veteran's integrity is further ex- 
plained liy the statement, in the London slietch of liis life, how he was " mis- 
rejireseiited, as a disaffected ]iersou, for not coniplj'ing with the views of a certain 
Lord -Lieutenant" in Ireland; and consequently " i^ept, upwards of 20 years, 
without a regiment, which lie at length gained, merely by merit, without Parlia- 
nieutaiy interest." That is, without the aid of such a combined system of 
legislative and administrative corruption, as, iu those days particularly, was most 
jjrejudicial to the army and navy. 



A?>2 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

relieved, it is arlcled, " the provision and firing were almost consuraef]." 
In Edinburgh, too, where the Anght- Hanoverian party were so naturally 
alarmed at the defeat of Falkirk, the subsequent baffling of the conquerors 
bv the Irish Major-General was the subject of due acknowledgment. 
"The gallant defence," it was published, "which General Blakeney has 
iTiade of Stirling Castle, reflects the highest honour on that gentleman, 
as it was so important a service to this country, and tended to weaken 
and discourage the rebels." A Georgeife contemporary observes, on the 
motives of the Jacobites for undei'taking that siege, — " What advantages 
they proposed to themselves by becoming masters of this place (though 
they were many) might be reduced inider these 3: lst.it would have 
given them reputation at home and abroad, as Stifling Castle is famous, 
and reputed a j)lace of greater importance than it really is : 2ndly, if they 
could have got this place, and fortified Perth," then on their possessioi^ 
" they might have secured the country behind them for the winter: 
3rdly, it would have afforded them means of maintaining themselv^es 
along the coasts, on both sides of the island, which would have facili- 
tated their receiving sup[>lies from aljroud." In keeping the Jacol)ites 
engaged, and baffling them at Stirling, after their success at Falkirk, 
until the army they had deleated was so reorganized as to be able to 
raise the siege, and oblige its previous conquerors to retreat, a diversion 
was effected by Blakcniey, similar in value to that by the brave 
Diibreton at Burgos in 1812; when, by detaining the British biifore 
liis post there, and foiling their efforts to reduce it, after their victory at 
Salamanca, he gained time for his countrymen, the Fi-ench, to reassemble 
a force sufficiently strong to relieve him, and compel their former 
victors to retire. On the whole, the recollections associated with the 
attack and defence of Stirling, and Irishmen, as represented by Grant, 
Blakeney, and the gallant piquets from the Brigade, are such as to 
make us regret, that any differences between forms of Christianity — the 
religion common to all — should have prevented such men being united 
in arms, under one Sovereign and one standard. 

In the consultations and arrangements for the retreat of Charles from 
Stilling over the Forth towards the Highlands, it a])pears how much 
O'Sullivan was " envied, for having his master's ear in preference to 
others;" and how Sir Thomas Sheridan's "having, seemingly, the pre- 
eminence in Charles's friendship and counsels was another cause of 
dis:;ust to the Highland Chiefs." These discontents the Prince strove to 
dissijiate, in various ways. "However," it is added, "the 2 Irish 
]ioliticians had still the ascendant in the cabinet." On receiving a 
Memorial, in which the principal Highland leaders represented the 
necessity there was for retiring to the north, the Prince " sent Sir 
Thomas Sheridan to argue the matter with the Chiefs," in whose views 
it was finally requisite to acquiesce. For the manner that movement 
commenced, which was " e.xtremely discreditaVjle," says Mr. Chambers, 
" Lord George Murray seems inclined, in his narrative, to throw the 
blame of the transaction on O'Sullivan, but without showing any grounds 
fur his surmise." * — The circumstance, referred to as so discreditable, 

* Tn connexion with ^Ir. Chamlters's just disapproval of Lord George IMurray 
on thin occasion, I may remark, that liis Lordship seems, f-hrouijhont what he has 
Mfirien, to liave liad too great an itch to censure 0'>Si;llivan. It is evident that, 
as regards the Prince's attachment for O'Sullivan, Lord Geurge could "licar, like 
the lurk, no bi'otlier near the throne." A Georgeite coutem[)orary, noticing the 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 433 

was, that, thongli it had been resolved, at the Prince's head-quarters, on 
the night of February 11th, the army should muster on the 12th, at 9 
in the morning, and then proceed, with due regularity, across the Forth, 
the men were so discouraged at their situation about Stirling, and 
alarmed at the very superior hostile force ap])roaching to attack them, 
that, without waiting for orders, and in a strag2;ling manner, they pre- 
sumed to set out at day-break ; thus leaving the Prince and other leaders 
behind, or exposed, it might be, to a sally from the Castle, as well as to 
other hazaixls. On the Jacobites, indeed, the general effects of their 
failure before Stirling were such, that their strength, which had recentlv 
mustered there to its highest amount, may, fi'om the period of that 
failure, be regarded as b>it comparatively flickering in the socket, to 
expii'e at Drummossie Muir, or Culloden. Besides the obvious necessity 
there now was for a foi'ce like that of Charles, so harassed, diminished, 
and in want of subsistence, to retire to the Highlands before an ai-my 
like the Duke's, so much stronger, fresher, and better provided in every 
respect, as well as soon to be aided by sevei^al thousand veteran foreign 
mercenaries, or Hessians, it was in the Highlands better quarters and 
reinforcements were to be looked for by Charles ; and it was there an 
irregular war of defence against the Duke might be most efficiently 
managed for the rest of the winter ; at the same time, that a minor 
hostile force of about 2000 men under Lord Loudoun, and Forts George, 
Augustus, and William, should be reduced there, if the main contest, by 
the help of what sup[)lies might arrive from abroad, were to be sup- 
portea, with any prospect of success, in spring, against the Duke 
advancing from the south. The Jacobites retired from Stirling, in the 
direction of Crieff; whence, on the 14th, it was decided, that, for the 
sake of subsistence, the Highland corps should generally proceed north- 
wards, under Chai'les himself, by the usual militai'y road ; Mid the Low- 
land infantry and horse, under Lord Geoi-ge Murray, by the roads along 
the coasts of Angus and Aberdeenshire; the point for reunion to be 
Inverness. With the latter troops were Brigadier Walter Stapletou, 
and the piquets from the Irish Brigade. 

The Duke of Cumberland did not reach Perth till the 17th, where 
he quartered his main force, for several days, to i-est his infantry; it 
being, says an English writer, " to no purpose to fatigue our men 
with forced marches." Here, observe the Georgeite announcements of 
the day respecting the Duke, " he has been graciously pleased to pardon 
the private men ivho ran aioay at the late battle; but the officers are to await 
the King's pleasure!'' And, it is added — " the Duke has given the 
soldiers permission to plunder the rebels' houses in and about this 
town." While the Duke was still at Perth, or on the 21st, the 6000 
foreigners in English pay, whom he had expected to reinfurce him, 

paramount influence of O'SuUivan with Charles, speaks of "the Chevalier, ever 
observant of Sullivan's counsels, which he looked upon as m many orace.i''' — and, 
in the little work on Charles's caiijpaigns of 1745-G, eatitled, " Ascauius, or the 
Youncr Adventurer," Lord George is represented as coynplaliung, "that Sullivan 
used to carry everything, in councils of war, against him." Yet, when O'Sullivan 
mitflit subsequently have injured Lord George Murray, he did not do so. James 
in. writes tlius from Rome, April 25th, 1747, to his son, the Prince, in France, 
" I am truly sorry to find you in the way of thinking you are to Lord George 
Murray. I spoke very fully about him to O'Sullivan, who should be with you 
before you get this; and, by all he said to me, I really cannot see any just reason 
to sus2)ect his loyalty and fidelity. " 

2f 



4'^4: HISTORY OP THE IRISH BRIGADES 

landed at Edinburgh. These " Hessian soldiers." according to the Scotch 
acconiit8, " were reniarkabh'' handsome, g od-looking men." Nor waa 
their moral character inferior to their external appearance and »nilitary 
efficiency. " They acquired the affection and esteem of the peo]jle. who 
had occasion to mix in their society during the ensuing cani])aign ;" 
and " their good nature and pure manners, loere Javourahly compared with 
the coarse conversation, andj dissolute conduct, of the Britisk soldiery.''^ * 
They were subsequently so stationed, as to guard against another Jacobite 
d. scent from the Highlands into the Lowlands. Leaving Perth on the 
2(ith, the Duke proceeded to Dundee; whence he set out, March 3rd, 
advancing through Angus and Aberdeenshire, till, by 7 or 8 days more, 
he established himself at Aberdeen. In those districts, he found his 
j.resence to be detested, in proportion to the old national, or Jacobite 
and Anti-Union, feelings of the population. Hence, of some officers 
from the piquets of the Irish Brigade, detached to recruit for Prince 
Charles, the London . Gazette states — "At Forfar, where each of our 
4 divisions lay a night, 3 French-Irish officers were conceal'd in the town 
the whole time; and, after all our troops were pass'd thro', they were 
permitted to beat up for volunteei-s there. This," adds the Anglo- 
Hanoverian scribe, " shews the affection of that |)art of the country for 
the rebels ! " The Duke determined upon remaining at Aberdeen, until 
the improving weather in spring would permit him to take the field, in 
full strength, for the final decision of the contest. Meantime, finding 
himself so situated at that place, from the want of intelligence, (fee, as to 
be '•'■more in an enemy's country than when warring with the French in 
Flanders," he, in the districts subjected to his power, visited with the 
rigours of military execution, the crime of Jacobitism, or loyalty to the 
ancient dynasty of the nation ; the pillage and conflagration here, as 
subsequently elsewhere, including even a destruction of Protestant houses 
of worshi]>, or those of the Episco])al Church of Scotland, on account of 
the attachment of the Episco[)alians, as well as the Highlanders, to the 
Stuarts.t 

During those occiTrrences, Prince Charles, on his route for Inverness, 
reduced upon honouraVile conditions, and blew up, February 22nd, the 
English barracks at Ruthven — held, since the preceding summer, with a 
few men, against very superior numbers, by a stout Iiish Protestant 
officer. Lieutenant Molloy — and, March 1st, on the Prince's approach. 
Lord Loudoun and his forces evacuated Inverness, with the exception oi 

* Chambers. — The Hessians, employed l)y the Georgite Government in Scotland 
a;j,ainst Prince Charles, have been varionsly enumerated by writers, at from 5000 
to ()00() men. In an official or parliamentary document, I tincl this it^m respecting 
those foreign mercenaries. "Jan. 22, 1746. For the charge of 6172 Hessian 
troops, being 12G4 horse, and 4908 foot, from Dec. 25, 1745, to Dec. 24, 174G, 
together with the Subsidy, i)ursuant to Ti'eatj', . . . £161,007 17s. Ir^d.'" 

t A/t r the war, or according to a "Letter from Inverary," in June, 174B, the 
Cathobc, and the Protestant Episcopalian, f(n-ms of religion were tolerated as 
follows in Scotland. "Several Mass houses, ''which were publickly resorted to in 
the very face of the law, have been pulled down. The Sonjuiing Meetings are 
generally shut up through the kingdom." But of Protestant E|)iscopaIian churches, 
alluded to here, under the obnoxious designation of "Nonjuring Meetings," we 
know, how few, if anj^, on the Duke of (Cumberland's northern line of march, 
would rema'ni, to he shut up. Such a cai'Pcr of disgusting sacrilege was but a due 
j.relude to the wholesale barbarities perjietrated in the Highlands after the l>attle 
fif (AilliKlen — diversified, according to Loixl Mahon, liy ^' races of naked wuiiien on 
iiuraebui k, Jor the amuneiHtnt oj the cuvqj, at £vrt Auyudtu6 /" 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRAXCE. 435 

its Castlo, called Fort George; in which Major Grant of Tvotliiemurchns 
was left as Governor, with a garrison of 3 companies, 1 of regulars, tlie 
other 2 brave and well-affected, IG cannon, as many barrels of powder 
and ball, 100 barrels of beef, &c. But Grant behaved so badly, that, on 
the 3rd, he gave uf) the Fort, with its garrison, save his precious self ! 
as prisoners of war ; for which he was subsequently tried, and broken by 
Court Martial. From the extreme aversion of the Highlanders to jiave 
any English garrisons among them, this Fort, which cost £50,000, hud 
likewise to be demolished by gunpowder. Previous to the surrender of 
Fort George, the Prince was rejoined at Inverness, by Lord George 
Murray, and the more advanced jjoi-tion of his division of the army; the 
rest, with whom were the French piquets, or the Irish and Scotch regulars 
from France, under Brigadier Walter Stajoleton, and Loi'd John Drum- 
mond, having yet to come up. The Irish, on their march, were reinforced, 
the 5th, by a detachment of their fellow-soldiers from the Continent, that, 
in a French brigantine, the Sophie, putting to sea, at night, from Ostend, 
were at once so lucky as to ehule the numerous hostile cruisers, and to 
land at Aberdeen in good time, or but the day before it was evacuated by 
the Jacobites. This detachment, dt-scribed as consisting of about 130 
men and officers of the Regiment of Fitz-James, " cloath'cl with red, turn'd 
■up with blue," with horse-furniture, arms, breast-plates, and baggage, was 
received, by the national enthusiasm of the country-people, with joyful 
acclamations; the very women running out to welcome the strangers, and 
conducting the officers' horses by tlie reins!* With the Irish of the 
detacliment, were incorporated some English troopers, that had deserted 
from their own army to the French, in Flanders; an Englishman, in those 
times, who, from Jacobite or other motives, migjit wish to desert to the 
French, having an additional inducement to do so, in the prospect of 
finding himself quite at home, in point of language, &c., among some of 
the regiments of the Irish Brigade, which he would not be in a ])urely 
Frenclb corps; whence, or so far as tending to promote desertion from her 
enemies, it was an advantage to France, to have those Irish regiments in 
her service.f The vessel, that brought this reinforcement to Aberdeen, 

* "Trois compacfnies du E(?a;inient de Fitz-James," writes Voltaire, "aborderent 
henreuseineut. Lorsque quelque [letit vaisseau abordait, il etait rec^u avec des 
acclaiuations de jiiie; les femmes couraient au-devaut ; elles menaient par la bride 
les chevaux des otficiers. " 

t That gallant Englisliman, Lieutenant John Sliipp, who fought his way np from 
the ranks, and was in several British regiments, exjjresses himself, in his Memoirs, 
as moKt gratihed in serving with an Irish corps, the S7tli Regiment of Foot, other- 
wise " Fogaboloughs," or " clear-the- way " boys. "I must confess," he says, "I 
do love to be on duty, on any kind of service, with the Irish. There is a proirtpt- 
ness to obey, an hilarity, a cheerfnl obedience, and willingness to act, which I have 
rarely met with in any other body of men; Imt wliether, in this particular case, 
those qualitications had been instilled into them by the rigid discipline of their 
corps, I know not, or whether these are characteristics of the Irish nation ; bnt I 
have also observed in that corps. (I mean the S7th Regiment, or Prince's Own Irish,) 
a degree' of liberality amongst the men, I have never seen in any other corps, — a 
willingness to share their crust and drop on service with their comrades ; an inde- 
scribable cheerfulness in obliging and accommodating each other; and an anxiety to 
serve each other, and to hide each other's faults. In that corps, there was a unity, 
I have never seen in any other; and, as for lighting, they wei^e verj^ devils. During 
the Peninsidar Wai', some (ileneral Officer oV)served, to the Duke of Wellington, how 
unsteadily that corps marched. The noble Duke replied, — 'Yes, General, they dn, 
indeed; but they ti^ht like devils.' fSo they always will, while they are Irish. In 
some situations, they are, perhaps, too impetuous; but, if I know anything of tt'O 



436 HISTORY OP THE IRISH EIUG \DES 

had formed a part of tlie embarkations, at Ostend, and Dunkirk, of what 
I'eiiiaiiied of the Regiments of Fitz-James ami Lally, with other military 
ami ])ecnniary supplies; respecting which, in pioportion to Prince Charles's 
increasing need of assistance, the French Court sent most pressing orders, 
that no etiort should be spared to get over to Scotland; and the Duke 
of Cundoerland's a])prehensions became so great, concerning the Ii-ish 
ready to sail fi-om those harbours, that his uneasiness, on this scoi-e, con- 
tributed to his relinquishing the intention, which he had previously 
announced, of re-embarking his Hessians for the Continent. 

But the remainder of the Regiment of Fitz-James, with some of the 
most distinguished officers of the Irish Brigade, cavahy-equipments, arms, 
artillery, ammunition, and several thoiisand pounds, dashing out froin 
Cstend in the Bourbon and the Charite transports, amidst a hard gale, 
and by night, the better to escape hostile recognition, were, notwithstand- 
ing the darkness, perceived oft" that port by tlie enemy thi-ough a glass of 
recent invention, had to strike to his superior force, and were, on the 4th, 
brought by the IJasthigs^ Triton, Salamander, and Vulcan, under Commo- 
dore Knowles, into the harbour of Deal. On board the Bourbon were — the 
Comte Edouard de Fitz- James, (son of the late Mai'shal Duke of Berwick) 
Colonel of tlie Irish Regiment of Berwick, MarechalMe Camp, or Major- 
(jl(nieral, and Commandant — Ca])tain Patrick Darcy of Conde's Regiment 
of Horse, acting as Aide-vle-Camp to the Comte de Fitz-James — the 
Comte Charles Edvvanl Roth (son of the late Lieutenant-General and 
Clievalier Michael Roth of Kilkenny) Colonel of the Irish Regiment of 
Roth, and Maiochal de Cam]\ or Major-General — Brigadiers-General 
Richard Fi-aucis Talbot, 3rd Earl of Tyrconnell,* Sir Peter Nugent, 
Baronet, and Matthew Cooke — M. Nugent, Colonel of Horse — M. Betagh, 
Major of the Regiment of Fitz-James — Captain Nugent — Lieutenants 
Nugent, Fahy, and Dowdall — Cornets Nugent and Stapleton— Quarter- 
JMasters Wolferston, Coghlan, Wickham, O'Brien, Cassidy, Mac Dermott, 
Betagh, and Rockly — a Chaplain, and 4 French officials, viz., a Commis- 
sary of Artillery, a Treasurer of the Extraordinaries of War, a Chief 
Commissary of Provisions, and a Surgeon-Major, besides 6 Gunners, 1 
Corporal, 1 Miner, and 1 Labourer — of the Regiment of Fitz-James, 5 
companies, making together 199 men. In other words. Officers 22, 
Privates 199, botJi 221, or with Gunners, Corporal, and Miner 229 
military effectives — Chaplain, Officials, and Labourer, 6 non-combatants 
— total of prisoners, 235. On boaixl the Charite wer-e — M. le Baron de 
Butler, Captain of the Regiment of Fitz-James — M. Cooke, ditto — Lieu- 
tenants Bcirnwell, Coulaghau, and Butler — Cornets Byrne, Morris, and 
O'Farrell — Quarter-Masters Martin, Moore, Gei-non, and 2 Farrells — 
a French Captain of Foot in the Regiment of Monaco, serving here as a 
Lieutenant-Colonel — of the Regiment of Fitz-James, 4 companies, making 
together about IGO men. In other words. Officers 14, Privates ItiO — - 
total combatants prisoners 174. The list of the 36 officers, connected 

service, this is a fault on the right side ; and what, at the moment, was thought 
rashuess and niaihiess, lias gained OM England many a glorious victory." 

■" Of this Irish uobleiuan, James Ill.'s Scotch Agent at Paris, Lord Semi^ill, 
writing to him the ])ieceding autumn, or "2'Jnd jSoveml)er, 1745," says — "Lord 
Tyreconnel is returned fmni the army, l)y the permission of the Court. There is a 
Very advantageous marriage proposed to him ; biit, he ;issure.s me, nothing shall 
retard his going, where he can be of any use to your Majesty's service. Tlie 
]\liiiister ot tlie War intends to emjiUiy liim in the English expedition." See the 
meuioir of Lord TyrconiieJi lartiier on, or under the ^ear 1752, 



IN THE SERVICE OF FKANCE. 437 

with the main ]iortinn of tho T{p2;impnt of Fitz-Jamcs here captured, I're- 
sents several names, that sntKcieutly show what a hiss Chailes suffered, hy 
the interce|)tiou of tliis convoy. Aiimiinr tlie 359 troopers of the cor])s, 
there wei-e 34 Eiif,dish, wlio. havini,'- ilcseitiMl to, or heeij made prisoners 
by, the Fiench, and having, in an evil lioui-. agreed to take service in this 
regiment wiiich sntfeivd considei-ahly at Fontenoy, were, after reaching 
iJeal. recognized there as deserters, se]»arated from their com])anions, as 
specially disentitled to be considered regular prisoners of war, and rnarched 
away under a strong guard, to London, to be t)-ied there.* The niilitary 
chest on board, containing £o()()0, or upwards, and the other supplies, 
were of much less value to the captors, than' they would have been to 
Charles; to whom nionev, nuire especially, even when a comparatively 
small sura, was a desideratum, in proportion as, to use Lord Lovat's 
■words, "siller would go far in the Highlands." Kor was the Prince 
more fortunate, with respect to the remainder of the Kegiment of Lallv, 
that sailed, in several transports, from Dunkirk, when the other endiar- 
kation took ))lace Jroni Ostend ; but, being chased by an English man-of- 
war were only so far lucky as to avoid the fate of the Bourb'in and the 
Citai-ite, in ct)ntriving to get buck to jiort. According to the communica- 
tion of Captain Shea, or Sliee,+ of the Regiment of Fitz-James to Charles, 
the entire Irish convoy destined f r him would have been about 800 men 
(Fontenoy boys!) besides the money they were to bring — an additional 
or distinct sum from that with Fitz-james's cor{)S being, of course, 
embarked with the Regiim-nt of Lally, which had to return to Dunkirk. 
Yet, about the time of the lauding, at Aberdeen, of the detachment of 
Fitz-James's men from the Sophie, 20{)() louis-d'ors i-eached Charles fi'oni 
the Continent by Peterhead, and a piquet of the Irish Infantry Kegiment 
of Berwick is likewise alleged to have managed to arrive safe at Portsoy. 
On the whole, however. Sir Walter Scott, alluding to the last capture of 
men and money by Commodore Knowles, notes how "unpitiably rigorous 
was Fortune, from beginning to end, in all that might be considered the 
chances from which Piince Charles might receive advantage. The mis- 
carriage of the reinforcements was the greater, as the supplies of treasure 
were become almost indispensable. His money now began to run short, 
so that he was com])el!ed to pay his soldiers partly in meal, which caused 
great discontent. Many threatened to abandon the enterprise; some 
actually desei-ted." 

Immediately after the fall of Fort George, the reduction of Fort 

* The first executions ordered in England, after the battle of Culloden, in connex- 
ion with the civil war, were those of 5 of tlie Foot Guards,, who, having been made 
]iriponers at Fontenoy, then listing into the Regiment of Fitz-.Janies, and finally, beino- 
^\itll the detachment of that coriis interce[>ted hy Commodore Knowles, were con- 
demned to be shot, as deserters, in Hyde Park. Of the 5 thus executed, 2 appear 
to have been Catholics. 

t Tlie clan of O'Seagha, O'Shea, or O'Shee, — otherwise modernized or anglicized 
into "Shea," or "Shee" without the " 0' ''—are related to have been of v^ry old 
royal origin, and to have possessed the Barony of Ivenigh, iu the County of Kerry, 
down to that general disturbance of tlie ancient order of things in Monster, at the 
latter end of the 12th cfntnry, which was a result of the Anglo-Norman invasion. 
.Since then, the race has fiourished elsewhere in li-elaiul, and other countries ; dis] Jay 
ing, through several of its representatives, respectability or distinction in various 
stations, or pursuits, including some of the most honourable. For adherence to 
King James II. in the War of the Revolution, 8 cavaliers alone, of the branch long 
established in Kilkenny, are mentioned as attainted in KJill, or proscribed for 
WiUiamite spoliation ; and, to the ditfereut corps of the Irish Brigade, as well 



i3S IIISTOKY or THE IllISII BRIGADES 

Angnstns was assij^ned by Cli:u-k>s to Bi-icjatlier Walter Stapleton and 
300 of his " Fi-ench Irisli." di- "Irish picqucts," as they are variously 
designated — in either case, more correctly, than as, in other instances, 
merely " French troO|)s," and " French piquets." They exe'cuted their 
task in a few days; an outw(jrk or hanaek, in an old tower, occupied by 
a Sei'jeant and 12 men, beiijg snon niasti'i-ctl ; and artillery, laboriously 
brought from a <listance of 32 mih's through the snow, being so directed 
aijainst the Fort itself, that its n)agazine being iired, Major Wentworth, 
thi' Georgeite Governor, and his garrison of 3 conq)anies of the Regimeut 
of Guise, had, on March 10th, to surrender. Brigadier Stapleton, with 
his 390 men, and a corps of Highlanders, was next ordered to besiege Fort 
AVilliam. That Fort, scientifically-constructed, and gai-risoned by 600 
Ge(n-geite troops, i-ould not be invested, as situated on the shore, and 
open to aid by sea; 2 war-sloops lying close to the place. "The resolution 
of besieging Fort William," writes Lord George Murray, "I did not 
approve, as I always iiad heard it was a sti'ong ])laee, and regularly 
fortified. But Jjochiel, ivcppoch, and other 1 [ighlanders, wIkj liad their 
Louses anywhere in that neighbourhood, were very keen," on the matter, 
"as that garrison had already begun tlieir burning orders: so I did not 
<:jp})ose it, though 15rigadier Stapleton and I had no ho])es of success, by 
wliat had ha]»i>ened at Stirling Casth', whii-h was not so strong." While 
a body of Highlanders nnnaiued betor*^ the place, to keep the Georgeite 
gari'ison from devastating the country, the troublesome conveyance of the 
siege artillery, Arc, was connnitted to the Irish. ''The distance," says 
Home, "from Inverness to Fort William was Gl miles, and the intervening 
hilly road, in great part a continuation of steep paths and passes, so 
retarded the Irish troops with tlieir cannon, that they took many days to 
reach the Fort." The l)atteries could not V)e raised and lin? opened till 
Mai-ch 31st; from which time, "by tlu^ Irish and Higidanders united," 
adds Chambers, "the most \igorous attemjits were made to obtain 
]iossession of tin' place, but without avail." These operations, attended 
with the I'ndiirance of much fatigue and hardship, continued till April 
14 til, when the necessity for uniting all the Jacobite foi'ces, against the 
advance of the Duke of Cundjcrland, caused the siege to be terminated; 
Brigadier Stapleton spiking his heavy ,7uns, bringing away his tield-pieces, 
and marching off to join the Prince ao Inverness; "heaving the High- 
landers and their Chiefs, to follow when they pleased." During this 
siege, other officers connected witii Ireland and France, as well as Spain, 
were active in the Prince's cause. 

March 29th, an advanced detachnnMit of Georgeites, consisting of a 
Captain of Argyleshire Militia with 70 foot, and a Cornet with 30 of 
Kingston's Light Horse, were despatched, in the evening, from a consider- 
able corps of their army, at Strathbogie, towards Keith. After halting 
in the dark, at a cautious oi- half-way dist;ince from the latter place, for 
a considerable time, or until assured by a Pres'iyterian Minister, acting 
as their guide and spy, that none of the Prince's troops were there, the 
Georgeites, with a due tlourish from their Captain in the shape of orders, 
that, if ail action should occur, they should neitlier give nor take quarter, 
about (hivlight, on the 30th, entered the defenceless village, making them- 
selves snila 'ly unwelcome there l)y breaking ojien shops, and plundering. 

as to French ie.;iiiients, down to our own days, the O'Sheas, or Shees, have 
S'ip|ilit'(l ()tlioer>% some of liii^li rank, and several of then 'Jhevaliers of St. Louia. 
Tlic name, too, has been of uote ni the Austiiau service. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. ' 439 

But Major Nicholas Glascock of Ogilvie's regiment, previously of Dillon's 
in the Irish Brigade, and already noticed at the capture of the Hazard 
sloop, taking from Fochabers a select party of Jacobite foot, consisting of 
IG of the piquet-men from France, iJO of Roy Stuart's regiment under a 
Captain Stuart, a detachment from Ogilvie's regiment, aiul 20 or 30 iiorse 
of dilferent corps under a Lieutenant Simpson, in all 200 men, aboiit 
midnight entered Keith, surprised the sentinel, and attacking witJi cries 
of "God save Prince Charles! — ye rebels, yield or die!" in less than an 
hour, so disposed of the Georgeite pillageis, that, between the loss they 
suffered in slain, and in prisoners, the number of whom was about 80, no 
more than 7 remained, to scamper back to Strathbogie; of whom 1 was 
obliged to have his shattered arm cut off there. In this enterprise, con- 
sidered equally bold and dangerous, as directed against a post almost in 
tlie centre of the places occupied by the enemy's forces, Major (xlascock, 
who gained much credit by it for prudence and skill, had Ca)>tain Stuart, 
and a good many, especially of Ogilvie's detachment, wounded, but only 
1 man belonging to the piquets, who led the attack, killed. It was an 
affair, which, says a Scotch Jacobite officer, "had a very good effect, and 
made such an impressicm on the English, that, conceiving themselves 
insecure everywhere, they were obliged to redouble their service in" a 
severe season,* "in that cold and mountainous country; the fatigues of 
which occasioned so much disease, tliat the hospitals of Aberdt-en, the 
head-quarters of the Duke of Cumberland, were continually tilled with 
their sick." 

Towards the end of March, an expedition against Lord Loudoun, and 
his Georgeite forces in Sutherland, was undertaken by General O'Sullivan, 
with the Duke of Perth, Lord Cromarty, and a chosen body of nearly 
2000 men. Availing themselves of a dense mist of several days' dura- 
tion, as well to collect a sufficient number of fishina:-craft for ci-ossinji the 
Moray Frith, as to elude the hostile vessels there, the Jacobites, on 
Mai-cli 31st, at 8 in the morning, landed abiiut 2 miles west of Dornoch 
in Sutherland ; to the proportionate surpi-ise of Lord Loiuloun, who con- 
ceived that all boats were withdrawn to lois side of the water, and that 
the English shi[)ping were an additional security to him against any 
attempt from the utJier side ! The result of this well-effected passage was 
such a discomfiture and dispersion of his Lordship's followers, attended 
by a loss of 3 vessels in the Frith of Tain with arms, military stores, 
j)rovisions, and valuables jjut on board at the evacuation of Inverness, 
that his Lordship, and his very busy and intriguing Georgeite coadjutoi-. 
President Forbes of Culloden, were obliged to take refuge, with 800 
men, in the Isle of Sk3'e.t But O'Sullivan, and the Duke of Peitli, 

*I correct the Chevalier de Johnstone's oversight, in writing "the midst of 
winter." But, what is such a venial lai)se of memory to the comparative "mortal 
Bin " of Sir Walter Scott's incorrectness, with respect to this matter at Keith. ''A 
party," he states, "of 100 regulars were suri)rised at the village of Keith, and 
entirely slain, or made prisoners, by John Ro;/ SUiart!^'' The foot, who formed 
above "i-Srds of the Georgeites at Keith, were not regulars, and John Roy .Stuart did 
not command thvre at all. 

f But for 2 hours' time, which the Jacobites, after their landing in Sutherland, 
lost, in parleying with the 1st outpost of Lord Loudoun's force ere they obliged it 
to surrender. Lord George Murray considers, that Lord Loudoun, and most of hie- 
men, could have been ca[jtured. Lord (ieorge here, a* usual, n'lftlJcs at O'Sullivan, 
alleging, " I was told the Duke of I'ertli was advised in this by Mr. O'Sullivan." 
But Mr. Ghambers more ./"s-'/y remarks of the im])olitic delay of the Jacoljites ou 
this occasion — " It is uot improbable, that this procedure was iu cousec^ueuce of aii 



440 H.STORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

having to return to Inverness, and tlie prosecition of the recent snccess, 
a comparatively easv task, devolving npon J.ord Cromarty, that nohle- 
nian was \nifortunately so far from being " the right man in the right 
))hice," that all previously gained in this quarter was lost, and himself 
finally, or April 26th, made jiri^-'oner,* after the occurrence, through his 
remissness, of another loss, more fatal, or irrepai-able. 

From the comparative narrowness and poverty of the territory, to 
■which, since the raising of the siege of Stirling, the Jacobites had been 
confined, and the increased facility thereby affoi-ded to the numerous and 
active English cruisers for intercepting vessels attempting to reach that 
territory with assistance fiom the Cf)ntinent, Cliarles was at last reduced 
to such straits for money, that his troops had not received any for several 
weeks. He ex])ected, however, a supply, from Dunkirk, of between 
j£12,000 and £13,000, which was to be accompanied by a number, als» 
much required, of experienced engineers and veteran officers, mostly 
Irish, others Scotch, etc., in the French and Spanisli services, together 
with a detachment from the Irish Regiment of Berwick, several chests of 
arms, and some barrels of powder. This cargo, so invaluable under the 
circuivistances, was to be conveyed in the vessel already mentioned as 
called the Hazard, when captured at Mf)ntrose from the English, and 
Tinder its subsequent change of name to the Prince Charles, also referred 
to as having proved so useful to the Prince by its repeated passages 
between Scotland and the Continent, notwithstanding the many odds, 
almost amounting to a certainty, that it would be recovered, on some of 
those passages, by its former masters. Such dangerous odds being now- 
greater than ever, at the same time that the importance of the vessel 
reaching its destination was equally great, the command was confided to 
a gentleman highly and deservedly in favour with the Lieutenant 
General, Charles O'Brien, Lord Clare, and Earl of Thomond, whose 
zeal for the Stuarts could not have made a better recommendation for 
their service on this occasion. The gentleman so selected. Captain 
Talbot, an Irishman, was of distinguished reputation anK)ng the naval 
officers of France as a privateerer ; having been intrusted with several 
vessels fitted out for that line of action, in which he made many ex{)edi- 
tions against the enemy, with so much intelligence, valour, and success, 
that no one a})peared more worthy of commanding the Prince Charles, 
in this ver}' difficult emei-gency. The orders for sailing were so pressing, 
and the execution of them was of such consequence, that, notwithstand- 
ing the nuuiber of the English ships of various sizes, or men-of-war and 
privateers, on the watch, under Comu\odore Mitchell, along tlie French 
and Flemish coasts, 5 different attenqits wei'e made by the Irish Captain 
to leave Dunkii'k, and, as might be expected, all without success. Ou 
the 6th effort, baffling the British Commodore in a thick fog, Talbot did 
get out ; yet with no better luck than to be soon after discovered, 
encountered off Ostend by the enemy's su))erior force, and diiven ashore 
there, apparently so damaged, that it was published in Loudon, " the 

anxiety, entertained by individuals in the" Jacnbite "detachment, to avoid, if at 
all possilile, a hostile colli.sinn with" tlie Geor^eite "troop.s, amongst which were 
some of their own nearest relatives. The Chevalier Johnstone informs us, that at 
least Macdonald of 8cothouse, the first cadet of the house of Clanranald, was under 
feelings of this kind, having a son, an othcer, uiider Lord Loudoun." 

* The Earl was surprised and taken, by improperly staying be'iind his forces, 
with some of his officers, at Dunrobin Castle; delaying, we are told, "to see a few 
bottles out," aud "witnessing, it is said, the tricks of a juggler." 



IN THK SKRVTCE OF FRANCE. 441 

Hazard sloop, which has bpen so nsefiil to the Pretender's affairs, in 
p.issing and repas^sing fVoni Dunkirk to Scotland, is drove on shore near 
Usteiid, by 1 of our men-of-war. and destroyed." But, though driven on 
shore, the Irish Captain managed to get off again, and into Ostend, by 
tlie same tide, where he repaired the damage he had received. He then 
hoisted sail, with Fortune, however, still against him, being attacked, in 
sight of that port, by 2 English ])rivateers, and suffering so much, as to 
be obliged to \mt l);ick iu order to relit; the enemy, meantime, increasing 
the strength of their naval blockade. Nevertheless, his vessel was such 
an excellent sailer, that she escaped the vigihince and pursuit of 6 or 7 
English ships, cruising oif Ostend to intercept her. Having thus, at 
last, gained the o])en sea, the indefatigable Talbot proceeded on his 
voyage, until, off Troopshead, where 4 British ships of war, the Eltham 
of 4U, Hound of IG, Shark of 16, and Slieerness of 20 guns, with the 
Marii, a tender, were at anchor, he was descried, and duly bore away to 
avoid them. The Eltliam, giving the signal for a counse, the Slicerness, 
which, under its previous commander, Captain Bully, had, last year, 
captured some of the Irish Brigade, was, under his successor, an Irish 
Protestant gentleman, Captain O'Brien,* ready to start in less than .5 
minutes; when, a more exciting chase, than that between Achilles and 
Hector on another element, ensued between the 2 Irish Captains. It 
continued for above 150 miles, quite through the Pentland Frith; a 
I'unning fight, against O'Brien's less encumbered or more manageable 
strength, being kept up, with great skill and courage, for 5 hours, by 
Talbot, while making signals of disti^ess, to which there was no response 
from the land; until, after suffering a considerable loss in killed and 
wounded, he drove the Prince Charles aground, among the shallows of 
Tongue Bay, in such a manner as to avoid being followed or captured by 
O'Brien, and yet without sacrificing the vessel and her cargo, in order to 
escape. 

On reaching the shore, April 5th, late in the evening, the harassed 
officers and men of the Prince Charles, (leaving, as in their situation of 
comparative unimportance to remove, 14 chests of justols atid sabres, and 
13 barrels of powder aboard,) landed the boxes of money, the delivery of 
which was the main object of the voyage; securing the treasure for the 
night in the house of one William MacKay of Melness, who was thought 
to be rather favourable than otherwise to the Stuart cause ; and whose 
son George engaged to do his best as a guide next morning, for a march 
to reach Lord Cromai-ty. But the MacKays were unfor-tunately a 
hostile or Georgeite clan, and had not been i-educed to a submission, or 
neutrality, as they might have been, by that nobleman. The Chief of 
his name, George MacKay, 3rd Lord Reay, resided so near the Jacobite 
]Mnding-])lace, that he soon obtained sufficient information respecting 
the stranded vessel, and its crew, &c.,whom he accordingly resolved to 
intercept. His Lordship, though, from his advanced age of above 70, 
incapable of heading the enter[)rise himself, was able, by day-break, on 

* O'Brien was a name of note at tins period, in the British navy, in the person 
of another Captain O'Brien, since 1742, of the Princess Po>/al of 90 guns, after 
having, as Vice-Admiral in Russia, iu 1740, disciplined the Oronstadt squadron for 
the Einpress Anne. As he had a son in command of a British sliip-of-war, the 
Captain of the Sheerr.css may have been that son. Several Irishmen, it may be here 
observed en passant, attained, during this century, high rank in the sea as well as 
the land service of France, Spain, aud Russia. 



412 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

tlie ntl], to despatch in piu-snit 50 of his own MacKay vassals, headed by 
the active and courageous factor or agent of his estates, Mr. Daniel 
Fdrbe.s ; to be followed Ijy his LordsliiiAs own son, a Cajttain-, and by- 
other officers of tlie Regiment of Loudoun, with about 80 of that corps, 
who had taken refuge in this quarter, after Lord Loudoiir\'s recent surpi'ise 
and defeat ; and, in aid of those pursuing parties, expresses were sent 
tlirougli tlie country, to summon every fighting man to rise. Meantime 
the officers and men of the Prince Charles had set out early on their 
march, l)ut were forsaken by their double-dealing guide, George MacKay, 
and were thus left at a loss how to ]jroceed along the sands, with a 
mountain before them, when, at about 2 hours after day-break, they 
received a summons to surrender; adding that, if they did not, n(me of 
them could pass the mountain before them, as they would be all slain, or 
made prisoners. This summons was from the indefatigable Forbes, who 
with 11 of the most active of the MacKays had come np; concealing the 
smallness of their number behind a hill. The Jacobites refusing to 
surrender, Forbes and his men tired upon them, and being pursued to 
their hill, ran from it, with the speed of Highlanders, to another hill, 
repeating their fire. The contest was maintained in this manner for 
some time, while the number of the Georgeites continued to increase, 
till "at length 2 drums were heard from the lofty and steep jiass of 
Duag, at the west shoulder of Ben-Lyall, the loud echoes of wdiich, from 
the hollows of the mountain, exceeded the noise of 20 drums," and 
Ca])tain George MacKay a])pearing with a fresh company, the hai-assofl 
and betrayed Jacobites, without a guide, in a strange country, about to 
be closed on in front, flank, and rear, and hampered witli what they had to 
guard against opponents in their own country, fresh for action, and 
entirely unfettered in their movements, under such a discouraging 
state of things, natiu-ally considered a further resistance would be as 
hopeless as it would be useless, and thus found themselves " compell'd by 
too sevei-e a fate" to surrender with the treasure, which tliey had made 
such praiseworthy exertions to convey to its proper destination. My 
MacKay a,uth(n'ity admits, in reference to their surrender, "they could 
not at any rate have joined the rebels,''' alluding to Lord Cronmrty; 
" for the country people from Durness and Edilerachillis would have 
soon come uj), and some of Loudon's troops were before them in Suthei-- 
land and Ross." But such would 7iut have been the case, if Lord 
Cromarty did his duty; since, had he, or any other leader in his place, 
advanced, observes Lord George Murray, " with 6 or 700 men through 
Seaforth's country, the way Lord Loudon fled, they would have been 
joined by many more; and" had "the same number gone to Lord 
Kea's country to take security from them," the MacKays, " that they 
would no more carry arms against us, we would have liad tlie good 
fortune to have saved the money, <£'c." For, even after the success in 
capturing that money, an attack from Lord Cromarty was so much 
dreaded by the MacKays, that, says my Georgeite account, " Lord Reay 
and his friends, being apprehensive of a visit from the rebels, embarked 
with their treasiu-e and prisoners" for Aberdeen — or abandoned their 
country by sea, as unable on land to resist an invasion of it, if under- 
taken by Lord Groinarty ! 

The following were the officers from France, taken with the money. 
Colonel Brown of the Irish Regiment of Lally, previous!}' distin- 
guished in the retreat from Derby, afterwards successful iu escaping 



IN TIIE SERVICE OP FKANCE. 443 

from Carlisle, then, as having signalized himself at Falkirk, despatched 
vvitii the acconnt of that success to Louis XV., by whom he was made 
a Chevalier of St. Louis, and finally a])i)ointed to command of all the 
military from France in the Frince 6'A(X9-/eA'~ Captain Talbot of thot 
vessel* — Cajitain MacMahon, commandant of the piquet from the Iri.sU 
Regiment of Berwick — Ca))tain Rogers, and Lieutenants Nugent, 
IVToriis. and 2 Barnewalls of the same Irish corps — Lieutenants O'Brien 
and Birmingham, and a gentleman named O' Byrne (rank unspecitied) of 
tlie liisli Regiment of Clare — Captain MacMahon of the Regiment of 
Haiiiault in tlie French service — Lieutenant Wyer, and Basil Bai-nevvall 
(rank unspecified) both of the Royal Scotch Regiment in same service — 
Ca])tain Gould and Lieutenant Hynes of the Irish Regiment of Ultonia, 
or Ulster, in the Spanish service — C&ptain MacPherson of the Irish 
Regiment of Hibernia in same service — Captain St. Clair (or Sinclair) 
of the Regiment of Virst in that service — Cajitains O'Farrell and Hay 
of Spanish cor])S not particularized — M. Chabellard of the Gens d'Arnns 
of the Guard of Louis XV. Of these 21 officers, not less than 16 were 
Irish, 4 perliaps Scotch, and 1 French, by liirth or origin. The soldiers 
of the piquet from the Irish Regiment of Berwick were about (SO. The 
"whole of the ca])tured detacliment, or landsmen and seamen of every 
rank, amounted to l/)6, of whom but a few were Scotch, and neaily all 
Irish; scarc(-ly any French being on board, except sailors. The general 
total originally, or befbi'e sailing from the Continent, was greater; the 
officers at Ostend, instead of but '1\, being leferred to as 30, and the 
soldiers of Berwick's piquet, instead of but 80, being noticed as 90 or 
100. And, from between 30 and 40, to above 40, being vai'iously stated 
as killed in the sea and land combats, the ])roportion of wounded would 
be 'iiiariy more in amount; which propoition, as including such aninnber 
of those who I'emained, would not be without its effect in causing the 
final surrender. Some days previous to this most "untoward event" 
for the Jacobites, we likewise read, in the news])a])ers, under the head 
of " Hague, April 1st, N. S.," the frustration of a further effort, by a 
body of the Irish Brigade, to get away, by night, from the Continent 
for Scotland; the announcement stating, according to "letters from 
Zealand and Dutch Flanders, that tlie returned ti^anspoi-ts, with the 
Irisli troops on board, made a fresh attempt, last Saturday night, to 
stretch over to Scotland; but, falling iu with sf)me of his Brittanuick 
Majesty's ships of war, were chased, and driven back the next day into 
Ostend." If Prince Charles failed in his enterpi-ise, it was certainly not 
from any deficiency of zeal for his interest, on the part of the Irish 
military in the service of France. 

The Duke of Cumber'land, since the establishment of his head-quarters, 
fnmi the earlier portion of March, at Aberdeen, or dui'ing the .sevei'e 
season, which prevented a general prosecution of hostilities, had directed, 
his attention to the remodelling of his army, and the collection, by land 

* The gallant Talbot, after being long prisoner-of-war in England, and at much 
exT)ense for the subsistence of his crew aud attendants there, met with some 
obstacles to his reimbursement by the Government in P'l-auce, till he was at last 
repaid, through the interest of the Lord Clare and Earl of Thomond with M. 
Ilimille, Secretaire d'Etat de la Marine, as I find by that Miuister's letter of 
Septemlier 27th, 1749. In addition to the information dei-ived from the puhlica- 
tions of the day respecting the Ii-ish Cajitain's voyage, &c. , with the money, I have 
consulted the " History of the House and Clau of MacKay," Edinburgh, 1829, by a 
gentleman of that name. 



444 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

and sea, of every essential foi' taking the field in the best condition. "Tl'm 
Ivoyal Highness," writes a contemporary, "hath applied himself, witli 
diligence, to reform all abuses in the army; particuiarly he hath lately 
broke 50 ifficers, some of them for coivardice at the late battle of Falkirk, 
and some others because tliey weie but boi/s, and such as he looked on to 
be very rmtit for the command of bi-ave men, and too soft to endure the 
si'verities of such a campaign.* And he has, in order to till their vacant 
commissions, advanced such Serjeants and otheis, who, by their good 
behaviour, have proved themselves worthy of that honour, and from whose 
ex))erience. in military affairs, his Royal Highness expects better conduct, 
es])ecially that now they find merit alone briiuja prefennentP By these 
and other corresponding measures, the Duke was able, April l'.)th, to 
leave Aberdeen, with everything in the fittest order for bringing the way 
to a conclusion. His army, by most trustworthy estimates on its own 
side, could muster, for the day of battle, in round numbers, thus: regular 
infantry, 15 battalions, with those attached to artillery, ToOO — -militia 
infantry, 1 battalion, oOO — or total of foot, 8060 — cavalry, 2 regiments 
of dragoons, and 1 of horse, 900 — total infantry, artillery, and cavalry, 
for battle, 8960 — besides a militia reserve of nearly 1000, constituting a 
general aggregate of above 9960 men. His field train consisted of IG 
pieces, managed by skilful gunners ;+ and a well-stored provision-fleet, 
with ships of war, advanced by sea, so as to insure the troops against 
any want of subsistence on shore, in their march for Inverness, the 
Jacobite metropolis and head-quarters. Meanwhile Prince Charles's 
resources, for the support of his adherents in a contest against an enemy 
supjilied with everything, were dwindling away to notliing. In addition 
to the absence of the detachment with Lord Cromarty, the cessation of 
all ])ay in money, even for a considerable time preceding the unfortunate 
capture of the treasure with Ca[)tain Talbot, had caused a dispersion of 
luauy of the Highlanders, for subsistence, to places too distant from 
Inverness, to admit of their reaching it soon enough to encounter the 
a])]iroaching Georgeites; and such a force as Charles could draw together 
there, for that purpose, were sadly inferior to the CTiemy in number, and 
still worse off in other respects. The whole — including, among others. 
Brigadier Stapleton's and Lord George Murray's previously-decached 
cor|)S — the latter o'bliged to raise the blockade of Blair Castle upon the 
advance of a body of Hessians, &c. ^ — are alleged, on their side, to have 

* "To observe some officers, both in the army and fleet," complains an Enolish 
metro})olitan journal in 174G, "one wonltl be tempted to take rei^iments and ships 
not only for scltoul , m the literal sense, but even for nurnerles.''' The indio-naut 
jovu-nalist then descants on how " those who yive commissions ran l>e so mist^iken, 
or are. so dishonest, as to think they can answer to their country the disposal of 
them in sucli a manner," &c. 

t My 2 leading Gleorgeite authorities, for enumerating the Duke's infantri/, are 
the following : — 1. "Return of the Number of Officers and Men in each Battalion 
of the Fling's Army the Day of the Battle of Culloden " — with an annexed general 
computation, or one, in round numbers, of the strength of its militia and cavalry. 
2. ''Account of the Distribution of the sura of £-4000 anumgst the Kegiments 
engaged at Culloden, the Number on the Spot, and the Sums allowed to Each, 
acc(U-ding to the Apportioinnent transmitted by His Royal Highness, the Duke." 
Each of these documents supplies .Sirme defect of the other; yet l/ofh leave us in the 
dark, as to the full amount of the commissioned officers. The Duke's caviilry are 
taken fiom Lord Mahon as 900 ; and, according to the London printed "Plan of 
the Battle near Culloden House," the Duke's (lans there were Ui. 

X I merely allude here to Lord George Murray's lorce, as there were no Irish 
with it. 



rs THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 445 

heen finally in action not at fMrtbest above 5000 —if. indcod, they were so 
many, since Cliailes liiniself estiniated tlieni to Louis XV. as luit 4000. 
Of these, the liorse, consisting one-halt of Fitz-Janiess men, were no nioi-e 
than 150, and worn out with tlie hai-d day und night duty which neces- 
sarily devolved upon them, as the on/// cavalry remaining. The artillery 
for the field amounted to 12 pieces; but, as the result showed, with very 
inefiiicient gunners; mostly, if not altogether, mere native or Highland 
substitutes, it would seem, for the trained Frenchmen, killed off at the 
recent destructive sieges. As regards food, all were on the verge of 
starvation; even officers of rank being reported as glad to get cabVjage- 
leaves from farmers' gardens; and the soldiers receiving only supplies, 
and those not regulai-ly, of meal, or what was called meal, which they 
had to convert into money, at a rate that went btit too short a way to 
maintain them; so that the poor fellows grumbled very much, as suspect- 
ing, though unjustly, that their pay was detained by the officers, and the 
obnoxious meal substituted. Of this so-called meal, when the army was 
drawn (mt in a bleak and proportionably hunger-exciting position, the 
day previous to that on which they were engaged, all the ])rovision 
receiv'ed was a small loaf, biscuit, or bannock a man, "and so7iie not even 
that!" Uj)on such a wrek-hed allowance, Mr-. Chambei's, who tasted a 
piece, "carefully preserved foi- 81 years by the successive members of a 
Jacobite family," remarks — " It is imjtossible to imagine a composition of 
greater coarseness, or less likely either to jjease, or satisfy, the appetite; 
and, perhaps, no recital, however eloquent, of the miseries to which 
Charles's army was I'educed, could have impressed the reader with so 
strong an idea of the real extent of that misery, as the sight of this singular 
7'elic. Its ingredients appeared to be niereUj the Imsks of oats, and a coarse, 
unckan species of dust, sinidar to what is found upon tlie floors of a mill!" 
In a word, the Prince was ultimately so situated, that he should either 
order his adherents to disperse, and, at the same time, proceed to ])rovide 
for his own safety, or, with such as were still in a body, should give 
battle immediately, whatever might be the disadvantages on his side, 
since he had neither money nor provisions left, to admit of a middle course 
of action, by any attempt to defer an enga,(jement.* And tlds, though, as 

* In the " Particular Account of the Battle of Culloden," by " an Officer of the 
Highland Army," &c., dated from Lochaber, in May, 1746, published at London iu 
1749, and republished, iinder another heading, or title, iu the Lockliart Papers, the 
writer athrms — " I am positively inforni'd, that the whole Highland army did noC 
consist of above 5000 tighting rcen " — misprinted, by the way, as "7000" in tlie 
republication — and he states, "there were not above 150 horse, of which one 
half," i. c, 75, " was of the Regiment of Fitz-James." Of this handful of cavahy, 
inunediately previous to the action, he adds — "The horse of the Prince's army had 
been all on so hard duty, for several days and nights before, that none of them were 
tit foi' patrolling at that time ' — ol ('umberland's advance to engage. In the descri]>- 
tion we have of the contemporary 2>rint of the battle, it is alleged of the Prince's 
artillery-men, " aW of whom appear to wear kilts like the rest" — that is, were no 
better than native or very inferior substitutes for his former French gunners, as 
intimated in the text. The number of the Prince's cannon in the engagement is 
given from the jiublished line of battle. Mr. Chambers and Lord Mahon atfree, as to 
the Prince not having had above .5000 combatants there. According, however, to the 
memorial to Louis XV., of November 10th, 174(), from Charles hini>ielf, he fought at 
Culloden with only "quatre mille hommes," or l^ut " 40U0 men." Smollett like- 
wise makes the Prince's force no higher. In tine, remarks the " Highland otKcer." 
above-mentioned, of his coinitrynien there — "Another misfortune they lay under 
wa.-<, a total want of jirovisions, so that then ircre rcdiicpd to the nt'ccxnitji, fitln-r of 
fijlitiii!/ (1)1 arm;/ a third stroiicin\ fitfirv, nr disp'ruf.." But the (ieorgeite army was, 
as has beeu shown, mure than "a third stronger." 



416 niSTORY OF THE IRISIT BRIGADES 

Lord George Murray notes, but a day's delay, for that object, would have 
made the Jacobite force nearly 2000 stronger! 

The Georgeite army, in its march northwards, April 23rd-24th, reach'^d 
and crossed the river Spey, partly about Fochabers, "where," writes an 
English Volunteer, "I observed several good houses, and peo))le of fashion 
stinding, looking at ns, but," he significantly adds, "not one ]jers(>n to 
\vish us good success !" Before the enemy's superior force, the Prince's 
outposts withdrew, to join his other troops, concenti'ating towards Inver- 
ness. On this retreat, the Irish, as " French piquets, Fitz-Janies's horse, 
French horse," are thus noticed by the Mac Donald journal. " Clan- 
ranald's battalion had the rear, together with the French piquets and 
Fitz-James's horse, to cover us from the enemy's strong advanced guard, 
our French horse and they often exchanging shots, and once we thought 
they were to have actually engaged ; upon which, our regiment, and th% 
Stewarts of Ajjpin, under Ardshiels, were ordered back, to supy^ort the 
French. Upon our advanceing, Fitz-James's horse formed themselves into 
the wings of our right and left, upon which, their," the enemy's, "advanced 
guard of 200 horse, and the Argyleshire Campbells as militia, iinniediatly 
halted, and drew u]) in order also, but we, perceiving their whole army 
advanceing, retreated again." In the continuation of the Duke's march, 
oil the 25th, from Alves to Nairn, some of the Irish piquets are mentioned 
by Home, a.s, from one end of the bridge of the latter place, exchanging 
sliots with the British grenadiers at the other; and the Jacobite retreat 
tlience is also referred to by that writer, as covered by a troop of the Irish, 
or Fitz-James's, Regiment of Horse, with the 2nd "Troop of the Prince's 
Horse Guards, till 5 or 6 miles farther on, oi zl the Lough of the Clans, 
Charles himself, riding up unexpectedly fi-om Inverness, with his 1st 
Troop of Horse Guards, followed by the Regiment I'f Mac Into.sh, ordered 
a halt and formation of the entire body to receive the attack of the 
Georgeite pursuers, who were very near. Upon which, the latter, as then 
ontiiund)ered, fell back, retiring to their arm}'^, encamped about Naiin ; 
while the united Jacobite corps proceeded unmolested to form a like 
juncticm with their main force. Ere evening, the whole were led by 
t'harles out of Inverness, to bivouack around CuUoden House, where he 
and his chief officers quartered that night. Next morning, the 26th, 
about 6 o'clock, they were marched farther off, or between 4 and 5 miles, 
from Inverness, to Drummossie Muir, and posted in order of battle, to 
meet the Duke of Cumberland, expected that day from Nairn. The Duke, 
however, not appearing, since, that being his birth-day, he and his troops 
Avere spending it in corresponding festivity, a night-attack upon the 
English, after their carouse, was, as most likely to succeed, proposed by 
Loid George Murray to Charles; who consented to it, as a measure 
already conten)])lated by himself — not imjirobably at the suggestion of 
his military Mentor, O'Sullivan* — and the design was accordingly under- 

* By an extract, in the newspapei's, of a " Letter from Edinbnrgli," respecting 
tl e acticn at Cullodeii, we are told, of the Hip;hlaiKl force — "Early on Wednesday 
11 cmiiiii: Mr. Sullivan advised, that they should fall upon the Duke, as his army 
V I uld he overwhelmed with sleep and wine, the day before beiiiu his Koyal High- 
nss"s liirth-day." It is not unworthy of observation, that 16(j3 3'ears before, or 
A. D. 83, on the advance of the Koman General, Agricola, auaiiist the Caledonians, 
m der similarly advautageous circumstances to those of the Duke of Cumberland 
against the Highlanders, or with superior strength by sea as well as by land, a 
iioctninal surprise was considered by the ('aledoniaus the best mode of op]>osiDg the 
invader, vvevious to the more general and decisive engagement at the Grami'ian 



IN THE SE:!V:CE of FrtANX'E, 447 

taken by Lord Crfornjo, with O'Snllivan, and the Princp. to the watch- 
won! (sf liis liiLiier s naLiorud title, as " King James VIII." But. from 
various obstacles to the success of the entery)rise, the result of the attempt 
was nothing better than a long march, to Kilravock and back to Culloden ; 
necessarily reducing, by proportionate fatigue, hunger, and weakness, the 
physical efficiency of the unfortunate Jacobite force, that, as if its previous 
]>rivatiou and suffering were not enough, had thus, under an agyiavation 
of those evils, to encounter the Duke of Cumberland. 

"Strength is derived fi-om sjiirits and from l)lood, 
And those aui;'inent by ueu'rous wine and food: 
What boastful son of war, vvitliont that stay, 
Can Jast a hero through a single day? 
Courage niay prompt ; hiTt ehliing out his strength, 
Jlere unsu])])orted man must yifld at length ; 
Shrunk with dry famine, and with toils declin'd, 
The droo])iug body will desert the mind.'' 

Pope's Homer, Iliad, xix., 159-166. 

About 5 in the morning of the 27th, the di.sappointed, harassed, and 
famished troops returned from Kilravock to Culloden Moor, and some 
threw themselves down to rest, and others dispersed several miles round 
as far as Inverness for food or drink, when, in less than 3 hours, or 
between 7 and 8, Charles, who, after obtaining with difficulty some bread 
and whisky, had likewi.se retired to take some repose at Culloden House, 
was ai'oused by intelligence of the van of the enemy being not above 2, 
and the rest not above 4, miles off. He consequently mounted for the 
tield with his General Officers, and the scattered men were signalled by 
cannon shot, and the trumpet, diami, and pipes, to return for the engage- 
ment that was ap])roaching; a summons with which though numbers 
complied, yet too many were unable to do so. O'Sullivan, as Adjutant- 
General and Quarter-Master-General, drew up the army in a position ag 
suitable as circumstances permitted; or upon ground less eligible, indeed, 
than some not far off on the south side of the Nairn, where the High- 
landers would be most favourably situated, as com{)arativeIy inaccessible 
to the hostile cavalry and cannon; but a spot, the occupation of which 
im]ilied "utter ruin," as uncovering or abandoning the last or oidy 
depot-town of Inverness to the enemy; while the locality selected, in 
order to cover that town, and the corresponding military arrangements 
fif the Irish officer, were admitted to be " very good," on the natural 
su))position, that the Georgeites, from their very superior numbers, 
would endeavour to dislodge their opponents by assault. That, however, 
was not to be the case; almost everything seeming to co-operate, on this 
occasion, for the final ruin of the Stuart cause. Each army was arrayed, 
in 2 lines, with a reserve. The cannonade, commenced shortly after 1 

Hills. "The fleet, now acting for the first time in concert with the land-forces," 
writes Agricola's biographer, ''proceeded in sight of the army, forming a magnifi- 
cent spectacle, and addnig terror to the war. ... In this distress, the Cale- 
donians I'esolved to try the issue of a battle," but afterwards "changed their plan, 
and, in the dead of night, fell, with their united force, upon the 9th legion, then the 
weakest of the Eoman army. They surprised the advanced guard, and having, in 
the confusion of sleep and terror, put the sentinels to the sword, they forced their 
way through the intrenchments. The conflict was in the very camp " — so that had 
not Agricola appeared, by "break of day," for the "relief of the legion" in its 
"distress,' it would probably have been destroyed. See Murphy's Tacitus, Life 
Ot Agncola 



448 HISTORY OP THE inisn brigades 

o'clock by tlie Prince's artillery, was of little effect; the fire of the 
Duke"«, on the contrary, being so iuMiipportably galling, that, in about 
20 niirnitc*^, the Highland force were obliged to forfeit their only advan- 
tage, or thit of tlieir ])osition, by quitting it, in order to become, though 
the weaker, the attacking i)arty ; at the same time, that a strong north- 
east wind, attended with a thick shower of snow and sleet, made what 
was bad worse, by blowing the smoke of the artillery and small arms 
into their faces. Nevertheless, 

"As near extinct, the torch new liohfc acquires, 
Revives its Hauie, and in a lihize exjiires; 
So they, Avheu scarce the blood maintain d its course, 
With kindled ire reuruit its dying force ; 
Resolve tlieir last of days with fame to spend, 
And crown their actions with a glorious end I " 

HooLES Tasso, Jerusalem Delivered, xix., M3-I4S.* 

Led on, by the heroic Lord George IMurray, sword in hand, the right, 
consisting of the Athol men, the Camerons, Stewarts of Apj>in, etc., 
rushed, with a loud shout, to engage the English left. So destructive 
WHS the combined tire of the English nnisketry, and field-pieces loa<le(l 
with grape-shot, that the brigade of Athol, l»y the loss of at least half 
its ofhcers and men, was too cruelly shattered to be able to come to the 
chai'ge, and had consequently to desist, or stop short. But the other 
clans closed with, and broke, the 1st line of the English; the 2 most 
forward regimeuts there of Barrell and Dejean (late Monro's) being vei-y 
severely handled. In Barrell's, overpowered by the brave Camerons 
under Lochiel, among the Georgeite otticers duly disposed of, was its 
Lieutenant-Colonel, Rich, who not long after died of a. claymore-u'ash 
received cm his head, and the loss of his hand, hewn awav in vainly 
attempting to save his colours here; of which 1 stand and '2 pieces of 
cannon were taken, 125 men being killed or wounded, and the rest 
seeking refuge behind other corps of their 2inl line. Dejeau's likewise 
repulsed, (a]>parently by the Stewai-ts,) had 82 men horti de combat, making, 
with the 125 men previously mentioned, an admitted total of 207 slain 
or hurt for both regiment.';, t In the centre, the 1st line of the English 
had also to yield, especially to the impetuosity of the Mac Intoshes, 
never before in action ; who, anticipating even their right, under Lord 
George Murray, in dashing to the charge, ])enetrated far beyond the 
enemy's cannon; the Major of the clan, John Mor Macgilvra, a powerful 
swordsman, having brought down 12 men there with his trusty claymore, 
ere he was despatched by the reinforcements sent against him, and his 

* An adaptation of a passage in the last noble combat of Tancred and Argantes. 

+ The above })articulars respecting the Kegimeuts of Barrell and Dejean, with the 
exception of the loss of the colours, are taken from Georueite published authorities, 
combined with the account of the gallant Dcjmty- Paymaster of the Prince's army, 
Robert Nairn, communicated to Home. The loss of its colours by Barrell's re^i- 
ment, hitherto, I believe, unacknowledged in print, is given from a letter, dated 
Inverness, A]ii-il 22nd, 0. S., 174G, of Thomas Ashe Lee, Captain -Lieutenant in 
Wolfe s regiment at the battle— for a cojiy of which document, I am indebted to my 
friend, W. J. Fitz-Patrick, Esq., of Kilmacud Manor, Stillorgan, so well known by 
his various writings. The (ieorgeite olKcer's words are — " Poor Barrell's regiment 
were sorely pressed by those desperadoes, and outdanked. (Jne stand of their 
colours was taken; Collonel Riche's baud cutt off in their defence." Another 
Gecrgcite olficer's letter from Scotland, to the Honourable Colonel Thomas Butler 
in Dublin, likewise states, how " Lieut. Col. Rich had his hand cut oti', and a cut 
ou his head with a broadswci'd," &c. He died lu the enxuing month of iVlay. 



IN THE SERVICE OP FRANCE. 

frnllant corps, of whom no -more than 3 oflScers snrvivecl tlip action.* 
tJad tliis coiuluct of the Prince's right and centre been simnltaneonsly 
supported by simihir ardour ou the part of his left, the result would, 
lierliaps, have added another ti'ininph to those of Preston-Pans and Fah 
kirk; particularly as th<' regiments of the Clan-Colla, or Mac Donalds. + 
who were on that wing, were aujong t!ie riost chstinguished of the 
Highlanders for bravery. JJut here tliey behaved rn sucli a manner, as 
to occasion the immediate ruin of the cause in which they were engaged, 
and to cover themselves with a disgrace proportioned to tlie general 
indignation of the Jacobites, and, indeed, of all reasonable men. Partly 
irritated, and partly regarding it as an evil omen, that they should be 
placed on the left instead of the right, which, as "the post of honour," 
they had occupied on, and claimed ever since, the memorable day of 
Bannockburn, they could merely be induced to advance a little, and fire 
their muskets, but by no means to make an onset, to the accustomed 
chai-ging-cry of " Claymore !" In vain the Duke of Perth, endeavouring 
to ajjpease them, alleged, that, if they displayed their usual coui'age here, 
they would make the left a right wing, and that he himself would ever 
after take the honourable surname of Mac Donald. They refused to 
j)roceed, sullenly enduring the fire of the English, and doing nothing 
better than expressing their dissatisfaction by cutting up the heath with 
their broadswords, mitil the other clans were comi)elled to give way. 
Of those 3 Mac Donald regiments, however, 1 gentleman, a Protestant, 
Alexander, ''Chieftain of Keppoch, of chivalrous character, and noted 
for great private worth," acted in a manner suitable to theybr/y/i,e?" I'eputa- 
tion of the name he boi'e. "When the rest of his clan retreated," we are 
informed, " Keppoch exclaimed, with feelings not to be appreciated in 
modern society, ^ My God, have the children of my tribe forsaken me T % 

* With the Chevalier de Johnstone's 2 assertions, " onr centre had already 
broken the enemy's 1st line, and attacked the 2nd," and "if our centre, which 
had jiierced the 1st Une, had been properly siipported, it is highly probable, that 
the Eii'jhsh would have heen soon put to flight," compare the circumstances of the 
fall of tlie hrave Major of the Mac Intoshes, &c., iu Mr. Chamhers's history. 

t The Mac Donalds, or Mac Donnells, were called "Clan-Colla," as descendants 
of 1 of the 3 brothers Colla, of the royal Heremonian line of Erin, or the eldc?t 
Colla, surnamed "' Uais," that is, the Nolle, as having heen, from a.d. o27 to .S31, 
Ard liigh, or Monarch, at Tara. These 3 warlike brothers, in a long and bloody 
engageuient, al>out Fincarn, in the present County of Monaghan, popularly styled, 
from them, "the hattlc of the 3 Collas," overthrew the dominion of the old Irian 
Kings of Uladh, or Ulster, and destroyed, a.d. 3o2, their remarkal)le residence at 
Emania, so renowned in Bardic tale and lay, for its connexion with the heroic times 
of King Conor Mac Nessa, the Champions of the Red Branch, &c. By that imjmr- 
tant success, a large territory was acquired; in the next and subsequent ages 
indeed (limniislied ; yet, of which a very considerable jiortion, conqirehended withui 
the present Counties of Louth, Monaghan, Fermanagh, and Armagh, as t>irL'ial, or 
Orgiel, was, for the most part, held by the Clan-Ckiila, likewise called Oirghialla, or 
Orgiallaiis, upwards of 1200 years, or until the l(5th century; even the Primacy of 
Armagh, "the Eome of Erin," having been a "vested interest" in 1 family of the 
race, lietween the lOth and 12th centuries, for nearly 2J0 years. In Connauglit, 
too, the Clan-Colla conquered extensive possessions, as early as the 5th century. 
The branch of the line of Colla " Uais," or tlie Noble, which established itself from 
Erin in Alba, or Scotland, and became so powerful there in the western isles, and 
on the mainland, was, in the person of Donald, T^ord of the Hel>ri(les, and Kin tyre, 
iu the reign of James III., the stock of our Earls of Antrim. 

X "The Irish word Claim,'" writes Dr. J. H. Todd, "signifies c^'iklren, or 
descendants. The tribe, being all descended from some common ancestor, the 
Chieftain, as the representative of that ancestor, was regaixled as the commoU 
father uf tho Clanu, and they as his clilldren." 

2g 



450 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

He then advanced, with a pistol in one hand, and a drawn sword in the 
other, resolved apparently to sacrifice his life to the offended genius of 
his name. He had got but a little way from his regiment, when a 
nnisket-shot brought him to the ground. A clansman, of more thaa 
ordinary devotedness, who followed him, and, with tears and prayers, 
conjured him, not to throw his life away, raised him, with the cheering 
assurance, that his wound was not mortal, and that he might still quit 
tlie field with life. Ke])poch desired liis faithful follower to take care of 
himself, and, again rushing forward, received another shot, and fell, to 
rise no more ! " A death, not imworthy to l)e compared with some of 
the noblest of ancient story — with that of ^milius Paullus at Cannae — 
with that of Asdrubal Parca at the Metanrus * — and, in the elevated 
sj)irit of the Homeric exclamation, — 

" Let future a,G;es hear it, and admire !" 

Pope's Homer, Iliad, xxii., .388. 

Meanwhile, on the 2nd line of the English left, the infantry-regiments 
of Sempill and Bligh — the 1st rank kneeling with bayonets presented, 
the 2nd stooping, and the 3rd upright, so as to give a double line of tire 
— received the flushed van of the previously-successful Highlanders with 
a palisado of steel, and point-blank tempests of lead, insui-mountable by 
men, who, after 1 discharge, having, as usual, dropped their muskets, to 
come to close quarters, had only swords and pistols remaining; the 
regiments of Barrell and Dejean, recently repulsed, also rallied in suppoi-t 
of their 2nd line, which had protected or covered them; and Major- 
General Huske, who was in command of that line, detached Wolfe's 
regiment, to increase the disorder of the Highlanders, by taking them in 
flank, and raking them there, as they were raked in front, by a vigorous 
musketr)^ " We marched," relates the Captain-Lieutenant of that 
regiment, "up to the enemy, and our left, out-flanking them, wheeled ia 
upon them ; the whole then gave them 5 or 6 fires with vast execution, 
while their front had nothing left to oppose us, but their pistoUs and 
broadswords; and the fire from their center, and real-, (as, by this time, 
they were 20 or 30 deep,) was vastly more fatal to themselves, than to 
ns. It was," he observes, " sur[)rising they stood so long, at such disad- 
vantage ! " They consequently gave ground; Wolfe's corps recovering 
the 2 cannon lately lost, and making many pi-isoners.f The Lowlanders, 
too, farther back on the Prince's right, having presented no adequate or 
effective opposition to Lieutenant-General Hawley, in defence of some 
park-walls between him and them, that officer, by the aid of a party of 
Argyleshire militia, or Campbells, made such openings as enabled him to 
pass through, and menace that wing still more, or both in flank and rear, 
with the entire English left of cavalry. All along the Prince's right and 
centre, the Highlanders being now repulsed — yet having acted, writes a 
hostile eye-witness, " with that mixture of resolution and dispair that has 
scarcely been paralell'd," and having left, we are told, in 1 part of the 

* On the deaths of iEmilius Paullus and Asdrubal Barca, see Livy and Poly- 
bius. 

+ Another "Letter from Wolfe's EeQ;iraent at Inverness, April 18," 0. S., pub- 
lished in the newspapers, after mentioning, how "Barrel's regiment was hard 
wrought by the rebels, who pushed all their strength against them, and tooh 2 
jdecen of cannon frovi them,''' then adds, "but our regiment, being ordered to flank 
the rebels, we soon made the p.lace too hot for them, retook the cannon, and took 
A great number of pi'isouers,'" &c 



:n the service of fuance. 4o1 

fielfl, their deaJ and dying, "in layers 3 and 4 dee]» !"* — what remained 
of the Jacobite force generally dis|5iayed but 1 feeble and disheartened 
line, as opposed to the Georgeite army, re-forming and consolidating the 
several lines of its infantry, for a final and decisive effort; while the 
right of its cavaliy. under Major-General Humphry Bland, advanced to 
act against the Highland left, as Hawley, and his cavalry, against tlie 
Highland right. In these hopeless circumstances, the mass, or all but 2 
divisions, of the Prince's troops, one on the right, and the other on the 
left, broke, and fled. Those of the right, who continued together, 
retired, with pipes still playing and colours flying, by Balvraid, towards 
the Nairn, to cross it, in order to t-each the mountains of Badenoch, ikc. ; 
and displayed such honourable firmness in doing so, that the English 
dragoons, detached to intercept them, "thought it both safest and best" 
to let them proceed unmolested, " over the hills and far away !" Those 
of the left, who continued together, marched for Inverness, in which 
direction, as on ground most favourable to a ])ursuit by the enemy's 
cavalry, the slaughter, among such of the vanquished as did not keep ia 
a body, was greatest, and extended over about 4 of the 5 miles from the 
field of battle to that town. ' In this action, which lasted, in round 
numbers, 40 minutes, half occupied in the artillery-tiring, and iialf in the 
closer conflict,f the Georgeites took 14 of the Jacobite colours, with 
artillery, &c. ; and published their own casualties by the affair as 310 
men of all ranks, though 1 of their own officers present says, more, or 
" about 340." J The Jacobite slain, including sf) large a ))roportion of 
their best officers as to constitute " the soul of the Highland army, " 
have been computed, by native authorities, at above 1000, if not 1200 
men. § After remarking, in 1840, "the field v/e' bears witne.ss to the 
carnage of which it was the scene," as, "in the midst of its dark heath, 
various little eminences ai-e to be seen, displaying a lively verdure, but too 
nncquivocally expressive of the dreadful tale," and "the way towards 
Inverness is fringed with many such doleful memorials of the dead," Mr. 
Chambers adds— "Modern curiosity has, in some cases, violated these 
sanctuaries, for the purjiose of procuring some relic of the ill-fated 
warriors, to show, as a wonder, in the halls of the Sassenach ;|| and the 

* In the national son^, entitled " Culloden Day," the Jticobite author notes, 

" There wa.s no luck of bravery there, 
No spare of blood or breat'i ; 
Foi' ii'if to iv)i) our fo»s we dard, 
Fur freedom, or for death." 

But, concludes the poet, 

" The die was risk'd. and foully cast. 
Upon Culloden day." 

■'I- These particulars, as to the portion of time occupied by the engacjement, are 
from the corresjjondeut of the Honourable Colonel Thomas Butler, already 
referred to. 

X The Georgeite loss, at Culloden, was officially specified as 50 killed, 259 
wounded, 1 mis.sing, total 310. But the Captain-Lieutenant, Thomas Ashe Lee, 
writes, "our killed and wounded amount to about 340;" and, of Battereau's regi- 
ment, in which he had friends, and to which no loss is assigned in the Government 
published return, he informs us, a cannondjall " kill'd a man or two" belongirig to 
it — so that the accuracy of the return in question may be doubted. 

§ According to Smollett, " 1200 rebels were slain, or wounded, on the field, and 
in the pursuit;" according to Sir Walter Scott, the Jacobites lost "upwards of 
1000 men;" and we know, what care was taken, after the action, to put thoae 
wounded, and those slain, upon a iei'cl ! 

11 "Everybody who saw the Highiaaders lying dead upon the tield. " allc,^ 2S a 



452 HISTORV^ OF THE IRISH BR:GADES 

Gael, with nobler sentiment, have been, till lately, in the habit of 
]iilgriniising to the spot, in order to translate the bones of their fVicmla 
to consecrated ground, afar in their own westei-n glens." On tlinse 
lamented victims of " dark Culloden's fateful tlay," (the Augliriui of tJcot- 
land,'"\) a native minstrel feelingly exclaims — 

" Shades of the mighty and the brave, 

Who, faitlifid to your Stiuirt, feU, 
No trophies mark your coni;noa s^rave, 

Nor (btg'js ti> yonr nieiii'ry swell ! 
But ijeii rnaa hearts will ivcep your fnte^ 

Wlicnfar ha.s roW'l t w. tide, of time; 
And bard-'i U'diorn shall rcn rate 

Your fading I aine, in lufth-st rhyme !" — Ghteve. 

As to the Irish from France in this engagement, the Lockhart Papers 
remark, on th.e care taken by General O'Sullivan to arrange the Prince's 
forces for the conflict, — " Mr. O'Sullivan drew np the army in line of 
battle (he being both Adjutant and Quartermaster-General), and shew'd 
every batalion their place." The 2nd line of the Jacobites wa.s, accord- 
ing to Home, commanded by the Fontenoy veteran. Brigadier Stafile- 
ton. He was at the head of the infantry ])iqnets of the Irish Brigade, 
makinof about 400 men. Of the 75 Irish horse of the Regiment of 
Fitz-James, Captain Shea's troop, with the 2nd or Lord Balmerino's 
troop of Scotch Life Guards, were letained by Charles about himself, 
on the small eminence where he stood, behind the right of the 2nd line; 
and, to the left of that line, detached, or so as to be able to act, if 
I'equired, with the infantry piquets of the Brigade, was the other ti'oop 
of Fitz-James's corps. Brigadier Stapleton was duly attentive, to the 
]-ight and left of the 2nd line, under his comn)and. On the breaking 
down, by the enemy, of tlie ]iark wall covering the Jacobite right tlank 
there, the Brigadier despatched a Lowland regiment, under Gordon of 
Abbachie, to ari'est the intruders. On the left, when the op]>osing 
ca\'alry of the English inght were the first to advance, in such a 
contident manner, as if they were to deal with nothing more formidable 
than a flying foe, the Brigadier and his countrymen interposed, with 
sufficient efl'ect, to teach the aggressors, that ardour should be tempered 
by ])rudenoe. "The horse, on the right of the King's army," says 
Home, "were the first tliat ])ursued, and they were very near the 
Macdonalds, when the Ii-ish piqiiets came down from their place in the 
2nd line, and tired upon the dragoons, who halted." This check, to the 
cavalry of the enemy's right, was given, when, there being no hope of 
I'ogaining the day, Charles had to leave the field ; after " ordering," 
writes Captain O'Neill, " the Irish piquets, and Fitz-James's horse, to 
make a stand, and favour the retreat of the Highlanders, which," con- 
tinues the Captain, " was as gallantly executed." Smollett, too, after 
noting the final confusion occasioned by the English cavalry among 
the Prince's force, adds of the latter, " the French piqviet.s, on their 
left, covered the retreat of the Highlanders, by a close and regular 
fire." Lord Mahon's injustice in saying no more, with reference to the 
Irish here, than that "«// the French auxiliaries /i'«^ towards Inverness," 

contemporary ]ieriodical, " allowed that men of larger size, lai-ger Umbs, and better 
proportioned, could not be found." 

* See Moore's lines on Aughrim, in the Melodies, commencing, 

"ForKf" not the flnUl wipie they t^er-isU'il, 
The liuest, the la.st ol' tae br^vel " 



IN THE SEItVICE OF FRANCE. 453 

may he Vipst rt^fiitcd in tlie woi-rls of Sii- Wnlter Pcott. Having pre- 
mised hdw '• the 3 leginients of INTacdonnlds, aware nf tlie rout of their 
rii^lit wing, retreated, in good order, nnon tlie 2nd line," Sir Walter 
states, how "a body of (;pa!i-y. fi'om the right of the Kind's army, wh:^ 
commanded to attack tlieui on tlie'r retreat, hnt was checked by a tire 
from the Frencli ])icq<iets, wlio advanced to supjiort the Macdonalds." 
Sir Walter then asserts of the l)vave Stapleton, and his covering piquets, 
"General Stapleton also, and the French auxiliaries, when they saw the 
flay lost, T'etreated, in a soldier-like manner, to Inverness." Of how 
much"cantion mark d the guarded way." in which the Brigadier, his 
coiintrymen. and such as pr^se|•\(•d order like them, were followed by the 
English horse, we are particulailv informed by Sir Walter; who remarks, 
that those horse, along tlie road to Inverness, " did wo< charge such of 
the enemy, whether French, or Highlanders, as kept in a body, but 
dogged, and watched them closely, on their retreat, moving more or less 
speedily as they moved, and halting, once or twice, when they halted;" 
though, lie concludes, respecting those mounted (lodyers, "on the 
stragglers, they made giv at havoc !" In other words, like the troops 
defined by a Chinese Emperor as '• good .soldiers, when opposed to had 
ones, but bad, when opposed to good ones," the conduct of the English 
cavalry in this pui-suit was as vigorou.s, uv iiieixiless, against the dispersed, 
and the unarmed, or ruunbers who had only come out to see the battle,* 
as it appears to have been sJiirkliKi, or " willing to wound, and yet afraid 
to strike," with regard to the retiring regulars, or those maintaining a 
sufficient formation for self-defence. In fine, so serviceable here at 
CuUoden, as y)reviously at Falkirk, were the few disci])lined troops from 
France to Charles, that, notvvithstanding his great disadvantage in point 
of nxtmber, but 1200 of snch well-trained auxiliaries would, by the 
general admission of his army, have tui'ned the scale against the enemy "♦* 
■ — r^harles himself, in his memorial of November lUth, 1746, to Louis 
XV., writing, with respect to the little detachment of his Majesty's 
ti-oops present on that fatal day, " que doiizn cent homines de troupes 
reijlees Favraient decide en ma Javeur, an, vh hI cm su de toute Tnon armee." 
According to a surrendered officer of Lord John Drummond's detach- 
meiit of Royal Scots from France. Captain and Paymaster James Hay, 
the troops called '' French," or the Irish belonging to the infantry of 
their Brigade and to Fitz-James's liorse, and the Scots of the informant's 
regiment, amounteil. in the action, to between 600 and 700 men (of 
whom, as already shown, the Irish regulars were abottt 475, and the 
Scotch com])aratively few, as but the remainder,) the lo.ss of the former 
in the battle being about 100 men, and that of the latter 50. On his 
approach to Inverness, the Duke of Cumberland was met by a drummer, 
with a message resj)ecting its surrender, and with a letter in French, as 
ordered to be written by Brigadier Stapleton; the letter dated from that 

* Mr. .Jesse, rlescrihino; that En-jlish cavalry pursuit, from the field towards 
Inverness, as a "frightful scene,' states — " Main-, -who, from motives of curio-ity, 
] ail approached to wiine.-is the hatiJe, iell victims to tlie iii(li.serimiiiate venn'caiice 
(if tlie victors. Tlie latter, by their (LUrj races and discoinfi Lures, had beeu provohe I 
to the most savaj/f- flurst or r'-veni/e. 

t Had the t:reat"r jortion of Fitz-James's resiment, intercepted at sea by Com- 
modore Knovvles in March, and of Lallv's regiment, obliged at the same time to 
return to ])ort, been able to reach Scfit'and, Charles, with the little biiul of 
regulars, already ther'e, woidd have liad idmri' liJUU, 01' more than the number 
deemed suthcient to give him a, victory at Culiodeu. 



454 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADKS 

place, and directed, " To the Commanding Officer of" the Ti-oops of his 
Royal Highness, the Dnke of Cimiberhind." It had been first received 
by Major-General Bland, by whom it was forwarded to the Duke, and 
was as follows : " Sir, —The French officers and soldiers, who are at 
Inveiniess, surrender themselves prisoners to his Royal Highness, the 
Duke of Cumberland, and hope for everything that is to be ex|)ected 
from the English generosity. Signed, Cusack, Murphy, Marquis 
d'Kguilles, Dehau, O'Brien, Mac Donnell."* In reply to the delivery of 
this note by the drummer, together with "a message from General 
Sta]ileton, offering to surrender, and asking quarter," adds Home, "the 
Duke made Sir Jose[)h Yorke alight from his horse, and, with his 
])encil, write a note to General Stapleton, assuring him of fair quarter, 
and honouraljle treatment." The drummer was .sent back to Invernes.^ 
with this courteous answer, and a com])any of grenadiers, under Cap- 
tain Campbell, were oi-dered to take possession of the place, and of the 
arms of the troops from Fi-ance thei-e, as j)risoners of war. 

Next day, 28th, the officers, who had surrendered, were allowed, by 
the Duke, the liberty of the town of Inverness, on signing a parole of 
honour, not to leave the place, "without a permission from his Royal 
Highness." To tliat docun;ent were attached the following names, con- 
nected with the Irish in the service of France. Bkuwick's Regiment. 
Stapleton, Brigadier of the Armies of the Most Christian King, and Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel — Delahoyde, Captain — Pati-ick Clery, Captain- — Thomas 
Goold, Lieutenant — Peter O'Reilly, Lieutenant — Eugene O'Keeffi^, 
Lieutenant. — Bulkeley's Regimknt. N. Comerford, Captain — O'Don- 
iiell, Lieutenant — Thomas Scott, Volunteer. — Dillon's Regiment. Cu- 
sack, Captain — Richard Bourke, Captain — Edward Nugent, Captain — 
John Dillon, Captain — John Mac Donagh, Lieutenant— Michael Burke, 
Lieutenant — Carbery Fox, Lieutenant. — Roth's Regiment. Thomas 
Mac Dermott, Captain — Dudley Mac Dermott, Lieutenant — Peter Taaffe, 
Lieutenant. — Lally's Regimknt. Robert Stack, Captain t — Richard 
Murphy, Captain — Alexander Geoghegan, Captain— Miles Swiny, Lieu- 
tenant — Patrick Sarsfield, Lieutenant — James Grant, Lieutenant. — FiTZ- 
James's Regiment. John Mac Donnell, Colonel — Francis Nugent, Cap- 
tain, and Quarter-master to French trcjops in Scotland — Patrick Nugent, 
Ca])tain — Robert Shee, Captain — Thomas Bagot, Captain — Mark Bagot, 
Adjutant — Barnewall, Lieutenant — John Nugent, Lieutenant — Cooke, 
Comet — Philip Molloy, Quarter-master. — Royal Scotch Regiment. 
O'Donoghue, Captain — John St. Leger, Cajjtain. — Regiment of Pahis 
Militia. John O'Brien, Captain. ;{: With these 38 officei-s, 13 others, 

* Printed, in modern Scotch fashion, "Macdonald, " but should be, as here unA. 
snhse(juently given, " Mac Donnell." This was the Irish otiicer, who had been 1 of 
" the 7 men of Moidart." 

+ Of this otiicer, it is noted, that, "beincj wounded, Muri)by sign'd for him." 
X Those uanies, derived from 4 contemporary lists, have been generally turned 
from Frenchified into English forms; such evident misprints as "Patrick C/m/«p " 
ami "O'Dunil" have been altered into "Patrick C/ery" and ' O'D'iniieH;''' and the 
oHicers of every regiment have been inserted under their respective corps, instead 
of otherwise. In the London Gazette, under the head of " Wliiteliall, April 2-t," 
O. 8., 1746, the Irish, or "French ])iquets, " after the engagement at CuUoden, are 
mentioned, as "amounting to about 31)0 men," wlien they "surrendered themselves 
j)risoners at discretion." And a paragrajih from "Inverness, April "23, ' U.S., 
alleges of those prisoners, that "yesterday 310 of thern were shipped off i(»r New- 
castle." These and the irish intercepted lii/ Commodore Knowles, and with CapCd.Ui 
Talbot, would make a considerable number of uieu and otiicei's. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 455 

Scotch, French, or S[)anish, signed the same document, making in all 51 ; 
among whom was the Marquis d'Eguilles, in poor "Prince Charlie's" 
late court, known as "the French Ambassador." The gallant commander 
of the Irish piquets, Walter Sta])leton, died at Inverness, in less than a 
fortnight after the action at Ciilloden, of the injuries he had received 
there; or only about a year subsequent to his distinction at Fontenoy, 
and promotion to the rank of Brigadier. The name of Stapleton — in the 
12th century, the period of its Anglo-Norman introduction into Munstei', 
and long after, written De Stajileton — was thus remarkable at the close 
of the struggle for the Stuarts in Scotland, as, about 55 j'ears before, on 
a like occasion, in Ireland, when Colonel Stapleton, Deputv-Governor of 
Limerick for King James II., fell, in Octolier, IGbl, heading the sally 
against the Williamites,* which immediately preceded the truce, that led 
to the' conclusion of the war there, by the famous Treat3\ To such 
honourable associations of the name of Stnpleton with Ireland, Flanders, 
and Scotland, or Limei'ick, Fontenoy, Falkirk, and Culloden, it may be 
added, that, as the ddonel was not its only representative among the 
officers of the Jacobite army in the national war at home, neither was the 
Brigadier among those of the Brig de abi-oad. In refen-ing to an alleged 
proposal (though not acted on) among the Scotcli, that their English 
prisoners shoidd be put to death, Horace Walpole mentions a circum- 
stance creditable to the memory of General Stap^ton, who thereu|)on. 
"urged, that he was come to fight, and 7i.ot to butcher; and that, if they 
acted any such barbarity, he would leave them, with all his men." It is 
much to be regretted, that the Duke of Cumberland, in this contest, did 
not take a leaf out of the Irish officer's book; in showing, that he, too, 
was above "any such barbarity" as that alluded to, by regulating his 
conduct on the principle "that he was come to fight, and not to butcher." 
From the different jioints of view in which the Irish piquets with 
Charles's foice might be regarded — as, on the one hand, born subjects of 
the reigning dynasty of Great Britain and Ireland, yet fighting against it 
— and, on the other, as a jiortion of the troops of the King of Fiance, 
entitled to the benefit of the Cartel of Frankfort, according to which the 
regular military, captured on each side, were to be treated as prisoners of 
war, without any question, as to what country they might be natives of 
• — Major-General Bland would appear to have deemed it most expedient, 
on his part, to devolve the responsibility of a reply to the message and 
letter from the Irish at Inverness, on his suy)evior officer, the Duke of 
CumVjerland. The Dnke. wiio, however intolerant, and even brutal, to 
those he designated "rebels." was not inca]iable of acting with the 
generosity of a Prince, and the politeness of a gentleman, towards those 
whom, though enemies, he coiLsidered to belonn; to his own profession as 
regular soldiers, behaved accordingly, with reference to the me.s.snge and 
letter. The remains of the Irish piquets were soon after removed into 
England; and, owing to an nttempt (as might be expected) of some 
members of her Government, to question, or explain away, the right of 
the Irish to be regularly exchanged as French, notwithstanding the Cartel 
of Frankfort, the detention of the prisonei-s was longer than it ought to 
have been ; so that an official correspondence took place between the 

• Plmikett's Light to the Blind. The Deputy Governor of Limerick seems to be 
the same officer mentioned earlier in the war. or Ocioher, ir)39, l)y another Jacnliite 
auth Tity, a.s "Lieutenant Colonel .Stapykou, " and defeating a Wilhamite party 
"witiiin ti miles of Oaihugford," 



456 HISTORY OF THE HUSH BUIGADES 

French and English on the matter; till it was at last, or in 1747, arranged, 
irrespective of any political higgling, or according to the terms of the 
Cartel, and the honest and soldierly view of the case, adopted and advocated 
by the Duke of Cumberland, from the beginning to the end of the business. 
"All these prisoner's, whilst they were in England," alleges my French 
authority, "received siibsistence money, which the Court of France trans- 
mitted to them, and which was paid to their order, without deduction. 
On the exchange, each officer received the amount of his allowances, 
during the time he had been absent, at the rate of the English penny, 
valued as the French sol, and the soldiers and cavalry the same." As, 
moreover, the treatment of these prisonei-s in England was good, the 
majority of the officers Vjeing at liberty on their ])arole, the condition of 
the piquets there was far superior to that of their campaigning in Scot- 
land ; where, in addition to the hardships connected with active service 
in such a cold climate, severe season, and y:)oor or ravaged country, regular 
Commissaries and Paymasters from France not having accomjjanied the 
hurried landings from the Continent, " these troops," we are told, " had 
to be satisfied with whatever pay they could get;" and how little reason 
they "had to be satisfied" on that score, may be inferred fnmi what has 
been previously wi'itten.* Their general conduct in aid of Prince Charles, 
allowing for the smallness of their number, was not less creditable to 
themselves, than worthy of the famous* body of national troops from which 
they were detached. The volume of light, that blazed from the emerald, 
as one and i)idivisible at Fontenoy, was not to be expected from the frag- 
ments of it at Falkirk and Culloden ; yet the lustre of those fragments 
there, though necessarily so much less, bore a fair 2)roportion to the 
splendour of the original jewel. 

"The gem may be broke 
By many a stroke, 
But nothing can cloud its native ray; 
Each fragment will cast 
A light, to the last,— 
And thus, Erin, my country, tho' l)roken thou art. 

There's a lustre within thee, that ne"er will decay; 
A spirit, which beams through each suffering ])art, 
And now smiles at all ])ain, on the Prince's day." + — Mooke. 

To return to Charles. During the engagement at Culloden, he had 
hu share of personal danger; 2 pieces of the enemy's well-served artil- 
lery having been specially pointed, by its commander. Colonel Belford, 
against him, and his immediate mounted attendants. He was l)espattf^red, 
up to his face, with the mud, dashed about by the balls; the 1st horse he 
rode being so wounded, a couple of inches above the knee, as to become 
unmanageable,:}: had to be changed for a 2nd ; 1 of his servants was 
killed, who held another horse behind him; and of the little body of 
Scotch and Irish cavali-y around him, consisting of the 2nd, or Lord 
Balmerino's, troop of Life Guards, and Captain Shea's troop of Fitz- 
Janies's Regiment of Horse, each troop seemingly but 37 or 38. or both 
about 75 in number, the loss appears to have been fully proportioned to 

* John O'Connell's French MSS. on Irish Brigade, Appendix to O'Conor's Military 
Memoirs, and British publications of the time. 

t The Stuart Prince, it may lie recollected, was Rerfenf for his father James III., as 
the Hanoverian Prince, written of by Moore, was Reiient for his father George III.! 

X "Which horse," relates a Highland officer, "is now in the possessio^ii of as 
Scots geutlemau." 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 457 

the skill of the English gfnnner^. A liostile letter from Leith on the 
biittle reinarks, witli respect tu the Life (Tiiarcls — " The Fretender's L'fe 
Gnaids have suffered <;reatly. A person, this moment ai-rived, savj 26 of 
tlieui in a heap, with the lace cut olf their vests, and their tartan belts 
lying heside them ! " And. in evidently allnding to such of Fitz-James's 
liorse, as, after being with the Frince at, and accompanying him out of, 
tiie fight, were subs* qiiently dismissed, with oi-ders to surrender them- 
selves to the Diike of Cumbeiland, and next day did so, the Did<e's 
account would show, how few of those Irish remained. " As his Royal 
Highness was at dinner." adds that account, " 3 oHicei-s. and about 16 
of Fitz-James's regiment, who were mounted, came, and surrendered 
themselves prisoners." When Napoleon, at Waterloo, though the day 
was lost beyond recovery, still lingei-ed upon the held. Marshal Soidt, and 
other officers, seized the Emperoi-'s bridle, turned his horse round, and 
"withdrew their Sovereign from useless destruction ; the Marshal exclaim- 
ing— "Ah. Sire, the enemy is fortunate enough already!" In a similar 
]>osition with Charles at CuUoden, after resorting to entreaties in vain, 
O'SuIlivan, laying hold of the reins of the Prince's hoi-se, and assisted by 
Sir Thomas Sheridsm, and other Iiish gentlemen, hurried their unfor- 
tunate master from the fatal s|)ectacle, which was a death-lilow to the 
royal claims of his race.* Of diarles's s\ibsequent wanderings, hard- 
ships, and perils, between the Highlands and Western Isles of Scotland, 
for the 5 months he was expo.sed to the pursuit of his enemies — scenes, 
amidst which lie dif<played a, streiujth of ccmstitutian as wonderful, as he did 
(I. fortitude, clieerfuhtess, and presence of mind., entitled to the /lifjhest adndr- 
ation! — it will only be requisite }iere to touch on A-o//ie circumstances, 
less as connected with Ids immediate history, than as involving due 
notices of the pi-incipal Irish who either served with him, or who finally 
contrilaited to eflect his return to France. 

Among the foi'mer, Sir Thomas Sheridan, whose time of life, and 
infirmitie.s, rendered it peculiarly necessary that he should quit Scotland 
for the Continent, was so fortunate as to escajJC, in May, along with his 
son, the Duke of Perth, Lords John Drummond, Elcho, Nairn, ifec, from 
Ai-isaig ; whence, if not unluckily departed some days before for the 
Western Isles. Charles himself, O'Sidlivan, and Captain O'Neill, might 
likewise have gotten away, with 2 French privateers, the Mars and the 
Jielloiie from Nantes, that beat off 3 English ships-of-war, the Greijliound, 
the Baltimore, and the Terror; and, it may be observed, also brought so larye 
a sunt, for the l^rince, as £'37,77d ; whidi,, ifla)ul''d a few weeks sooner, would 
iito^t prob(d>li/. if not certainlij, have given a dijferent turn to the coufest.'^ 
A.'ter various adventures on both elements, "enduring privations of 

* On Na])oleon at Waterloo, compare the accounts of Oenerals (4onriiand and 
Vaudoi Court, and M. Fleury de L'luiVioulon. Ifesiiectiui;' (.Hiarles at CiiUodeu, 
according to Home, "The Cornet, who carried the .standard of the 2nd Trooj) of 
Horse ( Juards. has left a jiaiier, signed with his name, in whicli he says, that the 
entreaties of Sir Tliom.us Sheridan, and his other friends," to (juit the Held, "would' 
have been in vain, if General Sullivan had not laid hold of the bridle of Charles's 
horse, and turned him ahout. " Sir VVaiter Scott adds, how Charles "wasforceil 
from the Held by Sir Thomas Sheridan, and others of the Irish officers, wlio were 
about his person." 

+ "Si j'eusse re^u plutot," writes Charles to Louis XV., "la moitie seulement 
de I'argenc que votre Majeste ni'a envoye, j'aurais combattu le Due de Cumber- 
land avec un nombre egal, et ;> laurai-s ■suremeiit IxiUn,^' &c. ; since, he goes on to 
say, so much "vj.s done, bv such a very inferior number as that of the Highland 
army at Culloden. And they wearied and siarciiiyl 



458 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

every kind, fleeing from island to island, and from rock tn rock, tor- 
mented V)y hunger and thirst, unprotected from the cold, and constantly 
exposed to every kind of weather," Charles, with " iiis dear O'Sullivaii 
and his faithful O'Neill," (as I find them designated) and some others, 
was, towards the end of June, in the island of South Uist, where he, 
and his coin])anions, were kindly entertained. " For the Mac Donalds 
in that island," writes a hostile conteinp(jrary, "are a generous sort of 
people, and being all Painsts,* they cultivate the old Scots' union with 
France, both in i-eligion and civil jtolicy. Few, or none of them, thougli 
born with a martial genius, enter into the British army, but rather seek 
their fortunes abroad, and are much assisted toward prnferment by the 
Chevalier and his sons." The enemy, being informed of the quarter in 
which Charles and those who accompanied him had taken refuge, pre- 
pared such a force by sea and land for the a]iprehension of the part;/ 
tfcat all the coasts of Uist, Skye, &c., and the channel towards tlie main- 
land, swarmed with armed vessels, or other light craft, on the watch 
against any attempt to leave XTist, that, moi-eover, without a.])asspoit, 
was made " high treastm;'" while the small territory of which Uist con- 
sisted, only 20 miles long, and at most 4 broad, was to be searched with 
detachments of a corps of 2000 men, hdping to gain or share the 
promised government reward of j£30,00(), fir " the young Pretender" by 
proceeding, in different directions, from tiie coast, till they should so 
inclose, as to net or dispatch him, in the interior of the country. 

Among the most odious of those "human wolves" who, although 
Scotchmen by birth, yet, the better to qualify themselves for further 
preferment, or additional pay, shrank from no iuliumanity at the expense 
of their unha|)py Jacobite countrymen, wei'e 3 ruftians, Captains Caroline 
Scott and John Ferguson, and a Major Lockhart.f (Jf those 3 sanguinary 
wretches, the 1st, known as " the ferocious Scott," was within a mile of 
Charles and his conqianions, when O'Sullivan, by what he had suffered, 
found himself so disabled for travelling any more on foot, that it was 
necessary he should remain, duly disguised, in the care of some faithful 
boatmen. On the consequent separation between the Prince and bis 
General, ray informant, alleges a Georgeite wricer, " declai'ed, that the 
Chevalier's parting with Sullivan was like teari>u/ his heart from, his budii 
— for- that was the man's phrase." Charles, then "taking a couple of 
shirts under his ai-ni," and accompanied only by Ca|)taiu O'Neill, 
hastened, as it grew dark, to get from South Uist into Benbecula; 
which, when the tide was out, was joined with South Uist, but, when the 
tide was in, formed a .sei)arate ishmd. Tliere, "at midnight," relates 
Captain O'Neill, " we came to a hut, where, by good fortune, we met 
with Miss Flora Mac Donald," of South Uist, " wliom I formerly knew. 

* Governor Campbell, too, writing; from Fort William in Auoust, 1745, to Sir 
Jolni Cope, refers to the Jacol)ite laiKling fnun France, and sympathy with that 
movement on the vmhilaivl of .Scotland, as having taken place, "in the country 
of Moidart — inhabited by the Macdcmaiils, all itoman Catholics." And Sir Walter 
Scott, in mentioning the famous Keppocli, (whose death has been noticed at 
Culloden,) and hifs Mac Donalds, observes, how, though "Keppoch was a Protes- 
tant, his clan were Catholics." 

+ Mr. Jesse, in naming "(Captain Caroline Scott, and Major Lockhart," amoncr 
the vile representatives of otticial brutality towards the luifortunate .Tacobites, 
remarks — "It is natural, perUaps, as an EiujHs/iiikui, to feel some satisfaction, 
in recording that 2 out of the number were Snifclrm. n.'' He might have added 
& 3rd, iu Ferguson. But who employed and promoLeil Llauii i 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 459 

I quitted the Prince at some distance from the hut, and went witli a 
design to inform myself," with respect to the enemy, "'if the Indepen- 
dent Companies were to pass that way next day, as we had been inft)nned? 
The young lady answered me, not, and said, tliat they were not to pass, 
till the day after. Then I told her, I had brought -a. friend to see lier ; 
and she, with some emotion, asked me, if it was thf. Friiice] I answer^-d 
her, it was; and instantly hromjht him in ! We then consulted on the 
imminent danger the Prince was in, and could think of no more proper 
and safe expedient, than to propt)se to Miss Flora to convey him to the 
Isle of Sky, where her mother lived." This, as the zealous Ca])tain 
suggested, Miss Mac Dcjiiald might effect, by obtaining from her brother, 
who commanded 1 of the Independent Companies, a ])ass, empowering 
her to return to her mother in that island, accompanied by a female 
servant, in which character the Prince might be disguised. Miss Mac 
Donald at tiret very naturally, though " with the greatest respect and 
loyalty," declining to act uj)on the |iroposal, from the trouble in which it 
mi;j;ht involve her relatives, "I then," says the noble-hearted O'Neill, 
" demonstrated to her the honour and inimorla'ity that xvotdd relound to 
her, by such a glorious action; and she at length acipiiesced, aiter the 
Prince had told her the sense he would always entertain of so con- 
spicuous a servic(;." * She promised the Prince and the Captain, to 
acquaint them when the necessary arrangements should be concluded, and 
they betook them.selves to the mountains. 

But, tliough thus far fortunate, it was some time before circumstances 
admitted of their being relieved from the miseries of their situation. 
After having been arrested with her servant, as venturing to cross the 
ford between Benbecnla and South Uist without a |)assport, and been 
detained longer than was desirable at the adjacent military station, Flora 
was libeiated by her stepfather, Mr. Mac Donald of Armadale, who like- 
wise gave her a passport and letter for Skye, empowering her to proceed 
thither, with a nian to attend her, and "one Betty Burke, an Irish girl," 
as a good spinner, in which last character the Prince was to be disguised. 
The means for effecting this disguise were finally attained through the aid 
of Lady (Jlanranald. or Clani-onald, wife of the jjroprietor of the island. 
" Lady Clanionald," alleges the Highland journal, "dress'd up the Prince 
in his new habit, not withotit some mirth and railry passing amidst all 
their distress and perplexity, and a mixture of tears and smiles. The 
dress was on purpose coarse and homely, suited to the fashion of the 
wearer, viz., a callico gown, with a liglit coulered quilted pettycoat, a 
mantle of dun camelot, made after the Irish fashion, with a hood joined 
to it." These habiliments were so little ada|)ted to the Prince, that the 
ap[)earance he made in them subsequently caused 1 of his j)i'otectors, 
the worthy Mac Donald of Kingsburgh, to remark — "Your enemies call 
you a pretender ; but, if you be, I can tell you, you are the ivorst of your 
trade I ever saw." Charles was not ready to depart, with his generous 
benefactress, for Skye, before it was high tiuje that he should do so. i,s 

• Bishop Forbes alleges of Captain O'Neill's narrative, on this interesting occa- 
sion — " In all this, Captain O'Neille is exactly right: for I have heard Miss Mac 
iJonaUl declare, mure than once, that the Captain came to her (bringing the Prince 
along with him) when she ha))pened to be in a shealing," or cal)in, "belonging to 
jier brother ; that fhf Vaptain was the contriver nf the scheme; and that she herself 
was very backward to engage in it: and, indeed, no wonder, (whatever some niaj' 
say) when one seriously oousiders the important trust, and the many dan^er.s 
attendiuu It." 



460 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

General Johi\ Campbell of Maiuore (afterwards 4tli Duke of Argyle) had 
ijot only arrived with a large number of military in Benbecula, but a 
messenger, with the still moie alarming intelligence, that the infamous 
Captain Ferguson, and an advanced party, were actually at Orinaclade, 
the residence of Lady Clanranald, reached that lady, while she was still 
at dinner, in a hut, near the shore, with her friend Flora, the Prince, and 
O'Neill, previous to the intended (Mnbarkation. Lady Clanranald had 
consequently to hurry home, while Charles and Flora prepared to sail, 
attended liy a trusty Highlander, Neil Mac Echan.* 

Charles, who had now to part with the "faithful O'Neill," so long hia 
C(im])anion in suffering and danger, could hardly bring himself to agree 
to such a se])aration. He requested Floi-a, and was, for some time, most 
pressingly joined by the Captain in the request, that a/l should sail 
together; with which proposal, she, however, very sensibly refused to' 
comply, in as much as such an additicm to the number authorized in her 
pass, while exposing the supenitiriierary party to a risk that could be 
avoided, might frustrate the entire undertaking. The Prince, neverthe- 
less, was so generous, as to decline going at all unless accompanied by 
O'Neill, until the latter, on due considei'ation, perceiving, how imperative 
it was, that prudence should get the better of attachment, said to Charles— 
" If you make the least demur, I will instantly go about my business, as 
I am extremely indifferent what becomes of me, so tliat your person is 
safe." Still, it was only with much difficulty, and not until after many 
entreaties, tiiat Charles would consent to embark, attended only by Flora, 
and Mac Echan. " Here," exclaims O'Neill, " my hard fate, and tlie 
Prince's safety, which was my only object, obliged me to share no hmger 
the fortunes of that illustr oiis hero, whise grandeur of soul, tvith a calmness 
of spirit partimdo.r to himself in such danyers, iairfasedin iJirse moiii,Hids 
ivlieji-the gpneral part tf nvnikbid abandon thenisdves to their fate, f I now 
could only recommend him to God and his good fortune, and made 
rny way, amidst the enemy, to South Uist, where we had left Colonel 
O'Sullivan. Next day I joined O'Sullivan, and found (-t days after the 
Prince ])arted)a French cutter, commanded by one Dumont, and who had 
on board '2 Captains of the Irish Brigade, with a number of Volunteers. 
Ifere Colonel O'Sullivan and I concerted what were the ]>ro|>erest mea- 
sures to be taken. We agreed, that he shoidd go on board the cutter, 
as lie iiJds so reduced by tiie long fatigues fJuU he had. undergone in the 
7n.u'U)ttnins, as not to be able to waJk; and that he sliould bring the cntter 
to Loch Seaforth, nigh the Isle of Rasay, where the Prince ordered me to 
join him, by a billet he had sent me, the day liefore, by one ot the bo.it- 
nien who had rowed liim to the Isle of Sky. After having seen rnv fiieiul 
oil bo.ird, and ;ifter innnnieralil;' difficulties, I got a boat, and went round 
the Isle ot Sky to the Isle of Pasay, ])lace of rendezvous; luit, at my 
landing, had intelligence, that the Prince was returned to the Isle of Sky; 

* A Mac Doniidl, (as he 'U\m?.eM wrote the name,) or Mac Donald. He v/as father 
of the celelirated EtienneJacques-.Toseph-Ale.xanclre Mac Donald, previous to ami 
at the lievohuion, an oftiter of the Irish Brigade, in the Regiment of Dillon ; finally 
]\iarshal of France, Duke of Tarentuin, &c. ; and hy Napoleon, at Fontainebleiui, ia 
is 1 4, so nobly "faithful found, among the faithless." 

t The rein-eseiitations of Charles hy his Scotch adherents fully support the warm 
terms in which he is here s|)oken of by the Irish officer. Amonji other circum- 
stances to Charles's credit, we are told, that "he rcijn^tli'd wore the fl'i.st.ri''i.< of tli.o e 
who .suffered J\ir adkeriuy to his iiUtrtst, than tlie liardshqjs and dangers /tc was hourly 
exiJ.jsed to." 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 461 

whereupon, I hasted to said Isle of Sky again, and there, too, had the 
grief to learn, that he had departed that island; but, for what ])lace, no- 
body could inform me in the least. I then repaired to Loch Nanimaddy, 
in North Uist, where, by our agreement. Colonel O'Sullivan was to come 
to me, in case that, in 8 days, I did not join him at Lcich Seaforth." 
Here also the honest and indefatigable O'Neill was disappointed, yet 
without his explaining why — the reason, however, being, that the French 
cutter, in wliich O'Sullivan ivas at the appointed rendezvous, having been 
heard of by the enemy, and, about 3 hours before O'Neill's return, 
2 of tiieir armed wherries, with 30 men in each, having been descried 
approaching to attack the vessel, advantage was taken of a fair wind to 
escape, and sail for Fr'jince.* 

" Not tinding my friend there," continues O'Neill, with reference to 
O'Sullivan at Loch Nanimaddy, in North Uist, "after a delay of 4 days, 
I returned to the Isle of Benbecnla, where I promised myself greater 
Safety than anywhere else ; but I met with a quite different usage, for the 
very ])ersan in whom I had entirely confided, and under whf)se cai'e I was, 
betrayed me to Captain Mac Neal. (induced thereto by a great sum of 
money offered for me,) t who was in that country, under the command of 
Captain Fergusson of the Furnace bomb." The latter, already named as 
among the most conspicuous of liis detestable species in Scotland, was 
born at Old Meldrum in Aberdeenshire, and having been reniarkal)le, 
even in his younger years, or among his school-fellows, for a cruel turn of 
mind, was the fitter instrument for such unscrupulous exeixises of power, 
as would be serviceable to the ])er[)etrator, in proportion to their accor- 
dance with the unfeeling ])Oiicy of a vindictive government. |. "I was 
taken," proceeds Captain O'Neill, "by this Ca|)tain Mac Neal, in a rock, 
over a Loch, where I had skulked for 4 days, and brought to Caj)tain 
Fergusson, who used me with the barbarity of a ])irate, stripped me, and 
had ordered me to be put into a rack, and whipped by his hangman, 

* In Fldra Mac Donnld's narrative, I am sorry to see a shameful aspersion soup;ht 
to be cast upon O'Sullivan, connected with the rleiiarture for France of the cutter 
in which he was, without waitnig for Captain O'Neill's return. When O'Neill came 
back "to the place where he had left the cutter," says Flora, "unhapjiily for him, 
he found, that the timorous O'Sullivan, having a fair wind, and uot having couraue 
to stay till O'Neill's return, being resolved to take care of numlier 1, obliged the 
Captain to set sail dii-ectly, lest he should lie taken, and should lose his precious 
life." Fait, as Flora was nut on hoard the cutter, how could she lti<)n\ that 
()'Sullivan, who was nut its owner, was al>le to ohlige its French Captain to sad 
away? — nn reover, if O'Sullivaa were taken, would not his life, as that of an otHcer 
in the service of France, or like his friend O'Neill's, he .la/e.?— and, is it not evident, 
that the French Captain of the cutter would naturally, or of his own accord, deem 
it only jiiudent to make off, when 2 hostile wherries were actually coming to assail 
him? — for all he knew, or miti,ht reasonably susi)ect, as precur-ors of a much greater 
or Completely irresistible force, where the enemy, by the number of their vessels, 
were masters of the sea. O'Neill, too, in referei:ce to this very circumstance of his 
having been left behind, styles O'Sullivan "my friend," without attaching any 
blame to him, for the occurrence in question. In a word, the cutter remained at 
the place a]ipointefl, untd discovered, and about to be attacked by the enemy; in 
which case, was it to risk being captured, to nu purpose? since, if captiirtd, huw was 
Ncill tu //are been taken on hoard, and brought liark to France? 

t It is a pity, that O'Neill has not consigned his betrayer to everlasting historical 
damnation, by naming him. 

t In a "List of Promotions" for 1746, under October, I meet with "Caiitam 
Ferguson, of the Fvriace bomb," to be "Cnjiti.ni of a newly Jaunch'd 20 gun shi]), 
on the recommendation of the Duke of Cumberland, for hiis good service during the 
rebellion." 



462 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

because I would not confess where I tliou^lit the Prince was.* As I wag 
just going to be whipped, being ah-eady stripped. Lieutenant Mac Caghan 
of the Scotch Fusileers, who commanded a party under Cajjtain Fergnsson, 
very generously o])posed this barbarous usage, and, coming out with his 
drawn sword, tlbrpjitened Captain FeryaKsnn,, that he ivould, sa.crifice hinisdf 
and Ids detachment, ra.tlier than see an offii-er used, after such an infamous 
'manner. I cannot avoid acquainting the puVjlic," concludes the Irish 
Captain, with reference to John Campbell, the future Duke of Argyle, 
"that 4 days after I was taken, General Cami)bell sent me word, upon his 
jjarole of honour, that, if I had money, or otlier effects, in the country, ia 
sending them to him, they should be safe; upon which {always imagitdng, 
that the word of honour was as sacredly kept in tlie English army as in 
others,) t I went, with a detachment, for my money, and gold watch, 
which I had hid in the I'ock, when I perceived the party searching for, 
me; and sent to General Campbell, by Cajjtain Skif)ness Campbell, 450 
guineas, with my gold watch, broad-sword, and ])istols; all which he has 
thought proper (to be .sure, consistent with his honoui',) to keep from me, 
\i{>on divers applicaticms made to him.";}; Captain O'Neill was subse- 
quently transferred, as a prisoner, to the KJfhaia man-of-war, commanded 
by Commodore Smith, for conveyance to Edinburgh Castle. 

Meantime, Flora Mac Donald, having accimijianied the Prince through 
various adventures to Portree, whence he sailed for the Isle of Raasay, 
was, some days after }-eturning to her home at Armadale in Skye 
arrested by a party of Captain Ferguson's men, and brought on board 
the Furnace, but consigned, from his unenviable custody, to that of the 
kind-hearted Captain of the Eltham. Thus, ob.serves Mr. Chambers, "it 
chanced, that she here had, for one of her fellow-prisoners, the worthy 
Ca])tain O'Neal, who had engaged her to undertake the charge of the 
Prince — and who, \>y tlie way, had made her the offer, on that occasion, 
of his hand, in marriage, as a protection to her good fame. When she 
first met him on ixiard, she went playfully up, and slap]ung him gently 
on the cheek with the palm of her hand, said, 'To that black face, do I 
owe all my misfortune!' O'Neal told her, that, instead of being Jier 
misfortune, it was Jier highest honour; and that, if she continued to act up 
to the character she had alrea-ly sJiown, not pretending to repent of what she 
had done, or to be aslanned of it, it-would redound greatly to her happiness.''^ 
Flora, after some detention on board, in Leitli Road, off Edinburgh, was 
conveyed to London; but was only kept thei-e till dismissed, under the 
Act of Indemnity, in July, 1747. Then abont 27, she sub.sequently 
married Mr. Mac Donald of Kmgshurgh, (son of the generous protector, 
and suflerer for having protected. Prince Charles,) and, in March, 1790, 
she died in Skye, aged about 70. " Continuing, to the last, a firm 
Jacobite," she would resent, with the utmost indignation, the presump- 
tion of any one venturing, " in her hearing, to call Charles, by his ordinary 
epithet, the Pretender'" — and, "at her particular request, her body vvas 
wrap])ed in 1 of the sheets, that had been used by the unfortunate 
grandson of James II., during the night he rested at Kingsburgh!" 

* Such "vigour beyond the law," as this allotted for Captain Neill by Ferguson, 
was, however, not *■ Idy assiuiied by him. Scotland under CuDibeflandi.siii in 174(5, 
Was like Ireland luider Orant/f^ism in 1798. 

+ Connect this damaging reflection of Captain O'Neill with the quotation res- 
pecting the army previously given from Dean Swift, writing to Wogan. 

J Was it not only natural, that this Duke, as a Whig, should be opposed to a 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 463 

CNeill was sent from EclinV)nrgh Castle to Bevwick-on-Tweed, and 
I'eniitted to the Continent, according to the cartel, as a French officer — • 
after which, T much regret to know notliing more respecting him. 
"These," as Dr. Johnson wonUl say, "were w^t Whigs!" — and, as a 
member of the same ancient Celtic branch of the human family, I may 
add, in allusion to the older period of our common affinity, tliey were 
Gaels, of whom their respective Scotias — or Scotia Major and Scotia 
Minor,* Erin and Alba — may well be proud. If a true-hearted devotion 
to what ai)peared the cause of proscribed and distressed right, in opposi- 
tion to dominant and persecuting might, be worthy of admii-ation. the 
Irish offioei- and the maiden of South Uist, as representatives of suck 
devotion, will always be admired in history. 

•' While rollinrr rivers into seas shall run, 

And, rouinl the spat^e of heav'n, the radiant siin; 
While trees the mountain-tops with shades supply, 
Your houour, name, and jiraise, shall never die." 

Dryden's Virgil, ^neis, i., 854-8.57. 

Charles, not many days from his parting with Flora Mac Donald, or 
about the middle of July, quitted the islands, for the mainland, or western 
Highlands, of Scotland ; by which change of situation, nevertheless, the 
dangers that menaced him wherever he went, so far from being lessened, 
became greater than before, and would, indeed, have been altogether 
insurmountable, but for the undiminished fidelity of the Highlanders to 
him, as the descendant of " the Bruce of Bannockburn," and. like that 
illustrious Prince, in the days of his adversity, hunted for his life, by his 
enemies. Meanwhile, the French cutter, under Captain Dumont, which 
escaped the armed wherries sent against her b}' the English, having 
gotten back to France, General O' Sullivan lost no time in proceeding to 
Versailles, and representing there, how urgent was the necessity of 
despatching some vessels, to extricate the Prince, from his equally afflicj- 
ing and alarming position in Scotland, since the battle of Cullodea. 
When, ere setting out from Rome for France, in 1743, to join the pro- 
posed ex))edition for a " re.storation " in England under Marshal Saxe, 
Charles, then high in hope, took leave of his father, he said, " I trust, by 
the aid of God, that I shall soon be able to lay 3 Crowns at your 
Majesty's feet" — to which the affectionate and less sanguine re[)ly of his 
father was, " Be careful of yourself, my dear boy, for 1 would not lose 
you, for all the Crowns in the world!" The effects of O'Sullivan's repre- 
sentations, on behalf of Charles, at the French Court, and of the naturally 
incieased or intense anxiety of James for the safety of his son, caused 
2 frigates to be ordered for Scotland, to bring away the Prince. The 
command of these vessels, the Heureux of 30 guns, and the Princesse de 

* According to Archbishop Ussher, there is no instance of the territory known, 
in modei'n times, as Scotland, having been styled Scotia, previous to the 11th 
century; in which opinion, the learned Dr. Charles O'Conor follows him; and Mr. 
Pinkerton, as a Scotch authority, coincides with &o<A; alleging, "the truth is, that, 
from the 4th century, to the 11th, the names Scotia, and Scoti, belonged solely to 
Ireland and the Irish." Early in the latter century, or in 1004, we find the great Brian 
Borumha, or " Boru," as Ard-Righ of Erin, or Supreme Monarch of Ireland, also 
designated, "Imperator Scotorum..''^ When the name of Scotia began to be ex- 
tended to Alba, or Albania, as Scotland had previously been denominated, Erin, 
Hibernia, or Ireland, as the mother-country of the Scots, was distinguished as 
"Scotia Major" and her colony in Britain as "Scotia Minor,'" until, tinally, 
Scotia, or Scotland, became the appellation for the kingdom of isorth Britain only. 



4:64 nisTOKY OF the irish brigades 

Conti of 20 gnns, was intrnsted to Colonel Warren of the Irish Regiment 
of Dillon; who, during a portion of the recent contest in Scotland, had 
corresponded, from Charles's quarters, with the Prince's father, on the 
Continent ; and who, if successful in the important object of this voyage, 
was promised a Baronetcy by James. The Colonel was accompanied 
by Charles's late Aide-de-Camp, Sir Thomas Sheridan's son, Captain 
Sheridan, and a Lieutenant O'Beirne, likewise in the French Service. 
Sailing, in September, from St. Malo, round Ireland, in order to elude 
the multitude of the enemy's cruisers, and luckily befriended by a 
tempest, which cleared the Scotch shore of such unwelcome objects, the 
2 French vessels reached Lochnanuagh; and, after having had to remain 
for several days there, before they could open a correspondence with the 
Prince, and still longer befcn-e he could reach them, they, at last, or by 
October 1st, took him on board with 23 gentlemen and 107 men q^ 
common rank, at the very same spot where he had disembarked about 14 
months before. " Though now under the ])rotection of the French flag," 
adds his Continental biographer, " Charlt^s could hardly be said to have 
escaped all danger of falling into the hands of his enemies. The English 
fleet otf the coast of Scotland, had, indeed, been dispersed by a storm, a 
circumstance to which ahne it had been owing that the 2 French vessels 
had been able to make so long a stay at Loclmaniiagh, and the Ileiireux 
was now running before a fair wind, along the Irish coast, on her way to 
France; but the sea was swarming with British cruisers, and it seemed 
scarcely probable to avoid falling in with s^mie of them. The frigate 
that bore him, however, deserved her name," of Neurexx, or Fortunate, 
"and, favoured by foggy weathei", I'cached France in safety. A contrary 
wind |)revented her from making Brest ; but one French port was as 
good for her purpose as another; and, on the 10th of October, 1743, a 
year ever memorable in the annals of the House of Stuart, Charles 
landed, with his friends, at Boscof, near Morlaix,* in Bretagne." Such 
was the termination of one of the most remarkaVtle, or chivalrous, enter- 
prises in the I'ecords of the human race. It has been a subject of just 
admiration in ancient and modern times, that, when Dion sailed for Sicily 
to overthrow the formidable monarchy of Dionysius, he had with hiia 
only about 800 men — that, when Tinioleon landed in the same island, to 
rescue it from the great str-ength of its domestic tyrants and foreign 
invaders, he had only about 1000 men— that, when Napoleon quitted 
Elba, to recover the crown of France, he was accompanied by not above 
1100 men — that, when Garibaldi disembai'ked in Sicily, to liberate 
it from the Bourbon yoke, his force was little more than 1000 men! 
When Prince Charles Stuart, however, came on shore in Scotland, to 
reclaim the 3 Crowns of his ancestors from 1 of the most jtowerful 
governments in the world, his attendants consisted only of those, so 
deservedly fiimous in history and song, as " the 7 men of Moidart" — t 
and 4 oj'the 7 were Iris]iinen! 

" But, overlabour'd with so long a course, 
'Tis time to set at ease the smoking horse," 

(Dkvden's ViKGiL, Georgics, iii., 793-794,) 

• There was a previous disembarkation, at Morlaix, of Jacobite fugitives, 
saved ])y Irish aid. According to ('a])tain Orr, commander of the Elizabeth of 
Glasgow, who left Morlaix, in July, " while Ite was there, au Irish wherry arrived 
at that port, with about .SO rebel officers." 

+ "Listeu ouly to the naked truth," observes Charles, in 1 of his Proclama- 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 465 

or conclude a narrative of that undertaking, which has occupied so 
much space yet could hardly have been treated of in less, as well, fiom th© 
share in the several occurrences connected with the names of O'Sullivan, 
Sheridan, Grant, Brown, Lally, Sta])]eton, Glascock, Talbot, O'Neill, 
Warren, and the piquets, in general, of the Irish Brigade, as from the 
importance of the contest with reference to Great Britain and Ireland ; 
the change of dynasty, commenced by the landing of William of Orange 
at Torbay, in 1688, not being entirely confirmed, until the success of 
William of Cumberland at Culloden, in 174G.* 

On the Continent, in 1746, the French turned to good account for 
ihemsfilves, in the Netherlands, the enterprise of Prince Cliarles, which, 
by having caused so many British troo[)S, and Hessians in British pay, 
to be drawn oif to England and Scotland, had pioportionably weakened 
the Allied forces. Bruxelles, or Brussels, invested by the Marshal de 
Saxe in January, was reduced to surrender in February; from which 
period, till the conclusion of the camjmign in October, Antwerp, Mona, 
St. Guislan, Chai'leroy, and Namur, were gained from the Confederates ; 
and their army was defeated at E,oucoux, near Liege, with the loss of 
several thousand men, a number of military ensigns, and many pieces of 
artillery. But tlie Irish coi"ps were so incomplete this campaign from such 
of their fellow-soldiers as had been ca|)tured at sea endeavoui-ing to reacli 
Scotland, and such as did land there with Brigadier Stapleton, that the 
infantry Regiments of Bulkeley. Clare, Roth, Berwick, Dillon, and 
Lally were generally appointed merely to garriscm duty in Flanders and 
Artois, and to attend to the re-establishment of their respective comple- 
ments. They were aided in this from Iieland, more especially from the 
County Clare, or that in which the Lieutenant-General Lord Clare a. id 
Earl of Thomond, as the O'Brien, had a due local or family interest. 
Captain Anthony Mac Donough, already mentioned as so distinguished 
at Fontenoy, was despatched, writes his grandson, "with a Mr. O'Brien, 
to the County of Clare, to recruit for the Brigade, which they were 
obliged to do by stealth ; and they sent off the recruits by ships that 
came off the coast of Doolan in Clare with smuggled claret and brandy, 
and took back the wool of that part of the country, and also the recruits, 
who were called tvild geese." The Lord Clare and Earl of Thomond, 
writing from Paris to his galLsnt friend, the Captain, remarks, " with 
your assistance, and O'Brien's, the ranks are near tilled u]);" and in a 
subsequent letter, his Lordship adds, " the Brigade being now com- 
])lete, in a high state of disci[)line, and as fine a body of fellows as ever 

tions, " I, with my own money, hired a vessel, ill provided with money, arms, or 
friends. I arrived in Scotland, attended by neven persons," &c. They are thu3 
referred to in the song — 

"At Moidart our yonni:; Pnn'.'e diil laud. 
Wiih sei'cii men at his rigiil haivl. 
And a' to conquer natious ihreKl " Ac. 

In an alleged letter from Frederick of Prussia to Cliarles, (in Collet's Eelics of 
Literature) it is remarked to the Prince, respecting his Scottish expedition— " All 
Europe was astonished at the greatness of the enterprise ; for, though Alexander, 
and other heroes, have cotujuered kingdoms with biferi.or armies, you are the only 
one, who ever engaged in such an attenij)t ivit/ioiit. one." 

* In addition to the leading collections of documents, and historical narratives, 
that have a))peared on the civil war of 1745-(), I have, for nuj abstract of the con- 
t- st, made due use of tlie contenipoiary m;igazines, and 2 volumes of newspaperi 
ioi those years, fortunately [ircser\ed ui Trinity College Library, Dublin. 

2 a. 



466 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

steped on a pai'ade, I would not give up the command of them, for any 
honors that could be confered upon me. . . . It would deligiit you to 
liear another Irish shout from the Brigade." This state of efficiency is 
to be undei'stood of the 6 infantry corps, as a brigade, more particularly 
considered Uie Brigade; the Irish horse Regiment of Fitz-James, from 
the result of its exertions for Prince Charlg.s, having to be entirely 
renewed, and so not ready for active service bef(n'e April, 1748. At 
the close of Octobei-, 174G, it being apprehended in France, that the 
English, who had endeavoured, though unsuccessfully, to captui-e Port 
L'Orient, in Brittany, might make another landing there, or in ISTor- 
.nandy, all the Irish regiments were des[)atched to winter in those 
provinces, for their greater security.* 

Early in the spring of 1747, the Allied troops, 120,000 in number, or 
10,000 more than the French, t were assennbled for the approaching 
campaign in the Netherlands; the Duke of Cumberland as Couimander- 
in-Chief, having his quarters with the British, Hanoverians, and Hessians, 
about the village of Tilberg; the Prince de Waldeck with the Dutch, 
about Breda; and the Imperial Marshal Bathiani with the Austrians and 
Bavarians about Veulo. But they were kept encamped in an ill-judged 
state of inactivity for 6 weeks, at once ex])osed to l)ad weather, and so 
pinched for provisions and forage, as to suffer considerably, through such 
mismanagement, with respect to their health, and means of subsistence. 
The French, meanwhile, under the Marshal de Saxe, supported l)y the 
celebrated Count de Lowendahl, Count de Claremont, and other experi- 
enced General Officers, were kept comfortably cantoned about Brussel.s, 
Bruges, and Antwerp; the Marshal, who was remarkable for the care he 
took of his soldiers, observing — "When the Allied army sliall be weakened 
by sickness and mortality, I will convince the Duke of Cumberland, that 
the 1st duty of a General -is to provide for the health and preservation 
of his troops." In April, the Marshal's forces were joined by the 6 
infantry corps of the Irish Brigade, who, thougli not em])loyed in the field 
the preceding summer, had suffered no corresponding diminution of pay, 
or other allowances, in order that such liberality might render theui tlie 
litter for action this year. The French, having to enter early on this 
campaign, and the distribution of forage occurring proportionably early, 
or before the country was in a fit condition to be forageii, we find it 
officiall}' mentioned of the Irish, that here, as on other occasions, they had 
a larger share of forage allotted to them in every disti-ibution tlian the 
French. In the operations which preceded the leading olject of the 
campaign, or that of bringing the Allies to such an engagement, and 
giving them such a defeat, as might admit of the siege and i-eduction of 
Maestricht, the Lord Clare and Earl of Thomond defended Malines, or 
Mechlin, and the bridge of Valheim. with a cor|)S of IS V)attali<)ns and 18 
squadrons. Harassed for 6 entire weeks by the enemy, wlio had collected 
between Antwerp and him, he liaffled the attempts thej- made against 

* The account given of the Irish Brigade on the Continent, in 174fi, and espe- 
cially of the time it took to re-establish the Horse Eeiiiment of Fitz-James, after 
what it had suffered by its connexion with the contest in vScotland, is derived from 
the official "Memoir concerning the Irish Troops," in Mr. O'Conor's Appendix. 
Yet, at the battle of Roucoux, October 11th, 1746. among " les regiments c'trangers 
qui s'y distinguereut le plus," Fieffe names that of "I'illon." As having lost less, 
or been recruited sooner, than the other Irish cor[iS, it may have been in thac 
engagement, and so " distinguished.' 

t See iSuiollett and Sismondi. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 467 

him; and, in their subsequent march on their left, he ohserved them so 
chtsely, as to be able to give suitable information respecting it to Loiiia 
XV., who joined the Marshal de 8axe in June. 

After a reduction by tlie French of several fortified places belongiiiij 
to the Dutch with garrisons of above 5,000 men, and a baffling by tho 
Marsjial de Saxe of an attempt of the Duke of Cumberland at a diversion 
against Antwerp, the Allies had to retire in the direction of Maestricht, 
in order to cover and fight for it. The key of their position, or that 
portion of it, the retention or loss of which would decide the general 
event of the action in contemplation, was the village of Laifeldt, otherwis^j 
Lauberg, Lal)el, or Val, in front of their left wing. This wing was und<'r 
the immediate command of the Duke of Cumbei-land, who provided well 
for the defence of the village with his German and British infantry, aided 
by artillery, and a reserve of cavalry. In the sanguinary engagement 
that ensued, July 2nd, the post in question was, for some hours, most 
gallantly maintained against the French, whose infantry brigades of 
Monaco, Segur, la Fere, Boin-bon, Bettens, Monin, des Vaisseaux, tlie 
Irish, Tour-du-j)in, du Eoi, d'Orleans, supported by artillery and cavalry, 
were not finally victorious uiitil after .several repulses, and, for the most 
part, such a severe handling, as left the conquei-ors, so far, little to boast 
of, compared with the conquered; who had, indeed, to retire altogether 
towards Maestricht, yet reti-eated in good order, and then encamped in 
such a manner about that imj)ortant place, as to render a siege of it im- 
possible. The necessity for a retreat, on the part of the Allies, arose at a 
})eriod of the day, when the state of the contest appeared not unlikely fo 
lead to a different result. That unfortunate necessity was owing to the 
Dutch horse; in this action, as at Fleui-us, and Landen, of any thing bub 
"glorious memory." An English officer, made prisoner by the French, 
writes — "If the left wing of our army had tjeen su[iported, the battle 
would have become general, and we should certainly have got a compleafc 
victory. Tliis was prevented by the cowardice and bad behaviour of the 
Dutch, who turn'd their backs, and, in their flight, put 2 brigades into 
disorder; on which, the Welsh Fuzileers fii-ed 2 platocms upon the 
Dutch." Of those "Dutch hcjrse," another English letter, from a gentle- 
man who was present, more fully itfforms us — " This attack was madefj 
upon the infantry of our left wing. Part of this wing was composed of 
some Dutch horse. These (according to custom) gallojied away, full 
Jr!])eed, 200 yards before they came to their enemy. In their headlong 
flight, they fell upon a bod}' of He.ssians, and 1 squadi-on of the Scoteii 
Greys, who were boine away in this monstrous tide of Dutch cowardice; 
and all together fell in confusion ui)on 2 of our legiments of foot, the 
Scotch and Welsh Fuzileers, and trampled them to the ground. The 
Scotch Fuzileers, indeed, fired upon that pai-ty of Dutch which were 
falling upon them, and saved themselves a little; but the Welch were 
very much hurt. This occasioned such disorder, that the regiments 
engaged in the village could not be pro))erly supported; so a retreat was 
lieces.sary." Nor was the event of the action likewise without being 
influenced by some British cowardice; resj)ecting which, in a Colonel of a 
battalion (jf the Guards, etc., the contemporary Dublin Courant, No. 345, 

reports — " Col. It is smce broke, an are several others, ivho misbehaxed 

that day." And Horace Wal pole writes — '•'■ Our Guards did slianiejullijy 
and many officers." Of killed, wounded, and missing, the Allied returns 
presented, of Continental troops, 3913, among whom the Germans, 'ctz.. 



438 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BP.IGADKg 

2435 Hanoverians, GOO Austrians, and 385 Hessians, formed the frveatep 
part, or 3420; tlie Dutcli, as 493, constituting tlie I'emainder of tlinse 
3913 Continentals; the British amounted to but 2110; the wliole thus 
making 6U23. The Frencli estimated their killed and wounded at al)oui; 
the same number, or 60UO; while, of prisoners, they lost, according to tho 
Allies' above 60 officers and 700 men. Of colours and standards, some 
in a more or less imperfect state, or the flag without the staff and i^icf, 
versa, the Allies claimed to have taken from the French 17. The Frennli 
allege a ca])ture, on their part, from the Allies, of 16 colours or standards, 
with 29 pieces of cannon, and 2 ])air of drums." 

"We liave seen Cumberland before; we will give him another Fon- 
tenoy!" was the exclamation among the Highlanders, in reply to Prince 
Charles, when he addressed them at Inverness, ere they marched thence, 
to encamp upon Culloden Moor. Providence had not willed, that this 
anticipation of Highland enthusiasm should be realized ; but here at 
Laffeldt, the Irish Brigade, who sympathized, as Jacobites, with the 
Highlanders, were, for the 1st time, since Fontenoy aiul Culloden, in a 
position to deal with the Duke of Cumberland in a suitaV)le manner; by 
tenewing, at his expense, the glory of the former engagement, and 
avenging the disaster of the latter. After the 6 French brigades, or 
those of Monaco, Segur, la Fere, Bourbon, Bettens, and Moniii, had been 
repelled to the verge of the village in dispute, the Marshal de Saxe caused 
a battery of heavy artillery to advance with the 2 choice Brigades des 
Vaisseaux and the Irish. The general inspection of this attack fell to 
the famous Comte de Clermont; having under him, as Lieutenant-General, 
the Lord Clare and Earl of Thomond, and as Major-General, the Counts 
de Fitz-James and Charles Edwai-d Roth ami tlie Duke d'Havre. But, 
in compliment aj)])arently to Scotland, which had recently acted so 
gallantly for the JStuarts, at the same time that 1 of her noble Jacobite 
exiles f)f the requisite military rank belonged to the Irish Brigade, the 
immediate leadership of that corps against "the common enemy" was 
assigned to Lord Duiikeld; who, having entered the service of France as 
1 of the Gardes du Corps in 1722, became a Captain in the Eegiment 
of Clare in 1731, and, since 1745, was a Brigadier, in which capacity he 
was now to act. Through the aid of these 2 fresh brigades, des Vaisseaux 
and the Irish, the enemy was pushed to the farthest extremity of the 
village, on his side; yet, by new efforts with his infantry, he forced his 
way Imck, and seemed about to recover what he had lost, when the post, 
iso obstinately contended for, was turned by the 3 additional brigades of 
Tour-du-pin, du Roi, and d'Orleans; which flanking movement on the 
])art of these 3 brigades, with their attendant artillery and cavalry, 
enabled their fellow-soldiers in the village to become masters of it. A 
contemporary London ])eriodical remarks — "It is said, in the account of 
the battle, j)rinted at Liege, that the French King's Brigade march'd up 
under the command of Marshal Saxe, and carried the viUage of Lauhery, 

* I state the losses of the British, Hanoverians, and Hessians, as puV)lislied by the 
British government, and, of the Anstrians, as given Vjy the Eutrlish historian Rolt; 
but correct //is- eniuneration of the Dutch, as Ijut 150, into 49.3, from tlwir accoinits. 
'J'he French killed and wounded are set down at about GlIOO iVoni Duinortous, in his 
" Histoire des ConquCtes de Louis XV.;" while, for other particulars on the French 
and Irish side, I am iudeV)ted to the "Relation dc la Victoire remportee a LHwItelt 
p:;r le Roi snr I'Arince de< iMlies le 2 de Jnillet. 1747," and to a well-wriMPii 
pMiilicatioii, "Keiation de la Canipagne en Bi'.iljaut et en Flandres eu 1747, ' priuoc.l 
at the liaj,ue, in li48. 



IN THE SERVrCE OP FRANCE. 469 

aftfir a repidse of 40 bnffalinns succeff.fively." The same periodical then 
cites a letter from an oHicer in tlie Allied army to his friend at York, in 
which, alluding to the Brigade in question, as that of "Irisli, in the French 
service, who fought like devils," the writer asserts, " that they neither 
gave nor took quarter; that, observing tlie Duke of Cumbeiland to be 
extremely active in the defence of that post, they were employ'd u^xm 
tliis attack, at their own i-equest; that tliey, in a manner, cut down all 
before them, with a full resolution, if possible, to reach his Royal Higli- 
ness; which they certabihj would have done, had not Sir John Ligonier 
come up with a party of horse, and thereby sav'd the Duke," at the loss of 
his own liberty." The same letter adds, "that it was generally believ'd, 
tliat the young Pretender was a volunteer in that action, which animated 
tliese rebellious troops to y)usli so despei-atcly ; and, as wliat advantage (he 
French had, at Fontenoy, as uidl as nuw, was owing to the desperate bekaoiour 
of this Brigade, it may be said, that the King of France is iade')ted, for hia 
success, to the natural-born subjects of the crown of Great Britain." * Horace 
Walpole also informs us — " The Duke was ^lery near taken, having, 
through his short sight, mistaken a body of Frenclt for his own people" — 
that so-called "body of French" being evidentl}^ the Irish in the- French 
service, whom, from their red uniform, the Didce would be so likelv to 
mistake, in the smoke and confusion, for some of his oion British infantry 
— as, it will be recollected how the 'French Carabiniers, in the //(e/ee at 
Fontenoy, were deceived, through a similar cause, at the expense of the 
Irish. Nor, in refei'ence to the legal disqualifications of the Huguenots 
in France through the violation of the Edict of Nantes, like those of the 
Catholics in Ireland through the breach of the Treaty of Limerick, should 
it pass unnoted, that, while the Irish Catholic exiles of the Brigade were 
figliting against George II., of who.se dominions they were natives, and 
yet whose son they were here endeavouring to kill or make prisoner, the 
brave General Sir John Ligonier, to who.'^e chivalrous interposition the 
safety of that son is attributed, -was a Huguenot or natural subject of 
Louis XV., against whom, neverthele.'^s, he was fighting, V)ecause as dis- 
qualified by intolerant legislation to fight on the side of France,t as the 
Irish Catholic of the Brigade was by similar persecution inciqiacitated to 
fight on the side of England. The French ofhcial appendix to Mr. 
OConor's work, after observing, how "the Irish Brigade distinguished 
itself very much, and lost considerably, upon this occasion," says — " M. 
de Lee was made Brigadier. Pensions of 1200 francs were given to M. 
Grant, Lieutenant-Colonel of Clare; to Man nery, Lieutenant-Colonel of 
Dillon's; to Barnw'ell, Lieutenant-Colonel of Berwick's; and to Hegarty, 

* In citing this officer's letter, I omit an error, on Jiis part, in alleging, "that this 
Brigade consisted of Scotch and Irish in tlie French service," &c. ; beginning m;v 
quotation merely with "Irish in the French service." To the conduct of the Irish 
Brigade, here and at Fontenoy, is the general purport of the letter alone applical)'.e 
■ — the Scotch regiments, in the French service, not having been so connected with 
the actions referred to — and, as to the com])arative jiroportions of Scotch in the 
Irish, and of Irish in the Scotch, corj)s in France, the Lord Clare and Eiirl of 
Thomond, writing to the Mai-shal de Saxe in 1748, affirms — "I am very conhdent, 
that there are not 40 Scotchmen in the G Irish battalions, and there are m.nnii Irish 
and English men in the Scotch regiments." The circumstances of Lord L)inikeld, 
as a Scotchman, having headed the Irish Brigade, and of its spirit having heen no 
less Jacobite than if in a great proportion Scotch, apparently caused the writer of 
the letter to York to fall into the error alluded to. 

t Of a noble Protestant famdy of Languedoc, he had entered tlie British army at 
15, and was tiually a Field-Marshal and Larl. 



470 HISTORY OF THE IRISH LRTGADES 

L'eu tenant-Colon el of Lally's. M. de Cusaek, Lieutenant-Col mcl of 
Rothe's, beintif already Brigadier, and liavinor a pension of 600 linncs 
given him aiter the battle of Fontenoy, had but 1000 francs. Ciuii- 
rnissions of Lieutenant-Colonel were yiven to MM. Hennesy junl 
.Artliur, Captains of the Grenadiers of Bnlkeley and Rothe, and to Cai-roll, 
Major of Berwick's. A pension of 3000 francs was given to Lord Dnn- 
kf^ld, Brigndier, who commanded the Brigade. TsTumerous cros.ses of St. 
Jyonis and ])ensions were given to the Majors and Aides-Majoi-s, and jven- 
sions of GOO and 400 francs to tlie wounded Captains; and of 300 and 2i)() 
li-ancs to the Lieutenants." In replying, July 22nd, 1747, to a letter 
from Lieutenant-General Bnlkeley, C(<l<)nel of the Regiment so named in 
the Irish Brigade, the Count d'Argenson, after a reference to the Lieu- 
tenant-General having otficially complimented him, as Secretary at War, 
on the recent victory, OKserves — "It is I, rather, who am more justly* 
indebted to you, ff)r tlie distinguished manner in which the Irish Brigade, 
and your reghnent in particular, charged the enemy ; and, altliough tlie 
dutie.s, confided to you at Ostend. did not allow of your being present 
at this engagement, you do not the less ])artake of the glory ivhich your 
regiment has acquired,, by these new proois of its valour T This "glory" 
ajjpears most conspicuttusly there in a son of that Captain James Cantilloii 
jireviously mentioned as so distinguished at Malplaquet in 1709, or the 
brave and accomplished Ca])tain and Chevalier Thomas de Cantillon, an 
author as well as a soldier; who signalized himself at the attack of the 
disputed village here, says my French authority, "in carryinnr, at the 
head of his company, the riglit of the retrenchment, defended by the 
English Regiment of Pnlteney" — that is, the corps known as the 13th, or 
1st Somersetshire, Regiment of Foot; on this occasion, the .sufferers, it 
•will be noted, by the Regiment of Bnlkeley, as the Coldstream Guards 
bad been at Fontenoy. 

Lieutenant-General Count Arthur Dillon, in remarking, how, at the 
battle here treated of, "the Irish Brigade fought very valiantly under 
the eyes of Louis XV.," and how "it was engaged in the attack and 2 
recaptures of Lawfeld," adds, that " it met with very rough treatment 
there, since it lost IGOO men, and 132 officers" — a great number in 
]>roportiou to the strength of the G Irish l)attalions ! even if the original 
word "perdit," or "lost," should not be limited to the sense of " killed," 
but considered to denote those put " hors de comV)at " in a general sense, 
or that of " killed and wounded." This, indeed, would seem to be the 
case, from a contemporary London account of the slain and hurt officers 
of the Brigade; in making use of wjiich, I correct the usual errors of 
the foreign spelling and printing with respect to the Irish ; insert the 
mortally wounded under the head of the " killed;" and, for uniformity 
sake, give only the family names of those included, as the Christian 
names are in several instances omitted. The document is entitled — 
" List of the Killed and Wounded of the Irish Regiments in the French 
Service, at the Battle of Lauffield village, near Maesti^icht, July 2, 
1747." The regiments are thus |)roceeded with: — Bulkelev's. Captains, 
Kennedy, Macgennis, Lee, Mac Carthy, Geraldine, Wollock, and 
Sweeny, killed — Ca])tains, Kearney, Macennery, MacMahon; Lieuten- 
ants, Bouike (taken prisoner), Mac Mahon, Nagle, Comerford, and 
Ensign Butlei*, viouuded. — Clare's. Cai)tains, Grant, Barnwell, O'Brien, 
Mac Carthy; Lieutenants, Bridgeman, Moore, and Wall, kdled — Capi- 
tal n^ "1 O'Kriensi, Ryan, Ayimcr, Heigher, O'Meara, Sullivan, Plunkett, 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 471 

aTid Fitz-GerfiM. vtoundpd. — Dtllon's. The Colonel, captured rr.ortally 
disabled, oi- with Caf)tains Prince, Bourke. Lewis; Lieutenants, Niliill, 
Kennedy, Slieil, and Ensign Moore, Jailed — Captains, 2 Kennedys, 
O'Connor, Bouike, and Lieutenant Carroll, wounded. — Roth's. Ca]»taia 
Wivel, hilled — Captains, Sliee. O'Brien, Dalton, and Lieutenant Healy, 
irnvrided. — Berwick's. Captains, Hegarty, Barnwell; and Lieutenants, 
Latfin and Dwyer, killed — Captains, Barnwell, Macgratli, and Mac Car- 
tliy, and Lieutenants, Dowdal and Macgratli, ioo^t/wfeZ.—L ally's. 
Lieutenant-Colonel, Lyncli, and Captains, Glascock and Geoghegan, /a7/(3(/ 
— Lieuteriants-Colonel, Hegarty and Dillon, and Lieutenants, Prender- 
gast and Kelly, xmnnded. Tlien, under the head of "contusions of the 
same regiment," or that of Lally, are Captain White, Lieutenants Butler, 
Kearney, and Flahei'ty, with the observation, that "the contusions of 
the other regiments are numerous, but slight, which occasioned theui 
not to be mentioned." The officers previously named, (exclusive of those 
not so, as but slightly hurt,) form a total of 69. The 2 principal officers 
of the Brigade among the victims of this bloody conflict were the Colonel 
Count Edvvaid Dillon of that noble race, in this instance referred to 
even by the Anglo-Whiggish, or Anti-Irish, and Anti-Catholic, prejudices 
ofVoltaii-e, as " le Colonel Dillon, nom celebre dans les troupes Irlaud- 
aises," and another gentleman of noted Galvvay origin, distinguished as a 
Jacobite loyalist, or cavalier, in the recent unfortunate ex|)edition 1o 
Scotland, Doniinick Lynch of the Regiinent of Lally; the inscription on 
whose tomb at Lou vain, as copied by Dr. de Burgo iu 17 09, was as 
follows; — 

D. 0. M. 

Hie, nt vohiit, jacefc 

Prai'iiobilis Domiuiis 

Dominicus Lynch, 

Ex Nobili Lyncaeorum Galviensi Familia, 

Hibernicfe Legionis de Lally 

Vice Colonelliis, 

Qui plurimis in Scotia 

Peractia Facinoribns, 

Postea vnlneratiis in Pra^lio Laifeltensi, 

Die II Jnlij mdccxlvii, 

Obijt Lovanij, 

Die xxviii Augnsti ejusdem Anni. 

Pv. I. p. * 

The Irish are also reported to have lost a ".standard;" on no better 
authority, indeed, than a hostile or English and Anglo-Irish assertion, 
yet one necessary to be fully refuted here, in order to obviate any citation 
of it hereafter, as a supposed proof of such a los.s. The London Gentle- 
man's Magazine for September, 1747, alleges, under its "List of Promo- 
tions," that " Thomas Davenant, Ensign in Wolfe's Regiment," was 
ap[)ointed, " by the Duke of Cumberland, Ensign in the Coldstream 
Begiment of Guards;" adding, "he took a standard of the French Irish 
Brigade in the late battle." In Faulkner's Dublin Journal, No. 2138, 
(September 8th — 12th, O. S., 1747,) it is likewise stated — "His Boyal 

* This Lieutenant-Colonel of the Regiment of Lally was the officer named 
" T ynch " els-ewhere mentioned among those who accompanied CVilonel Warren to 
Scotland, to bring away the Prince; subsequently noted as employed l>v Charles 
"en ]ilusicurs occasion* ;" and likewise set down, among those otHcers who came back 
with liim to Bretague, as receiving a gratification of " 1000 livres." 



472 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

Highness, the Duke, has been pleased to appoint Thomas Davenant,* 
Ensign in General Wolfs Regiment, and nephew to Thomas Boothby 
Skrymsher, Esq., to be an Ensign in the Coldstream Regiment of 
Guards. This young gentleman had the good fortune to take 1 of the 
standards belonging to the Irish Brigade, in the late battle of Val." 
But, it was impossible for Ensign Thomas Davenant, or for any other 
officer of the Allied army in that battle, to take a "standard" from the 
Irish Brigade lliere. A standard is the banner of cavalry, as contrasted 
with the colours for infantiy ; and the Regiment of Fitz-James, the only 
regiment of Irish cavalry in France, not being in a condition to serve at 
all this campaign, was not at the engagement in question, and so cotdd 
not lose a standard there. Nor can it be objected, that this asserted 
capture of an Irish standard by the Ensign of Wolfe's Regiment is only 
a mistake, for a ca[)tui'e of Irish colours from some of the infantry corps 
of the Brigade. In the English announcement from " Whitehall, July 
11," of the "Standards and Colours taken from the French in the late 
Action," with descri[)tive particulars and mottoes unnecessary to copy 
here, the standards are specified, as, of Belfond's Regiment, 4 — of Beauf- 
fremont's, 1 — of Royal Cravates, 1 — or, so far, 6 standai'ds; the colours 
are specified as, of Diesbach's Swiss Regiment, 2 colour-staffs, flags torn 
off — of Royal des Vaisseaux, 3 colours, without staffs — of Monaco's, 4 
colours — or, so far, 9 colours; and then, after an "N.B.," it is affirmed, 
another colour was taken by Crauford's Regiment, given in charge to 
Hussars, but not yet brought in; and a standard was taken by the 
Hanoverian cavalry, given in charge to Imperialists, but still unre- 
turned. Among those 15, or, including the 2 last, those 17 colours and 
standards, none are noticed, either as having belonged to the Irish 
Brigade, or as having been captured by Wolfe's Regiment. Of this 
last corps, too, (otherwise the 8th foot, or King's Own Regiment,) the 
bravery in the engagement is specially eulogized by an eye-witness. 
"Let me," he writes, "give you one instance of the resolution of our 
men. which I hiow to be true. Wolfe's regiment carried" into the field 
24 rounds a man. This they made use of Afterwards they had a 
•supply of 8 rounds a rnan more. After this was spent, they made use of 
; 11 tlie ammunition amongst the dead, and wounded, both of their own 
men, and the enemies. When no farther supply could V)e had, they 
formed themselves immediately, to receive their enemy u])()n their 
bayonets, and, being ordered to retreat, did it with the utmost regular- 
ity." This writei- (evidently an officer of the regiment he thus praises) 
subsequently ivfcrs to colours and standards taken from the French, 
"which," says he, "I have seen," but he is silent as to the ca])ture of 
any frcira the Irish Brigade. Under such circumstances, then, it is 
certain, that no cavalry-ensign, or "standard," of the Irish was, or could 
be, taken at Laffeldt; and it is anything but certain, that any infantry- 
ensign, or "colours" of theirs, fell into tiie hands of an officer of Wolfe's 
regiment. In fine, I am not aware of the existence either of Irish or of 
French evidence w^ith respect to any loss of the kind by the Irish on this 
occasion ; so that, it was not at the expense of the Irish Brigade, Ensign 
William Davenant acquired his trophy. 

As an additional instance of how warndy the feelings of the late civil 

* Bhiudered, as "Drvnent," in the original paragraph of the Dahhn paper, but 
corrected l>y Colonel Mac Kinuon, giving the paragraph in his " Origin and tServicea 
of the L'oldatream Uuards." 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 473 

war in Scotland were connected with tliis battle, we read in the payiera 
oi' the day, on the authority of a letter from the Allied arniy in Flanders 
to a person of distinction, tliat the Earl of Ancrani, son of the Marquis 
of Lothian, and Lord of the Bedchamber to the Duke of Cumberland, 
with whom he had fought in Scotland, and by whom he was selected to 
convey to England the military ensigns taken at Laffeldt, on being 
recognized there by a Scotch Jacobite officer in the French service who 
had likewise fought in Scotland, was singled out V)y the latter exclaiming 
to his Lordship, "Now I have you, my Lord!" — when an encounter 
with swords took place, in which his Lordship w^as wounded in the arm, 
but ran his antagonist through the body, killing him on the spot. 
Prince Chai^les, too, though itut present, as was commonly supposed, at 
the battle, was so glad at the defeat given to the Allies, from the ten- 
dency of such an event to favour hin cause, that he wrote from St. Ouen, 
July 7th, a letter to Louis XV., expressive of the joy he felt, on receiving 
the news of his Majesty's having gained such a victory over his enemies. 
In Scotland, the Jacobites, smarting under the triumphant G-eorgeite 
government, and wishing proportionably well to France as the friend of 
" Prince Charlie," gave vent to their satisfaction in song at the Duke of 
Cumberland's defeat, and the ho])es they entertained, that it would be 
j)roductive of still greater humiliation to Hanoverianism. Of the song 
referred to, entitled " The Battle of Val," I cite the following verses, in 
the order most conformable to the events of the campaign, from its 
commencement to the battle. 

" Up, and rin awa, Willie, 
Up, and rin awa, Willie; 
Culloflen's laurels you have lost, 
Your puff d-up looks, and a', Willie, 
This check o' conscieuce for your sins, 

It stings you to the saul, Willie, 
And breaks your measures this campaign. 
As much as Lowendahl,* Willie. 
Up, and riu awa, &c. 

" The Maese you cross'd just like a thief. 
To feed on turnips raw, Willie, 
In place of our good Highland beef, 

With which you gorg'd your maw, Willie. 
Up, and rin awa, &c. 

** In just reward for their misdeeds, 
Your butchers gat a fa', Willie; 
And a' that liv'd ran aff wi' s})eed 
To Maestriclit's Strang wa', Willie, 
Up, and rin awa, &c. 

" To Hanover, I pray begone, 

Y'our daddie s dirty sta', Willie, 
And look ou that as your ain hame, 
And come na here at a', Willie. 
It's best to bide awa, Willie, 
It 's best to bide awa, Willie, 
For our brave Prince will soon be back. 
Your loggerhead to claw, Willie." 

• "■rturins the whole of this ■campaign." says the annotator of th? S<^ot(^h Jacob'lc Minstrelsy, 
"Couut Loweiidalil Was eminently auccessful, iu defeating the plans of Cumberland." 



474 nrsTO!!Y of the trish brigades 

As Cuinbcrland, when Charles bad to retire before liim in Scotland, 
inquired for the residence last occupied by the latter, as "his cousin," in 
order, hy way of bi'avado. to quarter tliere, the suffering Jacobite would 
be gratified on seeing the tables tiinicd, in that respect, as well as others, 
at ''the butcher's" ex[iense, by the success of Louis X.V. at Laffeldt. 
" Le Eoi, convert dc^ la nouvelle gloire qu'il venoit d'acquerir," writes 
Dninortous, " se lendit, avec le Marechal de Saxe, a la Commanderie, 
ou le Due de Cumberland avoit en son quartier, et ils y passerent la 
nuit." Or, as the Private Life of Louis XV., after mentioning the 
victory, more simply states — " His Majesty slept that night where the 
English Prince had slept the night b(if )re." 

The French, on iinding themselves, notwithstandiri';^ their late victory, 
unable to besiege Maestricht, tiirned tlieir attention to Bergen-op-Zoom, 
"the strongest fortiticatiim of Dutch Brabant, the favourite work of tlit; 
famous engineer, Coehorn, never cc)nquered, and generally esteemed 
invincible." It was amply supplied with artillery, ammunition, and 
provisions, and the garrison of 3000 men could be increased at will from 
about 10,000 of tlie Allied troops occupying military lines, which com- 
municated with the place, and were protected by a chain of forts, 
surrounded with water. The condiicting of this very difficult siege, with 
a force of 30,000 men, ikc, was committeil by the Marshal de Saxe to 
an officer of JJa,n{sh, as the Marshal himself was of Sax m, blood royal.* 
This was the illustrio>is Waldemar, Count de Lowendahl, a noVjleman, 
not less reniarkal)le for the extent of his intellectual attainments than for 
the diversity of his military experience; being able to speak 14 languages, 
and having fought under the most distinguished commanders in Europe j 
as, in the Austi-ian service, under Prince Eugene of Savoy, in that of 
Russia, under Field Marshal Lacy, &c. During above 2 months, fi'om 
July to September, aliout Bergen-op-Zoom " nothing was seen but tire 
and smoke, nothing heard but one continued roar of bombs and cannon. 
But still the damage fell chietly on the besiegers, who were slain in 
heaps; while the garrison suffered very little, and could be occasionally 
relieved, or reiidorced, from the lines." By the diseases alone arising 
from the unwholesomeness of the situation necessarily occu})ied by the 
French as the besiegers, not les.s than 20,000 of their men were put hors 
de service; and, although the losses which occurred were filled up with 
])ropoi'ti()nable reinforcements from their main army, yet since, by the 
middle of Se})tember, there was no practicable breach in the fortifications, 
the masonry- work scaicely touched, and, where the par'apet ivas injured, 
2 men could not march abreast, the place was still in such a condition as, 
■with due vigilance and corresponding measures of defence, to be con- 
sidered quite beyond being taken by assault, or, according to the general 
rules of war, impregnable. But as, in writing, genius may, says Pope, 

" From vnt_;ar bounds, with brave disorder, part, 
And snatoli a grace, beyouJ the reach uf art — " 

SO, in war, on this occasion, it was remarked at the time, the Count de 
Lowendahl " fit voir qu'il y avait des occasions, oil il faut s'elever au-dessus 
des regies de Tart." An assault being unexpected among the garrison, 

• A curious shamrock of Marshals flourished luider Louis XV. — tlie 3 leaves of 
which, in the persons of Saxe, Loweudahl, and O'Brien, represented the Saxon, 
the Dane, and the i\lile.'ikiii — and all from a koyal stem: But the Milesian alone 
was of leij'Uiiiiule descent. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCR, 475 

tliey did not talcn precautions a.ofainst such an attempt; thereby jnr^tifvinc 
the enterprise, which they might have frustrated. 

On Septenii)er IGth, all being arranged in the dark, for the French 
coup-de'/iinin, the Count, at daybreak, caused a sudden and tremendous 
discharge of bombs to be [mured into the; town, followed by his dashinn' 
Ptorniers; who, gaining the ramparts in 3 directicms, were, with a loss of 
but 441 killed and wounded, so sarprisingh/ successful, that, in 2 hoiu-s, 
the fortress itself, and the adjoining military lines, were captured, the 
garrison of the formei', and the supernumerary force in the latter, consist- 
ing between both of aV)0ve 20 battalions, were slain, taken, or routed; 
the conquerors obtaining more than 288 ]»ieces of brass or iron cannon, 
a great many mortars, a quantity of small arms, tents, and ammunition, 
17 vessels in the port, loaded with supplies of every kind for "</ie invincihlf, 
garrison of Bergp.n-op-Zootn! '^ as it was confidently styled,* and, in tine, 
the entire plunder of the place, including the military chests of the 
Allied regiments, the silver plate and sti-ong boxes of their Princes, and 
(lenends, etc. ; tiie collective mass constituting a prodigious booty, in 
addition t^ the uncommon gloiy of the achievement! The very dis- 
couragivjg effects of this brilliant success of the Fi-ench upon the Allies 
antl their forces will be best conceived from the following extract of a 
letter, i-ej)resenting the feelings fif tin; Duke of Cumberland when informed 
of the occurrence. " The astonishment of the Duke of Cunibei-land, upon 
receiving the disagreeable news of the sur|)rise of Bei-gen-op-Zoom, cannot 
be described. People must have been present, as v:e ivere, in order to 
form a true judgment of the love, which this warlike Prince exjn-ess'd 
for the Repuldick " of the Seven United Provinces, "and the common 
cause, as well by everything he said on that occasion, as by the agitatum 
he was under, upon reading so fatal a relation. This may, with truth, 
be asserted, that his Koyal Highness was scarce ever so much affected 
before ; nay, it's believed, that he wcmld not have been moi-e so, had he 
received a courier, with the news of the Pretender s landing again in 
Scotland, and of an invasion in England; and the reason was, because 
his Royal Highness knew perfectly well the situation of aftairs at Bergen- 
o[)-Zoom, every day receiving advices, that there was but little or no room 
to fear an assault, unless the French had a mind to sacrifice 10 or 12,000 
men, without any prospect of success." Another English writer, in 17G1, 
adds on this point — "The late Mr. Benjamin Robins, the best military 
mathematician and engineer of his age, who was sent over from hence to 
o.ssist in defending the place, and who lo.st his baggage in the lines of 
that very camp which communicated with the town, declared, that the 
])lace was as capable of defence when it was taken, as it was when the 
French army first .sat down l)efore it; and that, if it had been skilfully 
and faithfully defended, no military force, or skill, however great, could 
have succeeded against it." 

The galliiut Count Lally, who, for his remarkable zeal and activity in 
favour of Prince Charles, was, on the Prince's return from Scotland to 
France, ennobled, by patent, as "Earl of Moeumoye, Viscount of Bally- 

• Such, according to Voltaire, was tlie inscription or direction on the chests con- 
taining the supplies in question; and Allied accounts allege, of the Dutch gairisnn, 
that they "abounded with provisions, even toluxin\y." In addition to the already- 
noticed authorities on this campaign, I have consulted the "Histoiy of Maurice, 
Cuunt Saxe, Field-Marshal of the Freiich Armies," &c.j translated from the Freiieii; 
12 volumes, Loudon, 1752. 



476 HISTORY OF THE TKISII BRIGADES 

note, and Baron of Tollendally " — whicli lioiiours, however, he declinerl 
Hssiitiiing until a "restoration" — and w!io had signalized himself this 
campaign in the defence of Antwerp and at the battle of LalTt-ldt — was 
attached as Quarter-Master-General to the Count de Lowendahl's army. 
Previous to the ai)pearance of that force before Bergen-op-Zoom, it having 
been necessary to dislodge 1700 Dutch from Fort Santlivet, that task 
was intrusted to Lally, who executed it without loss; and, having 
reconnoitred Bergen-op-Zoom along with Lowendahl, he was so honoured 
V)y him, as to be intrusted with the formation of the plan of attack. 
Throughout that arduous and destructive siege, Lally, constantly active, 
sometimes in the trenches, sometimes with detachments, was wounded 
iipon 1 occasion, and almost swallowed up by the explosion of a mine; 
an English account remai-king of him there, how he " was taken such 
notice of, as to be esteemed one of the best soldiers in all France! " Aftei^ 
the fall of Bergen-op-Zoom, Lowendahl, who, in securing the passes of the 
8clield, found Lally to have "united the most consummate experience 
with the most intre]iid courage," committed to him the reductitm of Forts 
Frederick-Henry, Lillo, and La Croix. Frederick-Henry being taken, 
with its garrisoir, October 2nd, ground was broken, on that day, by Lally 
before T^illo; when, ])roposing to attack La Croix at the same time, and 
going, almost alone, to make a reconnoissance that had not been ])ropei'ly 
executed, he was made prisoner by a party of the enemy's hussars, but 
soon exchanged; and, by the 8th, the last of the forts surrendered. 

Louis XV., after the fall of Bei-gen op-Zoom, having ap))ointed the 
Mai-shal de Saxe to be Governor of the conquered Netherlands, and 
having created Lowendahl, for his late important achievement, a Marshal, 
set out, September 23rd. for France. His Majesty [)roceeded to Ver- 
sailles on the 2-^11, without entering Paris, although the Parisians, it was 
<)l)serv('(l in England, would have wished "to receive in triumph their 
successful Monarch, who had done more, in 3 years, than Lewis the 
Great, in .'50 ! " It was likewise noted in London, Iiow, on the retiring 
of the French army into quarters, the Irish Brigade were to be cantoned, 
during the winter, in tlie menacing position along the coast from Ostend 
to Calais; with the manifest intention of obliging an English squadron 
of observation to be ke|)t in the Channel, and, consequently, or so far as 
concentrated, to be less able to prevent the piivateering depredations of the 
French, on tlie unprotected vessels of the English merchants.* "Thus," 
says Rolt, " terminated the campaign of 1747, on the side of the Nether- 
lands ; a cani])aign, truly glorious to the French, ])rejudicial to all the 
Confederates, and particularly inglorious to the Dutch ; there was not 
one singlc'town remaining of the Austrian Netherlands unreduced, and 
only Maestricht to cover the interior barrier of Holland. On the side 
of Dutch Flandei's, the lilies of France were waving triumphant over 
tlie head of the Belgian lion ; and Bergen-op-Zoom, tlie maiden fortress, 
which had never, till now, been violated, was prostituted to the lust of 
Fi ;u}C(^ ; notwithstanding the Dutch Governor declared, at the commence- 
ment of the siege, that Bergen-o[)-Zoom was a virgin, and she would die, 
like the daughter of the brave old lioman, Virginius, before she should be 
]>olluted by the faithless Gaul." 

In 1748, the Allies, enumerated, on their side, as 110,000 men, 
united, and encamped about Ruremond, under the Duke of Cumberland, 

* As in November and December, 1745, to the number of 160 prizes, estimated at 
£000,000. See Book VII. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 477 

to oppose the French. The Marshal de Saxe — under whom, as con- 
nected with tlie Irish Brigade, were the Lientenant-General Cliarh-s 
O'Brien, Lord Clare and Earl of Thomond, the Majors- General Count 
and Duke de Fitz-Janies, Count Charles Edward Roth, Richard Fi-aucis 
'Jalbot, 3rd Earl of Tyrconnell, the Count Lally, Brigadier, &c. — 
had detei'mined on besieging Maestricht, liaving justly observed, that, 
in it, peace was to Vie obtained. Outwitting lii.s adversaries so com- 
pletely by his uiasterly or mystifying marches, that he succeeded iu 
investing the ])lace, the French Commander opened his trenches before 
the town on the night of April lotli, and his works were so vigorously 
pushed on, and his artillery so well served, that everything was to bo 
ready for attacking the covered way on the evening of May 4th ; when, 
about noon, a letter arrived from the Duke of Cumljerland. announcing 
the signature, April 30th, of the preliminaries of peace. By these, and 
the arrangements consequently made, Maestricht, in deference to the 
glory of the French arms, was agreed to be given up to the Marshal ; 
at the same time that honourable terms of surrender were to be granted 
to the garrison. In the operations carried on against the place, the 
Marechaux de Camp, or Majors-General de Fitz-James, Loi-d Tyrconnell, 
and Count Roth, are duly referred to, as commanding, on several occa- 
sions, in the trenches. But the gallant Brigadier Count Lally was most 
remarkable, as a confidant, ;inel 1 of the chief instruments, of the 
Marshal de Saxe, iu his admirable measures for accomplishing the invest- 
ment of the town; as exercising, in conjunction with that very able 
officer, the Marquis de C.emilles, the functions of Quarter-Master- 
Gene]-al of the Army ; as being severely wounded ; and, on the day the 
place was surrendered, as being, for his signal services there, nominated a 
Marechal de Camp, or Major-General, hors de ligne, or in the .same very 
honourai)le way that he had been created a Brigadier ! 

Peace between France and England, as wtdl as the other belligerent 
European powers, was not definitively arranged, until the general signa- 
ture, October 18th, 1748, of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. In the 
factious fermentation of a licentious commercial |)rosperity, united with 
no le.ss j)olitical inconsistency and national conceit, the English, while 
the basis of their existing legislative system was so rotten that hy 
corruption alone could they be governed, had clamoured against their 
alile Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole, for governing by corrup- 
tinn,* and had driven him into war, which (to his credit !) it was a 
leading object of Jm administration to avoid. " When," writes Lord 
Macaulay, on the consequent rejoicings in London, " the heralds were 
attended into the city by the chiefs of the opposition, when "the Prince 
of Wales himself stop])ed at Temple Bar to drink success to the 
English arms, the Minister heard all the steeples of the city jii gling a 
xneri-y peal, and muttered, 'They may ring the bells now; they will be 
wringing their havids before long I' " Sir Robert's sagacity, as a lover of 
peace, was justified by the event. Of the war generally, Doctor kdinson 
remarks — " We pleased ourselves with r/- victor t/ al- DeUnujen, wlieye ive left 
our wounded men to the care ■•'■' our ene/nies, but our uniiij ivus broken, (it 
Fontenofi and Val; and though, after the disyrace which we suffered in 
the Mediterranean, we had su'/>i.e naval success, and an accidental dearth 

* "Sir Eobert Walpole," according to his sou, "used to say, that it was for- 
tunate so lew men could be Prime Ministers, as it was best that few should 
tlioiouglily know the skockimj wicked iiass of uianlciud ! " 



478 HrSTORT OF THE IRISH BRIGADKS 

made peace necessary for tlie French, yet IJiPij preficrihed the comJitinnft, 
ol>ii(jed us to yivf. kustcyes^ atid acted a.s- cotujuerors, tliomjh as conquerors of 
viotieriitiony After alhuHiig to tlie cniitewt in tie Netherlands, as one, 
on tlie part of England, and her Allies, where " i//e// never Iiaziirded a 
h'<Ule witliout sustuinirig a drj'eat,^^ v^Awve ^'' v<tst a.ri ides, paid by Grf-at 
J'trif.ain, Uvij inactive, and hefield one fortress reduced after another, nntd 
the whole coiintry was subdued,^' etc., *' what," more strongly exclaitns 
Smollett, " were the fruits which Britain reaped from this long and 
des])erate war ? A dreadful expense of blood and treasure, disgrace 
iipnn disgrace, an additional load of grievous impositions, and the na- 
ii inal debt accmnulaLed to tire enonnous sum of 80.000.000 sterling!" 
The share which the Irish Brigade had, in bringing about a consum- 
mation so injurious to the religious and commercial oppiessor of tJieir 
country, aijpcars to have been one of much imj)(>rtance, even iioin the* 
account in these page.s, |)resented to a reader under the gTeat disad- 
vantage of that coijis never having had any Xenophon or Napier among 
its oilicers, to do adequate justice to the merits of his countrymen, by 
recording many ciicumstancas to their honour, necessarily passed over 
by the writers of otjjer nations, as either altogether unknown, or com- 
])aratively uninteresting, to tluni, and so lost to history. But, how high 
was the opinion in France of the conduct of the Brigade during tliis 
■war, for the good discipline or union of the several regiments among 
themselves, as well as for their bravery against the enemy, is emphati- 
cally attested by the official Memoire which states, " that union, has pre- 
vailed, to so great a degree, in the Irish Brigade, since all tlie corps w;ere 
tlius made to serve togetlier, that the most trijiing dispute, or altercation, 
■never took place ; so that it a|)pHared, as if tlie different battalions formed 
hut 1 single regiinerd, well unitfd, and unanimous. It is considered," 
continues the document, " that this conduct was as creditable to it, as the 
exactitude and the willingness with ivldch it served, and as tlie splendid, and 
transrmdent actions by which it distinguished itself ! "* With this war 
terminates, as has been previously intimated, the more thoroughly national 
or interesting jieriod of the history of the Brigade. The Penal Code, 
indeed, was sul'Iiciently active in Ireland, as briefly, yet abundantly, 
attested by this signiticant paragraph of the Gentleman's Magazine tor 
April, 1748. "Ireland — One George IVillianos was convicted, at Wexford 
Assizes, for being perverted from the Protestant to the Popish religion^ and 
sentencd, to be out of the King's protection, his lands and tenements, goods 
and chatties., to be forfeited to the King,, arul his body to remain at th.e 
King's pleasure !" f With reference, likewise, to increased rigou.r against 
the (Jatholics in Ireland, next year, or 1749, a Fi-eneh mibtary writer 
adds of the Irish — ''Can, a noble people be suj/iciently allured into this 
country,, whom his Majesty has seen, under his own eyes, serve, and expose 

* See Mr. O'Conor's Appendix. 

t This inuiiBlunent was incurred, under the following provision of the " glorions- 
revolutioii' I'enal Code. "If any person sliall seduce a Protestant, to leiioinice 
the Protestant, and profess the Popish, religion, the seducer and the seduced 
shall incur the penalty of Pnenumiie, mentioned in Idth Rich. IT , chap. 5. That 
is, they shall be put out of the Knig's protection, their lands and goods forfeited 
to the King's use, and they shall be attached, by their bodies, to answer to tlie 
King and his Council." (Mac Nevin's Pieces of Irish Hist<iry, p. loO. ) lu 
England, under Elizabeth, there was a wor^e statute, which,' s;iys hiad Macauhiy, 
"laovides that, if any Catholic shall convert a J^rotestaat to the Koniisli CiiurcJi, 
they skalL both sii£'cr death, cuij'or HiuH TiiKAbo^." 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 479 

themselves, SO bravely and so usefalh/V Tlie vampire, too, of an anti- 
liatioiial mercantile tynuiny was as Vjlood-snekiiig, or iniiioverishiiig, in 
Ireland, as ever. Yet the weakening of the ]»oi)ular hope of a "restora- 
tion of the Stuarts " from the period of the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, the 
subsequent adverse ])oliey of the Conrt of France towards that family, 
and the increased obstacles to the obtaining of recruits, of the VAwk. of 
soldiers, from Ireland, rendered the Brigade henceforth rather "Irish" 
as regards officers, than soldiers; * so that, on the whole, what may be 
styled the old Brigade, in its general Irish formation, and Jacobite 
vigour, may be said to have thrown out its last rays of glory at Laffeldt, 
in giving Cumberland "another Fontenoy " there, and taking satisfac- 
tion, under a Scotch nobleman, for the overthrow and cruel treatment at 
CuUoden, &c., of its brother iTacobites, the Highlanders of Scotland. 

* Lien tenant-General, the Hfmoiirahle Count Arthur Dillon, in his Mdmoire to 
the National Assembly of Fiance, after the l)ieakino- out of the Revolution, notes 
of the or'KjiiKil and long-maintained iKitioiinl formation of the several corps of the 
Irish Bii-;jde — " Ces regimens eto:ent entierement comiioscs d'lrlandois a lenr 
arrivte en France, et cette composition subsista, p:ir leu cniH/rat/oua contaiueUcH 
qui turtnt lieu, taut qiCiln eurent Cespoii- de vnir In Maison de Stuart rfiu vtrr 
,sur le trdne. lis venoient eu foule se ranger sous les drapeaux des Rois quil3 
regardoient comme les delensenrs de leur iCligion, et de leur .Souverain legitime. 
On pent mome prouvei-, qu'outre les Officiers, la plus (jrandc partle des iStrgeiis 
eloient nobles." That is, in the extended sense of the French word, "/lohlesse." 
Then, referring to the speciall'i severe legislation, since 1740, against recruiting 
for the Brigade in Ireland, the Oonnt alleges — " Depuis cette epoque, les regimens 
Irlandois ne purent se procurer, en temps de paix, d'antres soldats de leur 
.nation, que ceux qvi iienuieiit >-ncore en asu'-z grand iiuinbre les joindre. Mais les 
emigrations, en Officiers, n'ont jamais et^ interrompues ; ellcs subsistent encore 
avec tant d'activit^, que le nombre des sujets nes en Irlande de families attache.es 
a la religion Catholiqne exccile. dans ce moment mcme, les em|)iois a douner ; 
qu'il n'y a dans les regimens Irlandois d'autres Officiers, nes en France, que ceux 
qui sont tils ou descendans d'anciens Officiers de ces rdgimens qui se sout marits 
dans le pays oil ils sont citoyons. ' See, nioreover, the nxmeft of the officers of 
the several" regiments of the Brigade, in tiie iiuuu;j voluuiea of the " Eut Miii- 
taire Ue Frauce," down to the llevolutioui. 



HISTOEY OF THE lELSH BEIGADES 



THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 



BOOK IX. 



In the period which elapsed from the Peace of 1748 between France and 
England to the declaration of war between the rival powers in 1756, the 
annals of the Irish Brigade were illustrated by the deaths of 4 officers of 
distinction connected with tlie national force — the 1st. Field-Marshal 
Count Peter Lacy, or de Lacy, entitled to be noticed in this work, at the 
period of his decease, as having, for several years, belonged to that force, 
j)revious to his entering the service of Knssia, although, in the latter, he 
attained his highest honours — the 2nd, Marechal de Camp, or Major- 
Ceneral, Richard Francis Talbot, 3rd Earl of Tyrc(mnell, and Ambassador 
fiom France to Prussia — the 3rd, Marechal de Camp, or Major-General, 
John Nugent, 5th Earl of Westmeath— the 4th, Daniel O'Connor Sligo, 
a noble veteran of above 9U, deceased a Lieutenant-General in the 
Austi-ian service, but, like Lacy, included in this list, as having beea 
originally an officer in the armies of Kings James II. and Louis XIV. 

Of tiie name of Lacy, ennobled, and eminent for its territorial acquisi- 
tions among the Norman conquerors of England and Wales, as well as 
among the early settlers of the same adventurous race in Erin, a Limerick 
historian observes — "The illustrious and ancient house of Lacy has y)ro- 
duced many exalted characters. There were 3 branches of this family, 
seated at Bruree, Bvwff, and Baliingarry, in the County of Limerick. 
The "loss of their possessions did not extinguish the memory of the 
achievements of their heroic ancestors." The origin of these Limerick 
Lacys is deduced from William, son of the celebrated Hugue de Lacy, 
(the 1st great representative of the name in Erin under Henry II.,) by 
that nobleman's 2nd marriage with the Princess Rose, daughter of the 
Ex-Ard-Righ, or Monarch of Erin, and King of Connaught, Ruadri or 
Roderic O'Conor. John Lacy Esquire of Baliingarry was father- of Peter, 
1 of the offspring of whose union with Maria Courteney, was the future 
Count and Field-Marshal Peter, born at Killidy or Killeedy, County of 
Limerick, in 1678.* On the conclusion of the War of the Revolution in 
Ireland by the Treaty of Limerick in 1691, young Peter, then only 
entering his 14th year, was an Ensign in the Prince of Wales's Regiment 
of Infantry, of which his uncle, John Lacy, Quartermaster-General and 
Brigadier, was Colonel; and quitting Ireland, with the remains of that 
regiment, as part of King James's army, sailed for France. Lauding, in 

* The Mcarshal's mention of his birth clay a.^ '• '29th September," ancordiutr to 0. S.. 
which in 1678, and until 175-2, was that 'established ui Gfeat Britain and Ireland, 
would place his biilh, by ^. S., ou "October 9tu." 

2 1 



482 HISTORY OP THE IKISH ButcADKS 

Jannarv, 1G02, at Brest, he pv(X-eeded to Nantes, to entei-, as a Li(^u- 
tenaiit, the Regiment of Athhmih" With tliat corps, lie, in May, joimd 
the Marshal de Catinat's arniv in Italy; served to the end of the war 
tliei'e, in 1696; in 1697, marched to the Rhine; and, in coiisecjuence of 
the extensive reduction of the Irish Jacobite force in France, subsequent 
to the Peace of Ryswick, in which reduction his regiment was included, 
he quitted France, to seek service elsewhere. Disappointed of employ- 
ment in Hungary, against the Turks, by the Peace of Carlowitz, in 
January, 1699, between the Porte, Austria, &c., he became 1 of 100 
(ifhcers at Vienna, engaged for the Czar Peter of Russia, to discipline his 
troops. 

After presentation, with his comj)anions, to Peter, at Narva, he was 
made Captain of a company, in the infantry Regiment of Colonel Bruce, 
From this period, 1700, he was involved in the military operations, witl* 
various fortune, in Livonia and Ingi-ia, between the Czar, his rival Charles 
Xir. of Sweden, and their subordinate Generals, nntil 1703, when, after 
tlie snnender of Jambourg in Ingiia, he was honoured with tlie command 
of a company, 100 in number, styled the Grand Musketeers, cora]>osed of 
Russian n(;blesse, armed and horsed at their own expense. In 1705, with 
the Czar in Poland, he was made Major of Scheremetoff's Regiment of 
Infantry, with which, under that Marshal, he fought against the Swedish 
General Lowenhanjit; and, in 1706, was nominated, by the Czar, Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel of the Regiment of Polotzk, and commissioned to instruct 
3 newly-raised regiments encam])ed there. In 1707, seno to join Lieu- 
tenant-General Bauei-'s corps blockading Bucko in Poland, and having to 
open trenches, in June, at 10 toises from the countei'scarp, he repulsed a 
sally of the enemy with loss; and, the foi-tress surrendering that month, 
he was quartered, with his regiment, in Lithuania. In 1708, joining the 
main Russian army under the Czar, he was a{)pointed Colonel of the 
Siberian Regiment of Infantry. That army, advancing to Copaisch upon 
the Borysthenes, intrenched itself there to intercept Charles XII. coming 
from Saxony, till. Prince Repnin's corps being beaten by the Swedes, 
it became necessary to retire to Gorigorhi on the other side of the 
Borysthenes; while Charles marched towards the Ukraine to join the 
famous Mazeppa. Hetman of the Cossacks; but derived little benetit from 
the junction, and was still more disappointed at the destruction, or inter- 
ception, of the greater portion of General Lowenhaupt's force at Lesna, 
&c., by the Czar. In November, despatched with 2 regiments to Pere- 
gova, where the Swedes endeavoured to make a bridge over the Desna, 
Lacy repulsed them in a smart action with such considerable loss, that 
they had to relinquish the attempt there. On their subsequently 
endeavouring to pass the river lower down near Mischin, he again foiled 
them by a redoubt and battery; but, being ordered to descend a le;igue 
lower, to guard against a reported design of crossing thei'e, and General 
Gordon being posted at Mischin, that ollicer, not so fortunate, was routed, 

•The notices of Field-Marshal Count Lacy, in the Continental, London, and 
Dnbhn periodicals, at the time of his deatli, allege, that his father, and 2 brothers, 
also left Ireland, iu Ki'Jl, for France. The same notices add, how the father, 
who was Ca|)tain of a company in the Irish Guards of King James IL, and the 
Marshal's elder brother (whose rank is not mentioned) both died in the service ot 
P^ ranee, as well as the younger brother, Uii.cd, when Aid-Major in the Kei;unent of 
Dorrinpton, (suhseyiiently lvotl)'s) at Malpiaijiiet. Tlie death of the Marshal's 
iHicle, in the same service, at Marsaglia, has \>ten picviuusly related, under the 
year IGUiJ. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. ,. 483 

and the enemy effected their object. In Deceniher, dt'tachcd with 15,000 
men, to assault Kuiiiua, whc'Ve Charles XII. had taken up his quarters, 
Lacy, with o battalions, a company of grenadiers, a regiment of dragoons, 
and 600 Cossacks, passing the King, fiossessed himself of, and secur-ed 
himself in it; a dangerf)us position, as the Swedish army was cantom-d 
all about the place. In January. 1709, the Czar lurther I'e warded Lacv 
for his services, by giving him a Regiment of Grenadiers. 

At the great battle of Pultowa tliat summer, wht-re Charles was 
irretrievably overthrown by the Czar, Lacy, tliouuh not yet, or till above 
3 years after, nominated a Brigadier, was most highly honoured, in being 
commissioned to act as such in command, on the right wing of the Enssiau 
army, (under Lieutenant-General Bauer) u])i)ii which occasion, he was 
wounded. This uncommon testimony to Lacy's ability, by such a good 
judge of merit, as the Czar, is i)erhaps explained by Ferrar. " It was," 
he says, "Marshal Lacy who taught the Russians to beat the King of 
Sweden's army, and, from bfiug the worst, to become some of the best, 
soldiers in Euro])e. The Ru.ssiana had been used to fight in a very con- 
fused manner, and to discharge their musketry, betbre they ailvanced 
sufficiently near the enemy to do execution. Before the famous batde of 
Pultowa in 1709, Marslial Lacy advised the Czai-, to .send orders, that 
eveiy man should reserve his fire, until he came within a few yards of 
the enemy. The consequence vvas, that Charles XII. was totally defeated," 
and, " in that 1 action, lost the advantage of 9 glorious campaign.s." From 
1709 to 1721, 'Lacy, continuing to serve against the Swedes, Turks, ttc, 
was nominated a Brigadier in August, 1712; in the following mouth, a 
Major-General ; in July. 1720, a Lieutenant-Genei'al ; distinguishing 
himself mofet, in 1720 and 1721, through the successful and destructive 
descents he made by sea, along the coasts of Sweden, to but 12 niiles from 
Stockholm. At this short distance from that metropolis, he had anchored 
with 130 gallies, and had encamped his vanguard, when the Swt-des 
were obliged, in September, to conclude the Peace of Nystadt; thereby 
I'elinquishing Livonia, Esthonia, Ingria, Carelia, besides a number of 
islands in the Baltic, to Russia. In July, 1723, Lacy was summoned by 
the Czar to Petei-.sburgh, to take a seat in the College of War. In June, 

1724, at the cei-emonies connected with the coronation of the Empress 
Catherine I., he followed on horseback the Empress s carriage, throwing 
among the peojjle 1500 gold and 11,000 silver medals. From 1723 to 

1725, assisting the College of War at Petersburgh with his opinions 
and advice, he was, in the latter year, honoured with the insignia of 
the Order of St. Alexander Newsky, the rank of General-in-Chief of 
Infantry, and the command of the forces about Petersburgh, as well as 
those in Ingria and Novogorod; to which, in 1726, were added those in 
Esthonia and Carelia. In 1727, on the election of the famous Maurice 
Count de Saxe (subsequently Marshal) as Duke of Courland contraiy to 
the wish of the Court of Petersburgh, Lacy was commissioned to expel 
the Count from the Duchy, and did so. In 1729, he was named Governor 
of Livonia, and Commander-in-Chief there, and in Esthonia. 

In 1733, being ordered to ])roceed, in August, with 30,000 men into 
Poland, to establish Augustus of Saxony as King in opposition to Stanislas, 
he marched upon Warsaw, which he entered in October. In 1734, pur.>u- 
ing the adherents of Stanislas to Thorn, he drove them from it in January ; 
and, after opening trenches before Dantzick in March, he, in April, 5 
miles from that place, at Vizitzlua, with only 2000 men, routed 60UU of 



484 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

the Stanislaites, with a loss of .300 of thoir nnmber, and all their hao^ija^e. 
He besieged Dantzick along wi+h Marshal M\inich ; the reduction of 
which, after 135 days' operations from the Ist approaches in February to 
the surrender in June, cos*- the Russians above 8U00 men, with nearly 
200 otticers; and Stanislas had to escape from the country in disguise. 
In acknowledgment of Lacy's services, Augustus this summer presented 
him with his portrait set in diamonds, valued at 25, 000 crowns ; at the 
same time declaring him a Knight of the Order of the White Eagle of 
Poland. The hostility to King Augustus continuing in 1735, Lacy was 
detained in Poland, till, by the results of his most remarkable achieve- 
ment, or the attack and defeat, at Busawitza, with only 1500 dragoons, 
80 hussars, and 500 Cossacks, of 20,000 of the Stanislaites under the 
Palatine of Lul)lin, and the surrender, in April, of the Castellan Czerski, 
■with tile rest of the refractory Poles, the contest was decided in favour of, 
Augustus.* After a suitably honourable reception at Warsaw by that 
Prince, Lacy, with 15,000, subsequently reduced to about 10,000, infantry, 
v/as directed to march to the aid of Austria, then, in consequence of tlie 
contest for iA\e crown of Poland, engaged in hostilities with France. 
Having joined the Imperial army, 6 miles from Manheira, in August, the 
veteran Prince Eugene <if Savoy, its General, on a review of the rein- 
forcement, ex})ressed himself, with the greatest satisfaction, at the tine 
appearance of the troojis; as, in their j)assage through Germany to the 
Ilhiiie, says my authority, " every one admired, and was astonished at, 
the good discipline they observed on their march, and in their quarters." 
Peace being agreed upon soon after between France and Austria, Lacy, 
while his forces were quartered for the winter in Bohemia, repaired, early 
in 1736, to Vienna. "I arrived there," he writes, "the 5th of February. 
On the Gth, I had a private interview of the Empei'or and Em])ress, both 
of whom received me in a very gracious manner. On the 7th, I was also 
admitted to an audience of the Empress-Dowager, Amelia; the 8th with 
the Duke of Lorrain, and the rest of the Imperial family. On the 10th, 
I was again admitted to an audience of the Emperor and Empress. The 
former deigned to present me with his ]»oi-trait, richly set with diamonds, 
as also 5000 dticats in money. The lltli, I quitted Vienna. On the 
road, I met a courier from Petersburg!), who brought me the patent of 
Field-Marshal." 

This promotion, the hmg-meditated war against Turkey being resolved 
on, was accompanied by an order, to assume the command of the force, 
destined for the reduction of the in)portant fortress of Azoj)!!. Travel- 

* .'~'c considerable, we should observe, had been tlie jirooress of adiiiini.strative 
im]iroveuieiit in Russia since tlie time of Peter tiie (rieat, while Fohuiil remained in 
the coniparativeiy wretched or iiiediieval state of feudal anarchy, which was (iln-ad// 
leading to her i-uin as a nation, that Major-General Bai'on Manstein notes — "Ihiriug 
this war, never did 300 Russians go a step out of their way t'> avoid 3000 Poles. 
They beat them in every engagement, or rencounter, they Lad with'them. 7 he 
Sa.riws trerc ant .so/ortitua e, having come off hy the wornt *//, acvm-al occasions of trial 
vn/h the Poles, who, at Irnijth, came to ho/d thenj in cniittmpt, icherean they were 
exi namely afraid of tlie /ivs-sians.''' But, accoicling to a certain class of writers, the 
Saxous dught to have been at least equal, if not superior, in "phick," or soldiership, 
to eiiher the fiussians, or the Pfdes, instead of nifenor to Itofh / As to Poland, her 
ex-king Stanislas, above referred to, writing against the anarchy theie, of which he 
foresaw the ultimate melancholy result, has, in a work printed so early as 1749, 
these remarkable words — " Notre tour vieiKlra, sans tbaite, ou nous serous la ])roie 
de quelque fanieux conqnerant; ^>eut-etre iSL^ine iea i)ut,-)isaiiceti vulsiues succordtroid- 
eucs d ^lurutgcr uoh etaCtt.^ 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 485 

ling tliither, May 2ncl, in his p'»sfc-carriiige, escorted by only 36 dragoons 
riding some hnudred pares V)elore it, the Marshal, at a desert, aliout 3 
leagues in length, whicli it was necessary to pass, was, with his little 
paity, unexpectedly assailed hy ahoiit 2000 ^"artar marauders. Of the 
36 dragoons, 21 Avere ca|)tured, wif'i a domestic, and the carriage; tlie 
pillage of the vehicle, however, so luckily engrossing the enemy's atten- 
tion, that the Marshal himself was able to escape on horseback. During 
May and June he carried on the siege of Az(jph by sap for the greater 
safety of his men, while his artillery-missiles wpread destruction through 
the interior of the hostile fortress; the Turks, meantime, making con- 
stant sallies. At the most important of the.se, June 14th. tlie Turks, 
3000 strong, attacking the Russian trenches, beating away the guard of 
600 men, and filling uji part of the works, the Maishal hastened forward 
with a reseive and ])icket, rallied his repulsed troops, and after a shar[) 
encounter, costing 856 killed or wounded, drove back the enemy, with a 
considerable loss, to the tov.'n. On this occasion, the Marshal, having 
advanced too far in order to animate liis men, received a gun-shot about 
the knee, was enveloped by the Turks, and might have been slain or 
taken by them, but for the uncommon devotion aiid corresponding 
exertions of his soldiers; whom, it is remarked, he so "well knew how 
to spare tipon every proper oppoi-tunity, to preserve, and to guard from 
over-fatigue, and the want of subsistence." At last, by the beginning of 
July, so little provision remaine<l for tlie besieged, from the destruction 
of tiieir magazines by the bombardment — the interior of the town being 
"nothing but a heap of ruins, tlirough the quantity of shells thrown 
into it" — the Bashaw, in command of the fortiess, capitulated ; marching 
out with his garrison, still amounting to 3463 men; and leaving in the 
]ilace between 200 and 300 pieces of brass or iron artillery, a great 
quantity of ammunition and military utensils; and 291 Christian ca[)- 
tives, who, having been made slaves, were liberated. In August, the 
Marshal marched, with 7000 of his troo[)s, to su|)])ort Munich's force, 
on its return, miserably diminished and haras.sed, from its invasion, 
that summer, of the Crimea. Subsequently a|ipointed to command tlie 
remains of this fo]-ce, along with his own army, during the winter, the 
]Marslial established his quarters first at Izoum, and then at Karkow,* 
in the Ukraine, where he had to be continually on the alert, against the 
worrying hostilities of the rapacious and ferocious Tartars; ever upon the 
Watch, in numerous and swiftly-mounted detachments, to pass the Kussi.ui 
frontier-lines of defence, and too often successful in plundering and 
destroying the villages, sweeping away the cattle, and carrying off the 
unfortunate country people of the interior into a bigoted Mohammeilan 
bondage. The poet Collins, in his picturesque oriental eclogue of "Agib 
and Secander, or the Fugitives," after remarking, 

" The Turk and Tartar hke designs pursue. 
Fix'd to destroy, ami steadiast tt> undo," 

might well add of the latter, 

" Yet none so cruel as the Tartar foe, 
To death inurd, and iiurs d iii scenes of woe ! " 

* The journal of Marshal Lacy, written by himself, ending with the mention of 
his establishing his headquarters ni October, IToli, at KarUow, for the wiuiei, my 
reuiainiiig autliorities rcMjiectino- tlie Mavslud's military career, are Alajor-Ueuerid 
Baioii Maustem, aud the Marshal I'liuce de Li-ne, 



486 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

The Marslinl's pni'ties, however, were not without their satisfaction 
against those Scytliiau banditti; as, in 1 affair, where, of 800, inchuling 
Sduie Turks, under the brotlier of the Khaun of the Crimea, -'JOO were 
slain, 50 made |)risoners, 400 of tlieiv horses captured, and 3000 Russian 
subjects, who had been reduced to shivery, were happily rescued. 

In 1737, the Court of St. Petersburgh, having decided upon a 3rd 
expedition to the Crimea — from the 1st of which, in 1735, Lieutenant- 
General Leontew, with 28.000 men. had to r-etire minus above 9000 
men, and at least as many horses — from the 2nd of which, in 173G, 
Mar.-;lial Munich, with 52,000 men, had likewise to retire minus almost 
30,000 men, and nearly all his horses — the renewal of the enterprise was 
intrusted to Lacy, with about 40,000 men, to be su])ported by a fleet 
acting under llear-Admiral Bredal, on the Sea of Azoph. Advancing 
to, and assembling his entire force at, the river Berda, securing h^ 
redoubts at projjer intervals his communications with Azoph, and con- 
certing with the Rear-Admiral, anchored at the mouth of the Berda, 
the operations of the campaign. Lacy proceeded with his armv as 
closely as po.ssible along 'the shore of the Sea of Azo|)h, and, on reaching 
the river Molotschnie-Wodi, established a fort Uiere for his sick men, 
protected by a good garrison. "June 2 5," continues the original 
military lau-rative, " the army encamped on the .shoi-e of that arm of the 
Sea of Azoph, wliich joins the lines of Precop ; the fleet did not lie there 
at above a cann(Ui-shot distance from it. Lacy, who wanted to enter, 
without loss of time, into Crimea, instantly ordered the construction 
of a bridge, which was finished by tiie 28th ; and some i-egiments of 
dragoons, and 3 or 4000 Cossacks, passed over it immediately. By the 
30th, the whole army was got over, and continued its march along-shore 
of the Sea of Azoph. July 2nd, it was joined by 4000 Calmucks. 
'J'he Khaun of the Tartars of the Crimea, who had never imagined that 
the Puissians would enter his country on that side, was astonished at it, 
Avhen he received the new.s. He had po.sted himself, with all his troops, 
behind the lines of Precop, which he had taken care to get repaired, and 
Loped to dispute the pass of them, with the Russians, more successfully 
than had been done by the old Khaun, the year before. But all this 
was so much trouble in vain. Lacy was now in full march against 
Ai-abat, without having lost a .single mail. As the Russian army was 
obliged to continue its march on a narrow enough spit of land, formed 
by the Sea of Azoph, which sti-etches as far as Arabat, the Khauu 
imagined, he might retrieve and rectify everything, at the outlet of that 
straight. He marched then, with all diligence, in the hope of stopping 
the Rus.sian army at the lines, which care had been taken to form along 
the front of that spit of land, so as to compel it, either to a retreat, or 
even to a battle, if it should obstinately contend for passing. 

" But Lacy broke all his measures. As soon as he heard, that the 
Khaun was arrived at Arabat, and that he was there waiting for him, 
he caused the depth of that arm /if the sea, which sejiarates this spot of 
land from the rest of Crimea, to be sounded, and, having found a ])lace 
]>roper for this purpose, he had rafts made; for the construction of whiclf, 
all the empty casks of the army, and main timber-pieces of the chficaux- 
de-frisfi, were employed; and. by this means, cr-ossed this arm of the sea, 
with the infantry and equipages. The dragoons, Cossacks, or Calmucks, 
swam, oi- forded it over. It had not been the Khaun alone wlio had 
judged this a rash enterjjrise of the Marshal Lacy, when he maiched i>a 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 487 

the spit of land towai'ds Arabat; for the Generals of bis own army- 
were of the same opinion. All of them, except Spiegel, waited on him 
one morning, and i-epresented to him, that he was exposing the troops 
too much, and that they were all rnnning a risk of jierishing together. 
The Marshal answered them, that danger there was in all mihtary enter- 
pi'ises; but that he did mrt see more, in this one, than in others. How- 
ever, he desired their counsel, of what '•hey thouglit was best to be done. 
They leplied, 'To return.' Upon which. Lacy rejoined, that, since the 
Generals had a mind to i-eturn, be would des|)atcb them their pass[)orts 
for it; and actually called i'ov his Secretary, whom he ordered to make 
them out, and immediately to deliver them to them. He even com- 
manded a party of 200 dragcjons to escort them to the Ukrain, there to 
await his return. It was 3 days before the Generals could prevail oa 
the Marshal to relent, and forgive them the presumption thei/ had showu, 
in proposing to hi/m a retreat." 

" The Khaun, who had imagined he shonld beat the Russian army at 
the outlet near Arabat, was extremely, surprised at learning, that it had 
crossed the arm of the sea, and was now in full march towards him. 
But he did not think fit to wait for it. He reti-eated towards the 
mountains, harassed with the Cossacks and Calmucks close at his heels. 
Lacy, having advice of the retreat of the enemy, would not continue his 
march towards Arabat, but wheeled to the right, in order to get among 
the mountains in quest of the Khaun, and to give him battle, if the 
thing was practicable. July 23, the Russian army encamped at the 
distance of 2G wersts, or 7 French leagues, from one of the best towns 
of Crimea, called Karas-Bazai-. There it was attacked by a large choice 
body of troops, commanded by the Khavm in person. These attacks 
were, at tii-st, very vigorous ; but, after an hour's combat, the Tartai-s 
were rejjulsed, and driven off the field, by the Cossacks and Calmucks, 
who pursued them 15 wersts, or 4 leagues into the mountains. The 
army remained in the same camp, but the light troo])s made an excur- 
sion on the side of Karas-Bazai', to ruin the habitations of the Tartars. 
They i-eturned the same day, with about 600 prisoners, a considerable 
booty, and a great quantity of cattle. July 25, the Lieutenant-General 
Douglas commanded the vanguard with GOOO men, dragoons and foot, 
and the greatest part of the light troops, to march to Karas-Bazar. 
]\Iarshal Lacy followed them with the rest of the army, having left in 
camp the equi])ages and the sick, with 5000 men to guard them," under 
a Brigadier. " All the advanced guards, that sought to oppose the 
passage of the ti-oops, were repulsed ; and presently there was discovennl, 
on a rising ground, near the town, a retrenched camp, in which there 
might be about from 12 to 15,000 Turks. Upon this, the Mai'shal 
reinforced Douglas with 2 regiments of dragoons ; giving him orders to 
attack the enemy, and to take possession of Karas-Bazar. Tliis was 
executed, with all imaginable success ; the Turks having fied, after about 
an hour's combat. The inhabitants had entirely abandoned the town; 
so that there were none remaining in it, but some Greek and Armenian 
families. The place then was taken without any resistance, pillaged, and 
reduced to ashes. This town, of which above one half was built of stone, 
contained about 10,000 houses, 38 mosques and Turkish chapels, 2 
Christian churches for the Greeks and Armenians, 50 water-mills, and 
a numlter of other public buildings. The booty the troops made was 
very considerable ; the inhabitants not having had time to save their 



488 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

effects. As the town is situate in tlie avennes to the hills!, v/heve the 
passes are so narrow that scarce 3 men can march abreast, and tlmt, 
besides, there was no forage, the Mar-slial measured back liis steps, and 
encamped at a league distance fnim that place. The Cossacks and 
Cahnucks had order.s to penetrate as far as they coukl into the moun- 
tains, and to burn and destroy all tlie liabitations of the Tartars." 

"July 26, the army marched back, to occu[)y the same camp, in which 
they had left their equipages, and the sick. Scarce had they got into 
the plain, before they saw the enemies advancing, with the greatest 
part of their forces, on the other side of the river Karas. Marshal 
Lacy instantly detached Douglas, with several regiments of foot and 
dragoons, and a part of the light troops, to attack them. Douglas 
crossed the river a league above the enemies, and marclied stiuit to 
them. They cannonaded one another for near an hour ; after which the* 
Cossacks came to blows with the enemies. The skirmish was smart ou 
both sides. The Cossacks were thrice re])ulsed ; but the regular troops 
coming np, in fine order, ai.d with a steady countenance, obliged t!ie 
enemies to retreat. The army encamped on the field of battle. During 
the action, Lacy had ordered the Cahnucks, to take the enemies in 
rear and flank. After the affair was over, no Cahnucks appeared ; at 
which the Marshal was rather uneasy, apprehending they miglit have 
pursued the enemies too far among tlie mountains; so as to liave their 
retreat to the army cut off, or to have all been put to the swoid. But, 
2 days afterwards, they returned to the camp, bringing with them above 
1000 prisoners; among them were several Mirzas," or Tai-tar gentlemen, 
" whom they had taken in an inroad, which they had, of their own 
heads, made into tlie mountains, as far as Batchi-Serai. July 27. the 
army resumed tlie camp, which it had occupied, before its proceeding to 
Karas-Bazar. The Marshal then held there a grand Council of War, 
in which it was resolved, that, since the plan of operations, prescribed to 
them, had been executed, and that there remained nothing considerable 
to be undertaken by them, it would be advisable to di'aw nearer again 
to the frontiers of the Crimea. It took the army up 5 days to get 
from this camp to the mouth of Scoungar; in all which time, the light 
ti'oops had nothing to do, but to reduce to ashes the habitations of the 
Tartars, that were for 4 or 5 leagues round the army, and of which the 
number might be equivalent to 1000 villages, or little open towns, the 
country being extremely populous on that side. They brought also 
to the camp above 30,000 uxen, and more than 100,0()0 shee|). The 
enemies, on their jiart, did not cease to harass the army on its march, 
and sometimes found means to carry off some of the officers' servants, 
who had ventured to go beyond the ))reciiict of the advanced posts, as 
also s(mie hundreds of horses of the train and equipages. As soon as 
the army was arrived at the Scoungai-, a bridge of boats was ordered to 
be got I'eady, and was finished by the next morning, the 2nd of August; 
■when, on the same day, ])art of the army ci'ossed it, and liad scarce the 
time to form, when the enemies appeared, with their whole force, to 
oppose the passing. They had been reinforced with some tliousands of 
Turks from the Kaffa. They attacked several times, with great violence, 
the light troops, but were constantly repulsed. At length, tired with 
their fruitless attempts, and with lo.sing so many men by the cannon, 
they retreated, leaving about 100 killed on the spot. August 4th, the 
Marshal passed the Scoungar, with the rest of tlie army. There tliey 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 489 

remained a few clays encamped ; after wliirh they went on to camp ne;ir 
the river Molotsclinie-Woili, where the Marshal staid out the whole 
month of August, having found a country abounding in forage. During 
that time, he detached several parties of Iiglit ti-oojt-* towaids Precop, 
and towards the Dnieper, to reconnoitre the mntions of the enemies ; for 
he had received advice, that the Khann, wjtl) from 30 to 40,000 men, 
was come out of Crimea, to attempt sonu^ enterprise. August 17. one of 
the Russian pai'ties Ml in with another of Tartars, which they beat, and 
brought into the camp several prisoners. These said it was true, th;it 
the Khaun had come from beliind the lines of Precop, immediately 
after that the Russian army had passed over the Schoungar, and had 
encamped several days on the deps; but that, on learning that the 
Marshal Lacy had posted himself near Molotzchnie-Wodi. he was afraid 
of his coming to attack him ; which had determined him to re-enter the 
lines, and retreat to his own country." Meantime, or from the 9th to 
the 11th of August, the Russian fleet under Rear- Admiral Bredal, and 
that of the Turks under the Captain-Bashaw, cannonaded each other 
during 2 days, the Tui-kish armament withdrawing towards CatFa, on the 
3rd. "In the beginning of the month of September, Count Lacy quitted 
his camp of Molotschnie-Wodi, and resumed the route to Ukrain. The 
Tartai'S, very glad at seeing him take his departure, let him alone, 
without harassing him on his march. In the month of Octf)ber, he 
arrived at the frontiers of Russia, and sent his troops into winter- 
quarters, along the Don and Donetz." 

Such was the Marshal's expedition of 1737 into the Crimea, respect- 
ing which it has been remarked thak, " without knowing why he had 
beeu sent into the countiy, he quitted it with very great glory to himself, 
and very little sickness to his army" — in the latter most creditable 
circumstance, showing iiimself to be very superior, as a comtnauder, to 
his predecessor, Marshal Munich. For, of Munich's treatment of his 
army in the course of his invasion of that peninsula, the preceding year, 
or 1736, we are informed, " that Marshal Munich was too harsh. He 
unnecessarily fatigued his troops too much. In tlie burning heat of 
summer, instead of making them march in the night, or .some hour.s 
before daybreak, to take the benefit of the freshness of that time, the 
army never used to begin its march till 2 or 3 hours after sunrise, which 
greatly contributed to the distempers that got among th(! troo])s ; and 
the suffocating heats overcame them so, that some dro|)ped down dead on 
the march. There were even (jtKcers, that, in this campaign, died of 
hunger, and misery of all kinds" 

In 1738, while Marshal Munich commanded one of the Russian armies, 
against the Intidels, on the side ot the Dneister, Ids brother Marshal, 
Lacy, was to re-invade tlie Crimea with the other army, not, at most, 
including the Cossacks, above from 30 to 35,000 strong. "July G, " 
y)i'oceeds the contemporary account, "he was with his army in sight of 
Piecop. The Khaun, with 40,000 of his troops, was behind the lines, 
where he hoped to render the entrance into the Crimea moi-e ditflcult, 
than it had been the preceding years. He had great confidence in the 
new lines, which, tlie year befoi-e, the Tai-tars had made before the Palus 
Majotis. But Lacy disconcerted his project, and entered Crimea, without 
the less of a single man. For, in summer, tlie heats dry up a part of the 
Sea of Azoph, and a west-wind keeps back the flood so, that one may u'et 
iuto the Crimea, almost dryshod. As good luck would have it, this wiud 



400 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

becjan to l)low, and the IMarsbal lost not a moment, for the taking the 
beneiit. of it. He instantly drew up his ni-niy along the shore, iti 1 single 
line; and haii]>ily crossed the sea, before the i-eturn of the flood. Some, 
inileed. of the carriages, of the rear-guai'd, that could not come up quirk 
enongli, were lost, bv the wind having ceased to blow, and the sea 
returning, just afti'r the army had passed. They seized on a ^imall fort, 
called the Ozivus-Coula." ()u "July 8, the Marshal marched towards 
Piecnp, and sat dovx n before it. The siege did not last but till the 10th. 
The continual lire kept up against the place, and the quantity of shells 
thrown into it, to great eti'ect, obliged the Turkish Commandant to 
caj)itulate. Lacy would not hear of his surrender, but as a ])risf)ner of 
war; which, after several parleys, he accepted. The garrison, consisting 
of 2000 Janisaries, under a Bashaw of 2 tails, came out of the place, and 
laid ilown their arms. Major-General Brigui, the youngei-, with 2 regi-* 
nieuts of foot, entered the place, and took the command of it. He found 
there to tlu' number of 100 pieces of cannon, most of them brass; but 
no more than a small quantity of liread. After this expedition, Lacy 
])enetrated farther into Crimea, which he found in a wretched condition, 
and almost a desert." 

"July 20, there was a very snmrt action between the Tartars, and a 
])art of Lacy's army. A body of near 20,000 men came on with suck 
fury, to attack the Cossacks of the Ukrain, who constituted the rear- 
guard, that they routed them, and threw into confusion the Azo])li Regi- 
ment of Dragoons, that had endeavoured to sustain them. Just at that 
juncture, LuMitenant- General Spiegel came up with -i regiments of 
dragoons, and the Cossacks of the Don, to stop the runavvays; and, scarce 
had they had time to recover themselves, before the enemies attacked 
them afresh, with a great deal of impetuosity. The combat was long and 
shai-p; but the Marshal, having caused some regiments of foot, who had 
already entered the camp, to advance, the Tartars were obliged to retreat, 
having left above 1,000 of their slain on the field of battle. On the side 
of the Rvissians, there were not above 6 or 700 men killed, including the 
Cossacks.* General Spiegel was among the wounded; having received a 
cut of a sabre in the face. Mai'shal Lacy had it in his instructions, to 
take Caffa, the strongest place of the Crimea, and a sea-port, in which the 
Turks often kept their fleet; but he found the country every where so 
ruined, that it was, with great difficulty, the army could get subsistence. 
Besides which, the Vice- Admiral Bredal, who was to bring him, in his 
fleet, provisions from Azoph, had met with a terrible storm, that disabled 
the greatest ])art of his vessels, and dispei'sed the rest ; so that the Marshal, 
after having made some marches onward, thought it best to bring back 
his army to near Precop; of which he oidered the foititications to be 
blown up, and a great part of the lines to be levelled. In his camp here, 
he remained till towards the f\u\ of August, when he resumed his march 
l)ack to the Ukrain, where his troops went into winter-ciuarters, in the 
month of October." 

In 1739, the last year of this war against the Turks, hostilities with 
Sweden being also ajiprehended by Russia, the aimy under Marshal Lacy 
was merely kept quarteied along the Ukraine-frontier as a reserve; the 
more to be relied on, in case of need, from its regiments having, thi'ough 

* This was evidently a more serious nffrir, than would a|ii>ear from a mere 
estimate of those ki hit ou each side; for every 1 ot whom, there would not be fesa 
than 3 or 4 tvouadtd. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRAXCK 491 

their General's good niaiiagenioiit, "sntfered very little loss." On tliis 
])raisew()rtliy economy of his soldiers' lives, contrasted with Munich s loss, 
during his 4 campaigns, of above 90,01)0 men, exclusive of any slain in 
action, my author, after exclaiming, "What a difference of conduct, 
between the 2 Marshals, Lacy and Munich, in this war against the 
Turks!" adds — "It produced at length such an effect at CVjurt, from the 
com])hiints, which had been made to it, of the hardships endured by tlie 
army, and tlie little care taken of it, l)y tlie leaving it to moulder away, 
at the precise time that Lacy did not lose a man but by the enemy, that 
the Empress charged the former, to inspect the conduct of tlie lattei-. 
Lacy's delicacy, however, refused the invidious task; but Munich, having 
had intelligence of such a commission, reproached tlie meritorious Lacy, 
on the occasion. Marshal Lacy, however, did not give himself the pains 
to inform his accuser, that he had declined the office imputed to him as a 
crime, (an office, which impugned the frankness and amiableness of "his 
character,) until, after having taken arms in their hands, as antagonists, 
they M'ere separated by General Lewachef; who, hearing swords clashing 
in Munich's cliaml)er, ran in, to separate them, declaring he would })ut 
them both under an arrest, in the name of the Emyiress." 

In the spi-ing of 1741, Lacy was placed at the head of the Russian force 
designed to act in Finland against Sweden; where the war-party were so 
])resumptuous, timt, with the " pride which goeth before destruction, and 
a haughty spirit before a fall," we hear they actually expiected to recover 
the provinces formerly possessed on the eastei-n sidt; of the Baltic, including 
St. Petersburgh ! — generally boasting, that, as 1 kime le was enough to drii e 
10 Russians bffore Jiim, so tlie Saxihslk army liad only to show itse'f, in 
order to he victoriuus ! But such swaggerers here, like other I'idiculous 
self-gloritiers elsewhere, were to learn, by the event, how much easier it 
is to bawl for war loudly, than it is to con<luct war resjiectablv. When 
the Athenians, in their decline, would have been persuaded, by their 
ortUois, to op])ose Alexander the Great, and the Senate referred to 
riiocion, for his opinion on the matter — "I am of opinion," said the wise 
veteran, " that you should either have the sharpest sword, or keep upon 
good terms with those who have." From a view of the strength of Russia, 
analdgtiiis to that taken by Phocion of the power of Alexander, the King, 
and the sounder-minded party, in Sweden, were, indeed, for peace; but, 
bring outnumbered, could not control the yiernicious clamomers for war.* 
1'iie next in ccmimand of the Russian army of Finland, under Lacv, was 
a most illustrious fellow-exile, and brother-Jacobite, Lieutenant-General, 
the Honourable James Keith, brother of the £arl-Marischal of Scotland, 
and (inally Field-Marshal under Frederick the Great of Prussia, in whose 
service he fell at Hochkirchen, in 1708. By September, war having been 
jiroclaimed between Russia and Sweden, Lacy entered Swedish Finland, 
jiroceeding, through a difficult country, towards Wilmanstiand. In this 
advance, a great alarm took place at 11 at night, which might have been 
iatal to both the 1st and 2nd in command. The Swedish "Colonel Wil- 
biand, Commandant of Wilmanstrand, having learned the march of the 
Russians, had detached 4 men; who, under favour of the night, and of 
the wood, wei-e to get as near as possible to the enemy's army, and to 
reconnoitre it. One of the centinels, of the advanced guard in the wood, 

* (:om))are tliis irrational outcry for bloodshed at Stockholm, with that mentioned 
in Book \11I. as mifoi tuiiately too strong for Sii- Eobert Walpole at London — and 

the OaU I'csiuts of butlu 



493 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADK3 

having; perccivpfl thorn, fiietl upon them. Scarce had thn piece cjnne .ifT, 
het'oi'e isoine regiiueuts of the linl line started up all ou a sudden, stood to 
tlieir arms, and, as it they had heen all in conrert, heiv.m to pour a most 
hrisk tire upon the 1^^ line, without its lieing )iossilile, for half an hour 
ti)!jjether, to make tlieui cease. Some cannon were f\en fired. 'riie le^i- 
nn nts, that lay in theirway. had an oflicei- and 1 7 men kdled and wounded. 
Tie Generals Lacy and Keith ran a trreat ris(p!e of lieinL,' killed in this 
false alarm. They had small tents pitched for them to lie in hetweeii 
the lines, which several balls had gone tpiite tliron<;li ! " Next dav, 
"Septemher 2, about 4 in the afterno<ni, the army arrived under Wilman- 
strand, and took post about a quarter of a mile from the town, near a 
.small village, called Armila, Marshal Lacy and General Keith proceeded 
directly to reconnoitr'e the town, under the escort of a battalion of toot, 
and of 200 grenadiers, on horseback." Wilmanstrand was "a little town* 
at the distance of full 4 German miles from the frontiers of Russia, situate 
on the side of a gi'eat lake. This covered it behind, so that there was no 
attacking it but in front, which was fortified with a covered-way, a ditch 
palisadoed, and a fraised rampart; the wdiole made of earth and fascines. 
The town, though itself situated on an eminence, had hills all round, 
which commanded it. The highest was on the right of it, where there 
was a wind-mill. The Swedes had jiosted there a main-guard, to hinder 
the Russians from occupying it. The rest of the situation was cxtiemely 
brok(Mi, and intersected; there was nothing but woods, marshes, and 
bramble-bushes, rocks, and ravines ; so that it was very difficult to 
approach the town, but by the high road. Here and there, too, one 
might find little bits of fields, cultivated and enclosed. Whoever con- 
siders this description mu.st allow it to be veiy difficult for troops to act 
upon such a ground; and that a small body of men, that knew how to 
defend themselves well, could easily defeat a great one, that should 
attack them." 

Next day, "the 3rd," the Marshal, at first apprehending the Swedish 
force there to be much greater than it actually was, naturally hesitated 
on assailing a ])ost, so formidable under those circum.stances; till, on learn- 
ing that its defenders, under Major-General Wrangel, were not more than 
5 or G.OO) men, it was decided an attenijit should be made to dislodge; 
the > wedes ; the Russians, at 2 in the afterno(ni, advancing accordingly. 
The Swedes, meantime, "got into order of battle, on the declivity of i lie 
Windmill-hill, having a battery of cannon before their center, and the.r 
kft on a ravine, about a musket-shot from the glacis of the town. Their 
dragoons, on the light, had posted themselves in a small ])lain, on the 
other side of that hill, near a small village. The Russians, benig arrived 
on a, rising ground o})posite to the Swedish battery, jilaced there 2 six- 
])oiuiders, and some three-pounders; and the action V)egan, with a 
cannonade, on each side. The Swedish artillery made some havock among 
the grenadiers. LTpon this. General Keith, ordered 2 regiments of grena- 
diers to attack the enemy's battery, and the Regiments of Ingermahuid 
and Astrachan, commanded by Colonel Manstein,* to sustain them. But, 
as the ground was so extremely narrow, that there was no issuing out of 
the wood which the Russians had before them, but by marching 2 com- 
] 'allies in front, — and even then they had to descend a steep i-avine, ami 
climb again a hill, in presence of the enemies, and under tlie fire of their 
cannon and small arms, which was exceedingly severe, — these 2 reginituta 
* The same, to whose narrative i am so largely indebted. 



IN THE SERVICE OF PRANCE. 493 

wert* tlirown into dissorder, and gave way. To hinder, then, these 
ht'g.nners of a Hight to coiunmnicate their confusion to the regiments 
that were fonowiiig tlieiii, <'('ii(Mal Keith orih^red Manstein to march to 
tlie riglit. to get out of tlie wood, and to attack the left wing of the 
enemies, who were quitting tlie i-avine on which they had encamped, an-l 
v/ere advancing. This was in.stantly executed, and so happily, tliat, after 
the 1st volley which the Swedes received, at GO ])aces distance, tiicy 
wht^eh d al)o\it, and ran straight towards the town, where the 2 regiments 
followed tlieni to the glacis, which they began to attack. Whilst this 
WHS |)cissing against the left wing of the enemy, the Generals had restored 
the order of the other troops, and caused th(! right wing of the Swedes to 
he attacked ; who, having remarked the confusion into which the Russian 
grenadieis had l>een thrown, descended from their eminence, and lost, by 
tills means, both the advantage of the ground, and that which they derived 
from their battery ; .so that they were soon routed, and the hill carried, by 
6 o'clock in the evening. The cannon of the enemy were turned," by the 
Russians, "against the town, and the Marshal sent a drum to summon it; 
but the soldiers of the enemy, continuing to tire from the ramparts, killed 
him. The Russians, extremely provoked at this incident, renewed the 
assault with fury, and carried the town, towards 7 that evening." Iij. 
fine, " most of tlie Swedes, who had been in this action, were killed, or 
made prisoners. Not 500 men escaped." The Swedish prisoners of every 
rank amounted to 1301; the other captures from them consisted of 4 
standards, 12 colours, 12 cannon, 1 mortar, and the military chest. The 
Russians killed were 529, and wounded 1S37; or, between both, 23Gu 
olhcers and soldiers. The Russians that day were 9900 strong; the 
Swedes, by their regimental rolls, 525G in number. Yet, " if the strength 
of the post which the Swedes occupied, and the disadvantage, to tha 
Russians, of the ground be considered, it was really astonishing, that the 
former were beaten. It must, however, be owned, that they themselves 
contributed greatly to it, by their own fault, in quitting the advantageous 
jKisition they had taken. The resi.stance they made was extremely obsti- 
nate, and served to augment their loss; for there remained, of their dead, 
on the field of battle, above 3300 men. The fire, which was very tierce, 
on both sides, lasted above 5 hours." Wilmanstrand, the plunder o( 
which afforded a considerable bot)ty, being soon after demolished, and the 
inhabitants sent into Russia, the Marshal re[Hssed the Russian frontier; 
encamping along it, as previous to this invasion. 

For the success thus obtained, as so auspicious a commencement of I ho 
war, great rejoicings took jilace at Petersburgh, although ''the ('oiirt had 
not been pleased, that Lacy returned with the army. 'J'hey would ha\e 
had him g(»ne on to Fredei-icksham, and have defeated the Swedish tro'ips, 
one l>arty of them after another; they not being as yet assembled. But 
these things were not so easy to be executed, as was imagined atPetersbuigh. 
Lacy made it appear, that he could not have undertaken more, without 
hazarding the loss of all the troo)>s, under his command. The regiments 
were diminished by the death and wounds of about 2000 men. Tliere 
■were great escorts necessary to bring away the prisoners, which weakened 
liim still more; the other regiments, too, who were on their march to join 
the army, were not yet arrived, any more than the 3 battalions of Guards, 
which had been detached from Petersburgh ; besides, the troops had not 
bread left for above G days; nor couhl tiie horses, employed in carrying 
the wounded to Wybuurg, have well time to return soon enough; so thaC 



404 ITI'-TORY OF THE TRI^TI B"IG\DES 

the Cnnvt. was oltliged to ap])vnvp of ;ill t'lat liad Ik'pti done." TiCnvIn^ 
tlur" coiiiiiianil of the ai-my to Lieiitenant-Geiieral Keith, the Marsliah not 
long after, letunied to Peteislmryh ; where lie extended the benefit of his 
hospitable residence to his late oV)i)onent, the Swedish Major-General 
Wrangel. who had been wounded by a gunshot in the arm, and made 
prisoner at WiJmansti-and. In Decemlu-r. the revolution took place at 
Petersbui'gh, by which the Princess Eliza'netli. youngest daughter of Peter 
the Great, was made Empress. C)f the several secret arrangements for 
effecting this change in the government, it not having been "thought 
adviseable previously to consult Marshal Lacy, who iiever interfered with 
the intrigues of the Court, he was afiplied to, at 3 o'clock in the mornin>;, 
to say, of what pMrty he was?" — that of the Grand Duchess Anne, or the 
Princess Elizabeth? Peiceiving, on the moment, or "although suddenly 
awakened out of sleep, that there wm. in fact, an Empress, who had th» 
reins, but, not being equally satisfied, if it was the Grand Duchess, or the 
Princess, who had succeeded, he replied. Of tlte party of tlie reigning 
Empress! At this answer, which discovered a quickness of conception, 
and a great presence of mind, address, and judgment,* he was conducted 
to Court, that he might continu.e to enjoy his rank and offices, and even 
receive new marks of gratitude from the new Empress." 

On Easter-Sunday, 1742, a mutiny broke out among the Russian 
Guards, in which the foreign otiicers, es])ccially an Aide-de-Camp of the 
]\Iai-shal, named Sauti-on, and a Captain Browne, were nnmercifully 
treatefl. This movement arose from some villains of the corps, who 
would have consigned every stranger to pillage, conflagration, and mas- 
sacre. The Marshal had those ruffians ironed and punished; and, with 
" a great courage of body and mind," put down the remainder of the 
mutineers; by which seivice, he is stated to IvAwe '■'■ saved Petersburgh, 
and, perliaps, the whole Empire!'^ Having noted how "to ])revent 
farther disorders of this kind, Marshal Lacy had ytiquets of the country 
regiments posted in all the streets, and ordered frequent patroles by night 
and by day," my author adds, "notwithstanding which, the whole town 
of Peterslmrgh was in gi-eat terror; the inhabitants did not think them- 
selves safe in their houses, nor did any one venture out into the sti-eets 
after dark. Meanwhile, never were greater precautions taken for keep- 
ing the gates carefully shut, both night and day, than during that time. 
Most certain it is, that, if it had not been for the good arrangements 
made by Marshal Lacy, the disorders woidd have multiplied, and gone 
greater lengths." 

Towai'ds the close of May, the Marshal reviewed, at Wybourg, the 
for'ce for his next campaign against the Swedes. It might amount to 
35,000 or 3(3,000 men, of whom 10,000 were to act by sea, in 43 gallies. 
Among the Generals, under the Marshal, on land, were Keith and 
Lowendahl — the latter, in connexion with Marshal Saxe's camjiaigns, 
already alluded to — among the Major- Generals, a Count Lacy t nnd 

* Thus, under similar circumstances, or when suddenly applied to, and roused 
from his repose at night, it is stated of the warrior-sagf , Ul^'sses — 

" He thought, and answer' il: hardly waking yet, 
Sprung in his m.nd the momentary wit — 
That wit, which, or in council, or in tight, 
btill met th' emergence, and cleterminM right." 

Pope'.s Homer, Odypaey, xv., SlS-oSi. 

+ Besides the Major-Cileneral Count Lacy, Mr. Dalton notices, in the Russian 
ervice, another General Uliicer of the name, Maurice Lacy, born at Limericfc, in 



IN THE SERVICE OF FUAXCE. 495 

Browne. Within tli<> last week of June, the Rnssi;ins entered Swedish 
Finhind, having to traverse a desolated country, by "the. woist i-oa'ls in 
the universe," and in "some places, of sncl) a iiatur ■, tliat l'(H) nu n, 
behind a good retrenchment, and a l)ariicade of felled trees, miglit lia\e 
sto))))ed short a whole army." After repulsing some hostile parties, the 
Marshal, on " Jnly 5," approached Mendolax, a veiy strong ])ost by 
nature, and rendered still stronger by art, with an intention of arresting 
his progress, but from which, nevertheless, the enemy retired. Had the 
Swedes rendered an attack necessary, " the Russians must have lost, iu 
the attempt, great part of th.eir infuitry, and, probably, have bem 
obliged to abandon the enterpiise. Some grenadiers were, for e.xj)eri- 
nient sake, sent to try to clamber up the front of the retrenchment, and 
em[)loyed above an hour, before they could get to the too of the para))et! 
But, what must it have been, if they had attempted it, under the warm 
rece]ition of a brisk tire of camion, and small arms'?" By "Jnly G," the 
Marshal and his Generals reconnoitred Fredericsham, deciding to open 
trenches between the 9th and lOth; the eminence for establishing the 
1st battery was likewise surveyed by the Count de Lowendahl ; and " in 
short, all the dis])ositions were ready for beginning the siege, when the 
Swedes rendered them useless, by abandoning the town. At 11 atnigiit, 
it was seen all on tire. . . . The Swedes had, in theii- retreat, tilled 
several houses with ].'owder, bomlvshells, grenades, and loaded muskets, 
which went off, one after another, in tiie air. This hindered the Russians 
from entering, and putting out the fire. . . . Three-fourths of the 
houses of Fredericsham were reduced to ashes. There were fomid, in 
the place, 10 pieces of brass cannon that were 18 and 24 pounders," 
with '.'120 iron cannon of different sizes. Almost all the magazines 
had been consumed by the flames; so that there was but little found of 
pi'ovisions and ammunition. Only 1 magazine of powder had not been 
blown np, that contained 400 quintals of powder, and some thousands 
of baiTels of pitch. . . . July 10, on the Festival of St. Peter, the 
name-day of the Grand-Duke." afterwards the unfortunate Peter III.,* 
" the Te Deurn was sung in thanksgiving, that the Russian army had 
taken Fredericsham, the oidy foititied town in all Swedish Finland, 
without losing a single man ! " In 2 days after, the Russians reached 
the river Kymen, from the opposite side of which the Swedish army, 
with their batteries, upon eminences, galled the Marshal's cuirassier.?, 
till removing them for protection behind a wood, he brought forward his 
artillei'y, dismounted, at the 1st fire, 2 of the hostile guns, and soon 
sik^iced the rest. Next day, when the gi'eatest portion of his forces hatl 
already ]>assed the rivei', a com-ier arrived from the Court, with a positive 
order that, after the enemy were driven lieyond tlie Kymen, it should be 
made a fortified frontier, and the campaign concluded. Lacy thereupon 
called a Ccunicil of War, in which all the native Russian Generals were 
for com])lying with the order from the Court; but the foreign Generals, 
Keith, Lowendahl, ifec, thought it was most desirable, to turn their 
hitherto uninterrupted tide of success under the Marshal to due account, 
by penetrating to, and, if possible, reducing Helsingfort. 

With this latter opinion, the Marshal himself coinciding, proceeded to 

1740. He was invited to Kus.'^ia by his relative, the Marshal, where he entered 
the army, when but a hoy; and, having tought against the Turks, and, uutler 
buwaiTof, in Italy, against the Fi-eneh, lie died, unmarried, in 182i,f. 

• teter ill., murdered iu 1702, like his uniortuuaDe sou, Paul I., iu ISUl. 



496 HISTORY OP THE IRISH BRIGADES 

near Pernokirk, where the Swedes were very adviintageonsly encamped, 
and remained so for some days, until, afraid of being turned l>y tlie 
Kussian gallies, they fell back to Borgo ; tlience, after iialting .some days, 
•with a river before them, retreated to a camp of great strength at 
Helsingkirk; and then, dreading to be cut oft* from their magazines, 
retired to near Helsingfort, where there was a retrenched camp prejiai-ed 
before their arrival; notwithstanding which, they resolved on quitting 
it, likewise, for Abow. Tlie evening, however, before the Swedes were 
to march away, as the Russians were drawing near Helsingfort, a 
Finland peasant requested to see the Marshal, and after acquainting hini 
with the intended departure of the enemy next day for Abow, mentioned, 
that this might be prevented, by re-o])ening, through a wood, a road 
formerly made by Peter the Great, but disused and overrun with bushes 
for 30 years; which I'oad, when thus rendered pas.sable, would lead, «it 
the other side of the wood, into the highway from Helsingfort to Abow! 
The Mai'.shal immediately directed 2 of his Engineers, to see if what 
the peasant alleged was j)cacticaV)le ; and they rei)orting favourably, he 
despatched, under Lowendahl, 64 companies of grenadiei's, and 4 bat- 
talions, to make the ])assage required. Ere the night was over, Lowen- 
dald sent word that tlie way was < '.eared, and that he was po.sted upon 
the road to Abow! "By 4 in t ae morning, the whole army was under 
march, and joined Lowendahl by 6. Scarce was the junction made, 
when thev saw the van of the Swedish army. The Swedes, terribly 
surprised, at discovering the Russians in a part where they had by no 
means ex])ected them, returned, as fast as possible, into their camp of 
Helsingfort, which they continued to fortify, and strengthened with a 
number of pieces of cannon." Thus intercejited and invested by the 
IMarshal on one element, and soon after blocked up by Admiral Misha- 
kow on the other, the entire Swedish force had, in 15 days, to surrender. 
"When the Swedish army. capitulated, it was near 17,000 strong; and 
all the Russian ftu'ces, that Lacy had, at that time, under his command, 
did not outnumber the enemy by 500. The garrisons of Fredericsham 
and Borgo, the various detachments they had been obliged to make, and 
sickiiess, had reduced the Russian army to 1 half; so that there were 2 
to 1 odds, that if the Swedes had not submitted to those ignominious 
conditions, and the Marshal had attacked them, the Russians would 
have been beaten " — taking into account, on the side of the Swedes, 
" the situation of their camp, which they had had full time to fortify." 
All Finland being, by this capitulation, subjected to the Russian empire, 
the Marshal, leaving a due portion of his army to quarter for the winter 
in the conquered territory, and sending the rest liome to Russia, returned 
himself to the Court, with whose orders he had twice so judiciously dis- 
pensed — in not atlvancwg so far as it had vAshed last year and in 

advrniciiu/ farther tlian it v;ish.ed this year! 

The Russian operations against Sweden, in 174.3, were to be con- 
ducted from a squadron of gallies and lighter craft, joined by a tieet of 
larger vessels, or ships of the line and frigates. May 14tli, the land- 
force and jirovisions to sail in the gallies being embarked from Peters- 
burgh, "the Empress went on board Marshal Lacy's galley, where she 
assisted at divine service, accoi-ding to the Greek ritual; after which, she 
made him a present of a ring of great value, and of a suiall golden cross, 
enclosing some relics; and, embracing him, wished him a happy cam- 
paign. She went to her Palace, from the windows of which she saw the 



IN THE SERVICE OF FP>ANCE. 497 

gallies move off in a line, who gave her a royal salute, as they passed." 
This squadron under tlie Marshal steered for, and soon reached, Cron- 
stadt, where the fleet of men-of-war lay ; and, between 2 and 3 days 
after, the wind, which had been so far adverse for sailing, becoming 
favourable, the combined armament, coming out of the port into the 
roiid, formed a line of battle at anchor. " The Empress arrived fioni 
Petersburgh, and went on board the Admiral's shit>, where she had a 
long conversation with Marshal Lacy, and the Admiral, Count Gollo- 
win; after which she landed, and dined at Cronstadt, and returned, the 
same day, to PeterhofF. The fleet of war, which the Pus.sians put to 
sea this year, consisted of 17 ships of tlie line, and 6 frigates ; it was 
commanded by the Admiral Count Gollowin, who hoisted his flag on 
boaid the Great Anne, which can-ied 110 guns. . . . The fleet of gal lies, 
that went out of Cronstadt, consisted of 34 gallies and 70 cantscldbasses ; 
a kind of small Turkish vessels, that might each contain as far as a crew 
of 80 men, and a month's provision for ihem." In this latter squadron 
of the gallies and cantschibasses, there were, under Mai'shal Lacy, 1 
General, 2 Lieutenant-Genei'als, 3 Major-Generals, with " 9 regiments 
of infantry, and 8 companies of gi-enadiers of the Regiments of Wyboui-g, 
Petersburgh, and Cronstadt," there being also "on board 200 Cossacks 
of the Don, with their horses, to serve occasionally for incur.sions into 
the enemy's country." In j)roceeding against the Swedes, "the ice, the 
exces.sive cold, and strong winds, hindered the Marshal from making way 
f-;o fast as' he wished to do;" until having, by June 6th, followed the 
hostile fleet as far as Hangouth, he was able to duly reconnoitre it. 
Tiien "he who had won so many battles by land, eagerly wished to 
obtain a victory by sea. He gave ordei-s to the Admiral Gollovvin, to 
attack, on his pai't. The Admiral directed for answer, tiiat tlie Marshal 
should 1)0 informed, that 1 ship more was wanting, to comjjjy with his 
desire; for that he," the Admiral, ''had luit 17 against 12. and that 
Peter I. had left a standing ordei', that no attack should be made, witli- 
out the advantageous odds of 3 against 2. Tiie rage of the Marshal 
may be more ea.sily conceived, than described, at this remark and reply. 
&'everal Councils of War were the consequence, several viewing, and 
reviewings of the 2 fleets; and, in spite of all the Marshal could say, 
nothing was done." On the ISth, at the requisition of Admiral Gollo- 
win, " the Marshal sent him 14 kandschibasxes (before desci-ibed) as a 
reinfoi'cement. The Swedes, observing this manoeuvre, weigljed anchor. 
The Russian squadron took a lai-ge ofRng They brushed each otlier 
with a cannonade on both sides; neither had the advantage. The 
Mar.shal, as if practised in the nautical profession, manoeuvred with ccm- 
siderable address; drove away 2 Swedish ships, which wei-e ))laced in 
the Plangouth * passage to stop him ; and ultimately obtained an advantage 
o.'er the enemy, on weathering the cape with his gallies. A thick fog 
concealed the Swedish fleet, and prevented the Marshal from following 
Tip his success." June 23rd, the Marshal was joined by Lieutenant- 
General Keith, who, with his separate squadron, had acted successfully 
against the enemy ; after this juUv-^-cion, the Swedish gallies made for 
Stockholm, the combined Russi'An anaHraeiits soon reaching Degerby, an 
island off Aland; ai\d. by the 29tL., the Marshal had signalled to get 
under wvigh for a proposed descent ujma the Swedish coast, when this 

• Manstcin's spelling ofti'.is place iiubstltflted for the Prince do Ligne's, though 
in It quotatioii from the laoiicr. 

2k 



498 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

<]«sign, and his long services, were alike terniinaterl, liy the annonnoecl 
agreement to preliminaries of ])(ace V)etween Russia :ui(l Sweden at 
A how. The treaty was concluded there in August ; the river Kynieri 
being appointed the boundary in Finland, by which St. Petersburg!) was 
rendered secure. In September, the Empress Elizabeth despatched her 
own yacht to bring the Marshal to Court, where great rejoicings were 
made, in celebration of the peace ; the feasts and entertainnumts con- 
tinuing for several days. The Marshal then retiring to his estates in 
Livonia, of which province he was Governor, resided there, until his 
decease, in 1751,* in his 73rd year. 

He was in person tall, and well-made, in mind distinguished by 
enlarged views, clearness of perception, and soiindness of judgment ; or 
a due combination of vivacity and vigour, with coolness, secrecy, ar^d 
the power of varying his conduct, according to the enemies with whom he 
had to deal, — Swedes, Poles, Turks and Tartars. He was admired and 
beloved, among his "companions in arms," for the example he gave of 
intrepidity, endurance of fatigue, and the maintenance of discipline ; 
accomjjanied by a conscientious solicitude to acquaint himself with the 
wants of his troops, and an uncommon attention to their health and 
])reservation. The zeal and ability he had uniformly displayed in sub- 
<irdinate posts elevated him to the chief command of the Russian forces; 
and, at their head, his successes ])roved how worthy he was of that 
command. Hence, it was noted at the time of his decease, that, if liis 
death was in Russia a subject of legret to the nation at large, it was 
fefcill more so among all such, as were qualified to be judges of real merit.t 
Abbe Mac Geoghegan, in the epistolary dedication of his " Histoire de 
I'Irlande," in ]7-")8, "aux Troupes Trlnndoises au Service de la France," 
thus refers to this illustrious oflicer, as having long served among them 
— "La Russie, cet Empire si vaste et si ])uissant, cet Empire ])asse tout 
a coup de tant d'obscurite a tant de gloii-e, voulut apyrremlre de voire 
corps la diKcipline militaire. Pierre le Grand, ce genie si perc^ant, ce 
Heros createur d'une nation aujourd'hui triomphante, ne crut jjouvoir 
niieux contier cette partie si essentielle de I'art de la guerre qu'au Feldt 
Marechal de Lacy; et la digne fille de ce grand Erapereur remit toujoui'S 
a ce guerrier la princij)ale defense du trone auguste, qu'elle remplit avec 
tant de gloire." According to abstracts from his family papers, — includ- 
ing his will, ordering his body to be "committed to the earth, Christianly 
and honestly," or " without idle pomp," and referring to his projjerty, as 
"acquired through long and hard services, with much danger and 
uneasiness" — he had, by the Countess Martha, his wife, o daughters, 
married, with portions of 10,00(J I'oubles each, to Major-Genei-al Boye, 

• The Marshal's decease, if, according to Russian or 0.8., on "April .30th, " 
would be, by N. S., on "May 11th," I'/ol. As citing so much from evidence on 
tlie Russian side, and of course not interfering with the dates in the extracts 
made, I have likewise avoided introducing N. S. at all into mj' bio2;ra})hic sketch, 
to escape the confusion of 2 modes of dating — and this, with reijard to a country, 
even Wdl using (_). S. It is sufficient to state here, that the diiference between 
(). S. and N. 8., up to IGOi), was 10 days ; and, from 1700 to ISOO, both inclusive, 
11 days. 

t Manstfin remarking, how " Russia had, in her service, such good Generals, that 
few powers in Europe could boast the like," adds, " Munich, Lacy, Keith, Lowen- 
dalil, liave illustrated their names, for it to he presumable, that they will descend 
to the latest posterity. Be this observed, witliout ]>artiuularly naming here all 
t!ie other Generals who commanded under t)icm, among whom there were some, 
vlio might have done honor to any service in the world," 



IN THE SERVICE OF PRANCE, 409 

the Privv-Coancillor Lieven, and Majors-General Browne. Stnart and 
Von Witten, besides 2 sons. < !f these, the elder, in the Polisli-Siixoii 
service, was a Royal Chamberlain and Major of Cuirassiers, as well as 
Count of the Holy Roman Empire. The younger, in the Austrian service, 
was a Cf)unt, Imperial and Royal (Jijamberlain, Field-Marshal, Grand 
Cross Knight of the Military Order of Maria Theresa, &c. Their fatlicr 
left landed estates of consideralde value, and yiersonal property to tiie 
amount of 531), 10:2 florins, or between £50,000 and £60,000, Britisli 
money. As the survivor of his uiotliei- and elder brother, the whole 
devolved to the Austrian Field- Marshal, born at Petersburgh, in 
October, 1725, and deceased, at Vievma, in November, 1801.* IJis his- 
tory, and that of the Lacys in Spain, being unconnected with the annaia 
of the Irish in the service of France, can be merely I'eferred to h(^rt>, 
as reflecting, to the j)resent century, much additional military honour 
n[)on the name abroad. 

The year subsequent to the death of Marshal Lacy in Russia was 
marked by the dece ise in Prussia of another distinguished Irish ofli;jer, 
Richard Francis Talbot, 3rd Farl of Tyrcoiinell — of the name of Talbot. 
His father, the 2nd Earl, or Willi im Talbot of Haggardstown, County 
Louth, attainted by the Williamite revolutionists among the Jacobite 
loyalists who retired to France, lias been noticed as Aiile-de-Camp to the 
Duke of Orleans, in Spain, at the capture of Tortosa, iu 1708. Richard 
Francis, successor to the title, born in 1710, and at tirst, or by commis- 
sion of August 7tli, 1721, a supernumerary or reformed Captain in the 
Irish Horse Regiment of Nugent, (afterwards Fitz-James) obtained *» 
company in it, February 1st, 172'). He commanded it at the siege of 
Kehl in 1733, and at the attack of the lines of Etlingen and the siege of 
Phili()sburgh -in 1734. Empowered, March 21st, 1735, to hold rank as a 
Mestre-de-Camp de Cavalerie, he was with the regiment at the affair of 
Clausen. Employed, with the Army of Westphalia, as Aide-Marecha!- 
General des Logis de la Cavalerie, by order of Aprd 21st, 1742, he ])assed, 
in August, into Bohemia, with that army. He was piesent at the 
captures of Ellenbogen and Caden, at the relief of Braunau, tiie 
revictualling of Egra, and several actions in Ba\aria. Returning to 
France with the army in July, 1743, he finished the campaign in T.Tp[>er 
Alsace, under the Marshal de Coigny. By order of Februaiy 1st, 1744, 
Marechal de^ Logis de la Cavalerie in the Army of Italy, he was at the 
conquest of the district of Nice, the passage of the Al[)s, the taking of 
Cliateau Dauphin, the sieges of Dcnu)nt and Coni, the battle of Madcma- 
del-Ulnio; was, from May 2nd, Brigadier by brevet, and was declared 
such, August 1st. Acting as Marechal General des Logis de la Cavalerie 
to the Army of the Lower Rhine by order of April 1st, 1745, he had au 
o|tp()rtunity of signalizing himself at the passage of that river, July 19th ; 
and, sailing for Scotland with that portion of his corps, the Regiment of 
Fitz-James, designed to reinforce Prince Charles there, he was captured 
at sea by the English, in March, 1746. Exchanged in 1747, and attached 
to the Army of Flanders, he was at the victory of Laflelclt, in July. 
Marechal de Camp, or Major-General, by brevet of January 1st, 1748, 
he quitted his comjiany; was commissioned, March lUth, as M.estre-de- 

* For my information from the Lacy pajiers, as well as from tho.se of the Mac 
Dounells in Austria, (in connexion with the affair of Cremona.) I am iadelitcd 
to luy friend, Fdchard Mac Nauiara, Esq., Solicitor, 31, North Great George's 
Street, Dublin. 



600 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

Camp Rpforme a la suite of the RpginiPiit of Fitz-James; was employed 
as Maveclial de Camp with the Ainiy <>f the Pays Bas by letters of A[)iil 
Ist; and served at the siege of Maestriclit. Soon after the Peace of Aix- 
la-Chapelle, he left the army, and, not long subsequently, was nominated 
Ambassador from Louis XV. to Frederick the Great of Prussia. His 
IjDi-dsliip's decease is thus mentioned, at Berlin, in March, 17-52. 
^ Messire Pichaid Francis Talbot, Earl of Tirconel, Peer of the Kingdom 
of Ireland, Marshal of the Camps and of the Armies of the King of 
France, Chevalier of the Royal and Military Order of St. Louis, anil 
JMinister Plenipotentiary of his Most Christian Majesty at this Court, has 
died, the 12th of this month, in the 42nd year of his age, and after a long 
sickness, extremely regretted, from the general esteem which he liad 
acquired here."* His Lordship was eminent for his love of good cheer 
and hospitality; Voltaire, who knew him at Berlin, alluding to him j*a 
specially believing that God had made man to eat and to di-ink, and as 
keeping a suitable gastronomic establishment, or open table; and in 
reference to the respective diplomatic positions of his Lordship as an 
exiled Irish, and of the Earl Mari.schal Keith as an exiled Scotch Jacobite, 
likewise ren)arks on the sti'ange destiny which madeJ "nn Irhmdais, 
Ministre de Fi-ance a Berlin, et un Ecossais Ministre de Berlin a Paris!" 
AVe now know, that, from personal dislik(! and political resentment 
against his kinsman, George II., Jacobitism, in 1750, was fomented by 
Fi-ederick of Prussia; vvlio, as a corresponding sign of his ill-will to 
George, sent the Jacobite Karl Marischal, as Pr-u.ssian Minister, to Paris. 
Upon which an Englisli historian, Loid Malion, not duly allowing i'or 
Frederick having been a DiciST, exclaims — "A singular anomaly, at this 
time, that a Profeslant Monarch should become the main hope of a 
liomish Pretender ! " 

In 1754 died a noble and venerable survivor of the War of the Revolu- 
tion at home, and a distiiiguislied officer of tlie Irish Brigade abroad, ia 
the person of John Nugent, 5th P'arl of Westmeath. At first, or as the 
Honourable John Nugent, a Cadet in the Hor.se Guards of King Jame.s 
II., and next engaged in the dragoon service of the Irish army, he fought 
at the battle of the Boyne, siege of Limerick, ic. ; after which, passing 
into France, he was a Lieutenant in the King's or Sheldon's Regiment of 
Irish Hoi'se, acting in Flanders, and on the coasts, till the Peace of 
ilyswick, in 161)7. In February, 1('98, he was attached, as a supei-- 
iiumerary or reformed Captain, to Sheldon's new Regiment of Iri.sh 
Horse, formed from his former corps of that descrij^tion, and Lord 
GMlmoy's, and successively the Reginuuit of NugT>nt and Fitz-Jam s. 
Accom]ianyiug it to Italy in 1701, he was at the combat of Chiari; and, 
in 1702, at the battle of Luzzara. Removed to Flanders in 1704, he 
obtained a company; and was commissioned as full Captain, April 5th, 
1705. Pie was at the battle ofRaniillies in 1706; of Oudenarde in 1708; 
of Malpla.quet in 1709; at the combat of Denain, and sieges of Douay 
and Qnesnoy in 1712; in Germany at those of I.andan and FriV)urgh in 
1713; and at the Camp of the Meuse in 1714. Major of his regiment by 
brevet of January 3rd, 1720, he was commissioned, February 15th, 1721, 
to hold the rank of a Mestre-de-Camp de Cavalerie. He served at the 
siege of Kehl in 1733; at the attack of the lines of Etlingen and siege of 

*Tl!e decease of his Lcirdsliip's wife is given as follows, in a Dublin magazine for 
December, lli.'J. "Nov. 2. ... At I'ari.s, Lady i^L^.^daline de Lys, widow 
ei' ilichard Taibot, who styled hioiscif Earl of Ty rcounel, of Ireland." 



IN THE SERVIOK OP FRANCE. 501 

Pliilips1)iirg1i in 1734; and at the nflTaif of Clausen in 1735. Licntenaiit- 
Colonel of liis regiment Ma}' 23rd, 173G, and Brigadier V)y brevet .J;nuiaiy 
1st. 1740, he wiis employed, V)y letters of Aiig<ist 1st, 1741, in the Army 
of the Lower Rhine; with which he marched into Westphalia undei- tiie 
Marshal de Maillel)ois, and passed the winter in the country of Juliers. 
In August, 1742, jiroceediiig with that army to the frontiers of Bohemia, 
lie was at several actions in Bavaria, and remained thei-e during tlie 
"wintei'. Returning to Fiance with that force in July, 1743, he finislied 
the cam] ai .;n in Lower Alsace, under the orders of the Marshal de Noailles. 
Marechal de Camp, or Major General, by brevet of May 2nd, 1744. li« 
served m Flanders until the Peace; quitting the Lieutenant-Colonelslii|.j 
of the Regiment of Fitz-James, and the army altogether, in June, 1748. 
On the decease of his elder brother in Ireland, in 1752, aged 96, he 
became 5th Earl of Westmeath ; and died, in his retirement, at Nivelles, 
in Brabant, July 3rd, 1754, aged 82 or 83 He was the last Catholi<3 
re))resentative of that title, being, by his marriage with Margaret, 
daughter of Count Molza, of the Duchy of Modena in Italy, the father 
of Thomas, the 6th Earl, and 1st who conformed to the Protestant 
Established Church of England and Ireland. 

A modern Irish tourist in Belgium, &c , observing " every whei-e, on 
the Continent, we met traces of the illustrious and noble families, whoin 
the cruelty and rajiacity of conquest had exiled from our c(Uintry," notices, 
as "a victim to loyality and patriotism, who, in every change of ft)rtnne, 
had, by his fidelity and bravery, sustained the dignity of his birth and the 
honour of his name," the galhint soldier, over whose remains a monument 
was raised by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, with the following 
inscription : — 

D. 0. M. 

Hie jacefc 

Iliiinis D. D. Daniel (•-Connor Sli^oe, 

In Exei'citii Austriaco L<')cum Tenens (^enoralia, 

Et autiquissimie apud Hibeiiios (^euti-s C'ai)ut, 

Qui mox aimd suos Centnrio sub J.acobo il., 

In Gallijs sub Luilovico XIV., 

Dein sub Leopoldo LotlmriugiiB Duce, 

Ac deniuui sub invicta Austria, eorum AquilS, 

AunisXLVlII 

Stipendia emeritus, 

Fide ubique, & Virtute patri^ 

Su6 a])ud oiiines Desiderio reUcto, 

Decessit plane, ut vixernt, 

Christiani Mibtis Exeniphun. 

Obijt BruxeUis VII. Februanj MDCCLVI. 

iEtatis XCII. 

K. I. P. 

I am sorry, that an insufficiency of information .should oblige me to restrict^ 
to the narrow limits of the above epitaph (given by Dr. de Burgo, and 
Mr. Matthew O'Ctmor,) mij notice, on this occasion, of the distinguished 
military career of sueh a worthy representative of the old and long 
powerful race of O'Connor Sligo. 

We now reach that epoch in the annals of the Irish Brigade in France, 
when, owing to the causes noticed at the end of the preceding book, ;i 
decline of the corps, in ils composition as a national force, was ])erceptible; 
aud when its remaining history, as lesa interesting, may be move conik- 



S02 HIsTOIlY OF THE 115JS1I BKIGADKS 

r»rosso(l, witli tlif exce])tion of th:it povtinn of it (lcv^•1te<l to the cai'cor of 

tl)(' e:ill;>iit and zejdiv.is, yet infMmously-victiinised, Count Lally. In the 

distmbed interval, Ironi the Peace of 1748 between England and France, 

to the declaration of war by those jiowers in ]May and June, 1756, such 

Cfnii[>laints long existed of French encroachments on the English in North 

America liy land, and of English cajitures at the expense of the French by 

sea, that the approaching certainty of an open rupture between tlie 2 

tiations was evident for a considerable time, previous to the official 

proclamations on the suV)ject. As the {)ros])ect of war increased, the 

)'olitico-religi(nis hostility of the Cromwello-Williamite or Penal-Code 

"ascendancy" in Ireland to the mass of the population vented itself in 

louder outcries against Papists, and in stronger deuiauds for a rigorous 

enforcement of tlie existing laws against them. "The French," it was 

Klleged, "are prejiaring to invade these islands, and the Papists, designing 

to join them, are secretly organizing themselves for the ])ur[)ose." The 

Brigade in France, to which the surviving Catholic nobility and gentry 

of Iieland sent their j'ounger sons for a provision abroad, since debarred 

from the sources of a suitable maintenance at home, became the main 

object of the legislative animosity of the o)i]iressors. This spirit of 

liostility was, of course, any thing but lesKened by the circumstance, that, 

in spite of the more stringent measures adopted since 1746 to prevent 

recruiting lor the Irish regiments in France, — and which measures were, 

indted, attended, to a great degree, with success, — yet the "flights of tho 

wild geese," or emigrations among the nati\e peasantry to join the 

Brigade, could not be entirely arrested. For instance, among the ]>ub- 

lished aifidavits concerning the Whiteboy disturbances in Munster, early 

m the following reign, (or that of George III.,) \ve read one, sworn 

]\Iarch 3(;th, 1706, in which the deponent certities, that he knew "one 

J.ames Herbert, otherwise Thomas Fitzgerald, wdio calls himself a French 

ofticer," and " that he saw said Herbert, at 4 several times, enlist men in 

KilHunan, and Kilmallock, in the County of Limerick, and ship them olf 

at Bantry. in the County of Cork, for the French service, in the year 

17')(;."'''' Eespeetiiig such obnoxious enlistments, the most remarkable 

incident, connected with a popular native or Giielic poem known as the 

"Diige of O'SuUivan Beare," is thus narrated. "In 175G, one of the 

O'Sullivans of Bearhaveu, who went by the name of Morty Oge, fell 

under the vengeance of the law. He liad long been a \evy popular 

character in the wild district which he inhabited, and was particularly 

obnoxious to the local authorities, who had good reason to suspect him of 

enlisting men for the Irish Brigade in the French service, in which, it 

■was said, he held a Captain's coiumissicm. Information of his raising 

these ' wild geese,' (the name V)y which such recruits were known,) was 

given by a Mr. Puxley; on whom, in consequence, O'Sullivan vowed 

revenge, which he executed, by shooting him on Sunday, while on his 

way to church. This called for the interposition of the higher powers; 

and, accordingly, a party of military was sent round, fiom Cork, to attack 

O'SulIivan's house. He was daring, and well-armed ; and, the hou,se 

being fortified, he ma«e an obstinate defence. At la-st, a conlidential 

servant of his, named Scully, was bribed to wet the powder in tlie guns 

and jjistols prepared for his defence, which rendered him pctwerless. He 

* We ineet witli greater risk nui, Jnly 1st, 1757, in the case of " Daniel S'vtinv, 
coiiiinitled to Cork uanl, for einieavom-iiiii- to seduce 2 soldiers of Col. li'iLzwiliiaui'a 
wiLririieui, to eiilist tlieui iii the Freiicli service." 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 503 

attempted to escape, but, while springing over a high wall in the rear of 
his house, he received a mortal wontid in the back. They tied his body- 
to a beat, and dragged it, in tliat manner, through the sea, froui Bear- 
haven to Cork ; where his head was cut off, and lixetl on the county jail, 
where it remained for several years." Tlie following is a translated por- 
tion of the "dirge" composed on " Morty Oge" by his faithful nurse, iu 
Irish : — 

" The sun on Tvora 

No loiiL^er shines lirightly ; 
The voice of her imisic 

No longer is spritrhtly; 
No more, to her maidens, 

The light dance is dear. 
Since tlie death of our darling, 

Sullivan Beare! 

*' Had he died calmly, 

1 would not deplore him; 
Or if the wild strife 

Of the sea-war clos'd o'er him : 
But, with ropes round his white limba, 

Thro' ocean to trail him. 
Like a fidi after slaughter, 

'Tis therefore 1 wail him! 

"In the hole, which the vile hands 

Of soldiers had maile thee; 
Unhonoui'M, Titisliroudod 

And headless, they laid thee! 
No sigh to regret thee, 

No eye to rain o'er thee. 
No dirge 10 lament thee. 

No fiiend to deplore thee! 

" Dear head of my darling. 

How gorv and pale. 
These ai;ed eyes see thef>. 

High spik'd on their jail ! 
That cheek, in the sunimer sun, 

Ne'er shall grow warm ; 
Nor that eye e'er catch li'^ht. 

But the Hash of the storm 1 '' 

Under these circumstances, a statute was passed in Dublin, through 
the so-called " /^vs/t Parliament" of the anti-national oligarchy there, 
" inflicting," says my legal authdrity, " the punisiiment of death on ail 
natural born subjects iu the French service, who should land in Ireland, 
and on their abettors, and concealers.* This sentence of ))er))etual 
banishment deeply affected the Irish-born officers and soldiers of tho 
Brigade. Their hopes and longings were directed to spend the evening 
of life in their native homes ; to enjoy the hospitality of the companions 

" Fieffe, likewise, having premised, how " le Cahinet de Saint James-ralluma la 
guerre," remarks — " Comme les hlessiires que les Irlandais avaient faites a 
I'armee Anglaise 10 ans auparavant n'dtaient pas encore cicatris(jes, il juijea pru- 
dent de ne pas I'exposer de nouveau aux coups de ces terribles adversaires, et 
se hata de [)uV)lier facte snivante ; " or that making it " high treason," and ))unish- 
ahle by a suitable dcalh, fur a subject of (jreat Britain to enter the French, 
service, after JSIay 1st, 175G, without a special written permission from the Crown 
to do so, &c. Nevertheless, alleges the French historian. — " i.es Irlandais repou- 
dirent a cette sentence cai'itaie, eu &'eur01aut avec pliis d empressemeut sous lt;d 
diapuaux de la FiaiiCb,' &<;, 



504 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

of their youth ; and, at length, to repose from the toils of exile ! These 
hopes sofithed the hardships of a military lite." Thus old Arsetes 
observes iu Tasso, 

"Sinking now, as middle life declin'd. 

To hoary age, the Winter of mankind; 

***** 
I loath'd this irksome life, with wandering tir'd. 
And to review my native soil desir'd ; 
There, midst my friends, to pass my latter days, 
Aud cheer my evenings with a social blaze. " 

Hoole's Tasso, Jerusalem Delivered, xii., 24S 9, 252-5. 

But such hopes, on the part of the Irish exiles, were destined to be 
formed in vain. A clause, indeed, was inserted in the act, that any 
"returning before the (Hh of August, 17-56, with intent to beconi* 
dutiful subjects, should be exen)]>fc from the penalties of the statute." 
This clause, however, " sought to deprive men of employments, without 
giving them the means of subsistence;" and -is "men of honourable 
minds prefer death and exile to de))eudence ; nd beggary," and as " the 
Brigade officers had no means of support but th 'ir commissions," they 
necessarily continued in (he service of France. Daniel O'Conor. younger 
brotlier to the venerable Charles O'Conor of Be-lanagare, writes as an 
officer of the Brigade, or Cajitain in the Regiment of Dillon, from St. 
Omer's, April 28th, 17o6, on this point — "Banishment is frightful tp 
every man but a i-oViber, or a murderer, aud what man of common sense 
would submit to the condition of an exile, on account of a ])o.st in the 
French .service ? . . . But are we to get any thing for what we are 
obliged to renounce? or will there be an act passed to prevent our breath- 
ing?" Indeed, between the flood of demoralization then spi-eading 
thiough France from the court to the camp, itc, and wiiich continued to 
increase till it swe])t all before it at the Revolution, and the simul- 
taneous evil working of the penal enactments against any education of 
Pajiists in Ireland, <tc., as unfortunately manifested in the sufficiently 
repul^ive resemblance wliich a number of the younger or more recently- 
appointed officers to the Brigade presented to the illiterate and dissolute 
scamps in British uniform referred to by Swift, the writer of this letter, 
as a man of a cultivated mind, and of suitable morality or self-respect, 
found him.'^elf so disagreeably situated at this time in the French service, 
that he, and others like him, would have quitted it, if possible. Of such 
a " debauched country " as France, he exclaims to his brother — " I stare, 
and look round me, as in a wilderness, where nothing like honesty, or 
sincerit}', appears ! " It is added, that he then considered " the French 
service, a service, which, in general, afI"orded no prospect, but that of 
growing more and more unhappy, in pro])ortion as one grew old in it;" 
and wliere " his days were embittered by the invidious conduct of a 
number of new officers, ignorant young men, with whom to know the 
letters of the alphabet was a crime." * Yet, while so naturally " dis- 
satisfied with his situation among them, and that it was not easy for a 
man of spirit, and information, to be otherwise," it was for siich a situa- 
tion this gentleman found himself banned by law from the j)rospect of 
any " blest retirement, friend to life's decline," in his native land, where, 
amidst relatives and friends, he might form that interesting poi-tion 

* A s]iecinien of the many necessarily sad effects of the penal enactments a.;aiust 
Kiy Topish educatiou — ». e., any ediicatiou for the nation at large I — iu Ireland. 



IN THE SERVICE OP FRANCE. 505 

in the social circle, so feelingly alluded to, with respect to the veteran 
Major Mac Dermott of Einlagh, in the County of Roscommon, by the 
pathetic genius and Jacobite sympathies of Goldsmith, when he notes of 
the hospitality of the worthy country clergyman^ 

" The broken soldier, kindly bade to stay, 
Sate by his tire, and talk'd the night away ; 
Wept o'er his wounds, or, tales of sorrow ihine, 
Shoulder'd his crutch, and shew'd how fields were won." • 

By the commencement of 1756, the Fi-ench Government, having de- 
signed to open hostilities in Europe with an ex))editiou for the conquest 
of Minorca, as such an important stronghold of the enemy in the 
Mediterranean, t it was likewise resolved, the better to withdraw English 
attention from this design, that a large force, in 7 camps, should be 
stationed along the coasts of Fi-ance, opposite England. In this foice, 
\inder the Marshal Duke de Belleisle, Count Lally was employed, V)V 
letters of December 31st, 1755, as a Marechal de Camp, or Major- 
General ; and to it were attached, of the Irish corps in the Fi-ench 
service, the battalions of Roth, Clare, Berwick, and Lally ; and of the 
Scotch corps, in the same service, those of Royal Ecossais, and Ogilvio. 
In January, the arrival of Prince CliarU's at Paiis was announced there, 
with an allusion to the large numl)er of Scots and Irish still devoted to 
him, and prepared to follow his fortune, at all lisks ; a hope being also 
expressed, that, since the Prince's disposition was known to be goodness 
itself, he would overlook the disagreeable necessity that had occasioned 
his compulsory removal from France, after the Peace of 1748; in whicli 
case, there was a promising a])|)earance of so much being done for him, 
as would oidy need success, to compensate him lor all that was past. 
Besides the alarm felt in England, witli leference to a military visit from 
the French — against whom aid from Holland being songlit and refused, 

* O'Conor's History of the Irish Catholics, Memoirs of Charles O'Conor of 
Belanagare, Mnsgrave's Memoirs of Rebellions in Ireland, Appendix No. I., 7, 
Hayes's Ballads of Ireland, &c. 

t The French, with a land-force of about 20 battalions, and between 80 and 9!) 
guns, under the Marshal Duke de Richelieu, sujiported by a fleet from Toulon, 
became masters of Minorca, early in the summer of ITT)!), tlirough the reduction 
of Fort St. Pliilip, after the naval rejiulse of the unfortunite Admiral Byng, in 
attempting to relieve it. Fort 8t. Philip was defended against Richelieu by the 
same Irish Protestant veteran, Lieuteiiant-(jenerai William Blakeuey, then in his 
86th year, who, in his 7(ith, or in 1746, had defended Stirling Castle, in Scotland, 
against Prince Charles. Of the defence of Fort St. Phiiii> Ijy the Irish officer, it is 
set forth, in the 2nd article of the capitulation— " The noble and vigorous defence 
which the English have made, having deserved all the marks of esteem and 
veneration that every military person ought to shew to such actions, and Marshal 
Eichelieu, being desirous al.so to ,s7if(y <J('ii.<^,rnl Blnk>'iiey the rajard dw to the hrave 
defence he hax made, grants to the garrison all the honours of war, they can enjoy 
under the circumstance," &c. In c nsequence of this creditable conduct, the 
Limerick octogenarian, as contrasted with poor Byng, who was condemned to be 
shot, became the popular hero of the day in England ; and was ennobled, or 
created Baron Blakeney of Castle-Blakeney, and a Knight of the Bath, by Ueorge 
II. In Ireland, he was presented with the freedom of several Corporations, 
especially those of Dublin and Cork, in gold boxes ; his birth-day was o})served 
with the highest marks of respect ; and a statue was voted, 17oJ, and raised 1o 
him, 1759, in the Irish metropolis, on Patrick's Day, by the (Jrdcr of the Friendly 
Brothers of St. Patrick, at their own expense. His Lordship died, Septeinlier 
2Uth, 1761, in his 91st year; and was interred, October 2nd, with great funeral 
pomp, in WestiTiiiKster Abbey. He was, from 1737 till his decrease, Colonel of a 
diatii.guishcd Ulster corps, the 27 Lh, or Eniiiskilleu Regiment of Foot. 



605 HISTORY OF THE IKISII BRIGADES 

a resort was had to the hiiniiliatitig protection of Hessian aiul Hano- 
verian mercenaries,* — a due apprehension was evinced, on the part of the 
Hanoverian rejjresentative of royalty there, at the movements of tlie 
exiled Stuart heir to the crown, and his friends "over the water." Under 
the date of ''March 1st, 1756," it was ])roclaimed how "the Master of 
the Packet-boats at Dover had received orders, to be very cii'cnmspect in 
regard to the ]>ei-sons they should bring over, because information had 
been received, that many adherents to the Stnait family wei'e then dispei*sed 
in different parts of Flanders, and the young Pretender himself was actually 
at St. Amand." t The emerging of Prince Charles from the secluded life 
he had long led, and his coming again into France, were, no doubt, in a 
great degree, attributable to representations on the expediency of his doing 
so, at this juncture, from the zealous Lally ; who, of 3 measures which he 
advised the French Cabinet to adopt with refei'ence to England, raentionei 
one for a restoration of the Stuarts _/zrsi. When intelligence arrived, in 
1755, of tlie seizure of the French vessels off Newfoundland by the 
English, Lally being summoned to Versailles, and consulted respecting 
what measures ought to be adopted, replied — " Three. To make a 
descent upon England with Prince Charles — to overthrow the power of 
the English in India — to attack and conquer their settlements in 
Americii." But the majority of the assem\)l\' deciding, that it was 
better to endeavour to obtain satisfaction, and prevent a rupture, ho 
exclaimed — "You will not obtain tlie one — you will not prevent the 
other — and you will miss the oppoi'tnuity of destroying your enemy." 
The result of the Council's deciding, rather on endeavouring to obtaia 
satisfaction and restitution, was, that a definitive reply to their offiicial 
communication on the subject did not arrive from England till January 
13th, 175(3, which was one in the negative — 2.")() French shi])s and 4000 
men being, in the interim, captured by the English ! As to Lally, a plan 
<» 

*Aft€r relatina; the ineffectual application, from England, to the Dutch, for 
60t)0 men, and the arrival and encampmeut of the Hanoverians and Hessians in 
different ]>arts of the country, Smollett says — "The Ministry Wixr. execrated, for 
having reduced the nation to such a low circumstance of disgrace, as that they 
should owe their security to German mercenaries." 

t Notwithstanding the failure of Prince Charles's attempt in 1745-6 to recover 
the crowns of his ancestors, the justice of his cause was still considered by 
mimliers in England to be only reserved to a future, and ])rohably not distant, 
period for success. In 1750, a spirit of dissatis!'actiou in England with the Govern- 
ment was accompanied hy a renewal of Jacobitism there. Among the " signs 
of disaffection," Lord Mahon mentions the following. " In the neia;hbourhood of 
Lichfield, the principal geiatlemen clothed their hounds in tartan plaid, with which 
they hunted a fox, dressed in a red uniform. The romantic adventures of Charles, 
in his escape from Scotland, were eagerl}- perused, under the name of ' the young 
Ascauiiis. " His busts of ]>laster were commonly sold in Loudon. The country 
ladies were proud to sing the ditties in his jiraise ; the country gentlemen to drink 
his health in deep bumpers." In September, too, that year, George II. being 
awa\' in Hanover, and the friends of Charles in England having contemplated 
6>me design in his favour, the Prince canje over to Loudon, attended onlj' by a 
Colonel Brett. After survejdng the exterior of the Tower there, 1 gate of which 
inii;ht. they observed, be beaten down by a petard, they went to a rendezvous at 
Pall Mall, where aliout 50 of the leading Jacobites, including the Duke of Be^m- 
fort and the Earl of \\'estmoreland, were asseuibled. Charles said, that, if they 
could have assembled only 4000 men, he would head them. But, finding that 
nothino of a practicul or JiijhUiuj nature had been arranged, he. after a f irtnights 
stay in London, retnrne i to the Continent. Compare these circumstances, with, 
the favour, alrcssdy noticed as shown to Jacobitism, by Frederick of Prussia, at 
this period. 



IN THE SERVICE OF fRAKCE. 507 

he sn^imitted in outline of an expedition to the East Tnflies was so 
iimcli ;ij)i)roved of, tliat he was directed to work at it witli 1 of the 
Ministers, till it sl)ould be comjileted ; after wliich, he a]>])lie.d himself 
e:merlv to Prince Charles's service, meeting the Prince sometimes at the 
rt'sidence of the Duke de Bouillon, sometimes at that of the Ex-King of 
Poland, Stanislas, and from the coasts of Picardy and the Bonlonais, as 
Comrnandijnt in those districts, re-opening a corresyjondence with the 
Jncohites in Great Britain and Ireland, until about the middle of July, 
when he had to aljandon any further active concern with Jacobite politics. 
The summons he then received, to repair, from his command on the 
coasts, to Paris, was with reference to India. The French East India 
Dompany, f(»undcd under Louis XIV., destroyed towards the end of his 
reign, and re-established early in that of Louis XV., if judged by its 
directory, the number of its subordinate officials, and even its apparent 
military stnsngth, might be deemed flourishing; biit, in reality, it was 
not so. It was the only European company of the kind, which did not 
pav a dividend from its trade. It depended, for its subsistence, on 
secret brigandage, sustained by a royal grant to farm a portion of the 
tobacco revenue; a grant quite foreign to the pury)ose of the institution. 
Wliatever else it could realize was retained for its lavish expenditure in 
India; a great portion of this outlay beijig absorbed in war, partly 
against the English there, but still more in ])ursuit of territorial aggran- 
dizement, and jiolitical influence, at the cost of the native ])owers, 
ginerally divided, and weakened, amidst the vast anarchy attendant 
upon tlie dis.solution of the Mogul empire. The result of such a dis.satis- 
factory state of things was, that the Company required considerable 
jiecuniary, naval, and military aid from France; and that, at the head of 
the ti-oops to be sent out to India, there should be an officer of well- 
established reputation, and no common energy, armed with extensive 
powers for a better regidation of affairs, if the institution was to be 
ujiheld at all. When the Dejiutation fi-om the Secret Committee of 
tiie Comjtany applied to the French Minister, the Comte d'Argenson, for 
3('00 of the King's troops, to be joined with its own, and commanded by 
M. de Lally, the equally s:'gacious and well-intentioned Minister, who 
disap])roved of Lally's acce[)ting that post, said to the applicants — "You 
do not see your way. I am better acquainted than you are with the 
worth of M. de Lally, and, moreover, he is my friend; but he should be 
iett with us in Europe. He is on tire with activity. He makes no 
c >m[iromise with respect to discipline, has a horror of every pi-oceeding 
that is not straightforward, is vexed at everything that does not go on 
rapidly, is silent upon nothing that he know.s, and expresses himself in 
ti rms not be foigotten. All that is excellent among us; bit what is 
tlie j)ros)iect of it for you, among your factories in Asial At the fir.-;t 
act of negligence that will clash with the service of the King, at the fir.st 
appeaiance of insubordination or knaveiy, M. de Lally will tliunder forth, 
if he does n(jt resort to rough measures. . They will cause liis o|)erations to 
lail, in order to be revenged upon him. Pondicheriy will have civil war 
within its walls, as well as foreign war at its gates. I l)elieve the j>lan.^ 
of my friend to be excellent; but, in India, a person, different from what 
lie is, ought to be charged with the execution of them. Leave me, in 
Older to deliberate on all that, and come to see me again." But 
D'Aigeuson could no more save Lally, than Laocoou could preserve 
Troy. 



508 History of the irish brigades 

Had not Heav'n the fall of Troy design 'd, 



Or had not men lieen fated to be hlind. 

Enough was said and done, t' inspire a better mind! " 

Dryden s Virgil, ^neis, ii., 70-72. 

The Deputation from the Company came back, only to persist the 
more earnestly in their previous request. "This prodigious activity, 
tliis severity of discipline, this frankness of character are," they ex- 
claimed, " precisely what the Compatiy is in need of, to dispel the 
opposite vices, of which it has, for such a long time, been the victim." 
The Minister then replied — " Messieurs, you wish for him. I wash my 
liauils out of it. Regard yourselves as well forewarned, and impress 
u]i(in vdur agents the necessity of acting correctly. I am going to 
jiropose M. de Lally to the King; who, I have no doubt, will ai>prov0 
of him, with the greatest confidence. It depends on you, not to disai> 
]ioint it." " As for us," he concluded, addressing himself to 2 of Lally's 
brot-iier ofhcers of the Brigade, the Duke of Fitz-James, and the Lord 
Clare and Earl of Thomond, who had come there to support the demand 
of the Company, "let us preach to our friend moderation even in doing 
what is good, and jiatience even at witnessing what is evil." By 
November 19th, Lally was created Lieutenant-General for the forc« 
de.signed to as.sist the Company, Commissioner for the King, Syndic 
of the Company, and Commander-in-Chief of all the French Establish- 
ments in the East Indies; by February, 1757, he was granted the 
honoui-s of a Commander of the Order of St. Louis; and by December 
Kith, tliose of a Grand Cross of that Order. Previous to his leaving 
Paris, the Directory of the Company particularly enjoined him, "to 
re,form. tlie abuses 'withov.t number, the extravagant prodigality, and 
the vast disorder, whiclo swallowed up all its revenues T^ * — an injunction, 
however, that, in proportion to the very urgency of the necessity which 
dictated it, would be sure to occasion disobedience, and excite enmity, 
against him, owing to the "vested interests" of so many othcial vermin 
in a continuance of the Augean mass of corru[)tion, which lie would have 
to denounce and expose. As tu Lally's merit, considered per se, for tliis 
command to which he was raised, his previously high professional 
charactei-, and especial hatred of the English, natui'ally recommended 
him to the heads of the Compan^^ And there was this strong additional 
rea.son ior calculating on his spai-ing no pains to render the institution 
prosjKM-ous that, it was only by effectmg sucl> a regeneration of its ali'airs, 
he-C(Utld liope to recover what had been the half of his own y)roperty, 
unfortunately tor him, (as he tells us) vested in the funds of that body, 
witjiout any return, since 17i!U. 

For this enterprise, Lally, with an annual salary of several thousand 
pounds while he sho\ild be in command, and the guarantee of a subsequent 
lai-^;' pension for life, was ])laced at the head of a bi'illiant staff", including 
(ittiicis ot some of the most illustrious names among t\m military nobles'e 
of France. He was to have had what would have been a considerable 

* 'i'he Directors likewise alleged, in their instructions to the General — "As the 
troiililes ni ln<Ua have been the source of fortunes, rapid and vast, to a great 
nu)nl)er of individuals, the same system always reigns at Pondicherry ; where 
those, who luive not yet made their fortune, hope to make it by the same means, 
and tljose, who have already dissipated it, hope to make it a second time." Lally. 
we are eisewheie told, had come to the conclusion, " that his countrymen in India 
were universally rogues ! " And how much better, ou the whole, did he Jind theai 
to be ' "' Exptritntla dvcet!" 



IN THE SERVrCE OP FRANCE. 509 

force of Etiropean troops for India; among whom, the principal cor])3 
were his own regiment, raised to 2 l)attMli()iis. or 1080 men, "tons gens 
cr«5]ite et de bon volonte." and tlie regiment of Lorrain, with shipping and 
money in proportion. The Comjiany, moreover, nndertook to pay the 
whole niagnificently. Not only, however, was his departnre delayed, for 
above half a year beyond the period when bethought it would take place, 
but his military, naval, and financial means were, in the interim, appointed 
to be much less than had been ])roinised ; at which he was naturally so 
annoyed, that he declined to compromise himself in command witli such 
veiy diminished resources, till assured tlie deficiencies com|)lained ot 
should be remedied by the next year. Of the 3000 men, 3,000,000 in 
cash, and 3 royal men-of-war* besides the vessels of the East India Com- 
pany- originally designed for the Count, a French contem]iorary notes — 
"•The state of the forces the English had in India, of which an account 
hud been procured, did not require any greater force in 175x But this 
nation, ever active, had not i-emained idle, like her rival; and Fraiice, far 
from diminishing the rHinfoicenients. ought rather to have augment;-d 
tliein, at the distance of 2 years after the time first apj)ointed i'm .sending 
tliem." A diminution, on the contrary, by a 3rd, of the troops, money, 
and men-of-war for the expedition, being announced on the eve of its 
departure, "the General, exasperated, i-efnsed to emhaik," until "he was 
oidered not to recede, and promised, that this deficiency should be made 
up the f.llowing year; which was, by no n)eans, the saiiie thing" — even, 
I may add, i/ that promise were kept. The expedition did not finally 
sail from Brest and Port I'Orient, until May, 1757; and, between having 
to put into the Isle of France for a naval reinf )rcement, alleged mis- 
management connected with the Admiral's department, sickne.ss, and 
adverse weather, it did not ayipear off the Coromandel coast till towai'ds 
the latter end of April, 1758. A voyage, that would have l)een long 
enough as one of 7 nuniths, thus occupied nearly 12; in conse(pience of 
which, the arrival of assistance from Europe for the Englisli in India was 
not anticipated as it ought to have been, and they had a fleet prepared 
for action there, under Vice-Adniiral Pococke. The 2Nth, on approach- 
ing, in the Curate de Provence of 74 guns, to land at Pondicherry, Lally 
experienced an early proof of the misconduct (or wor.se) of tiio.se in 
employment there, his vessel being saluted by 5 discharges of cannon 
loaded with ball, of which 3 pierced the ship through and through, and 
tlie 2 others damaged the rigging ! — a circumstance, not, I believe, 
attended with an actual loss of life or limb, yet naturally remarked on as 
1 of very bad omen, or augury!* Animated, however, with tiie hone 
of obtaining a Marshal's staff, by effecting such a military revolution iti 
India, as would repair the honour of the French arms, and humiliate tlie 
English, of whom he was the implacable enemy, Lally, on coining ashore, 
ju'oceeded at once to business; inquiring what was the state of the Com- 
]>any's affairs? — the account of which was too like what might be expected 
from the "very bad omen or augury" that had attended his arrival. 
"Through the capture of Chaudernagore by the English, owing to the 

* "Cette etrange meprise, ou cette mpxhanccte de quelques subalternes," oViserves 
Voltaire, "fiit d'un trfes mauvais augure pour les riiatelots toujours siiperstitieux, 
et nienie pour Lalli, qui iie I'etait pas." I italicize " mUchana-.tS," as seeujiiig lo 
iii.licate a suspicion, by Voltaire, of nome. "foul play," on tl)i.s occasion. Lally's 
miinclcome character, as a discipliuarian and relurmer, liad, no doubc, preceded Inui! 
I', rb. aap. 



510 HISTORY OP THE lUISH CrJOADES 

long voyage, or delay in tlie p'lssngp, of tlie armament from France, the 
C-ompany," he was told, "had sutieted a loss, to the amount of 75,0U0,000; 
the tactory at Pondicherry was in d^ht 14,0(10,000, without being able to 
borrow 1,000,000; and the Governor and ( 'ouncil were conseqtiently after 
writing to the Company in Europe, that all succour, in men and ships, 
•would be only thrown away, niiloss accompanied by 10,000,000 in 
Ciish!"* This was an exti-emely discouraging announcement for Lally, 
■who had brought with him but :i, 000, 000; he had been also disappointed 
"with respect to the number of his men; he could not dispose of a single 
vessel; while, in the establishments he came to preserve, there did not 
appear to be adequate magazines, or other availal)Ie resonrces. Never- 
theless, influenced by the principle of '■'■ fovtl et JiJeli nildi difficile" or 
undepressed amidst so much that was calculated to depress him, he was 
only the more determined, to remedy so many deficiencies, if possible, by« 
the greater energy of spirit, and rapidity of action, on hin part. "Not 
finding," it has been observed, "the same means and facilities for military 
operations as he had been accustomed to in the armies of Euro])e, he 
resolved, to create them, as it were, in spite of nature.'''' 

B}' the evening of the day he landed at Pondicherry,- or April 28th, he 
accordingly_began to invest Cuddalore, or (rondelour, and reduced it early 
in May. He next proceeded to liesiege Fort St. David, styled, from its 
great strength, the Bergen-op-Zootn of India. Protected, on its only 
assailable quarter, by several out-forts, that place was furnished with 194 
])ieces of artilh^ry. Its garrison consisted of 2136 effectives, of whom 
l(iOO were Sepoy or native troops and 536 Europeans, including 250 
sailors from the Tritini and the Bridf/etmUer (that had been run ashore 
and burufd, to avoid capture by the French fleet, at its first appearance 
«)H"the coast) besitles 83 pensioners, or intirm. To commence his opera- 
tions against such a furmidable strong-hold, he could, he says, draw to- 
gether, between Europeans and Blacks, only 2200 nirn, with 28 pieces of 
artillery; his supplies, even for tliat force, being by no means what they 
ought to have been; though, according to English accounts, he was able 
to assemble, ere the conclusion of the siege, above 2500 Europeans, with 
about as many Sei)oys, and 34 pieces of artillery. t In contending against 
the varions it)ternal annoyances and external obstacles bv which he was 
surrounded and harassed on this occasion,;}: his zeal, activity, and deter- 

* " I'm not," like Cassio, " an arithmetician," and so leave the sums of French and 
Indian mnney, that generally occur in this narrative, as I have found them, or to ue 
turned into British money by "ahlei' hands." 

t Here, as elsewiiere, 1 ace on the principle of giving the numbers of the French 
fro'n French, and of the Enghsh fro;n English, accounts, whenever 1 can get at 
enumentions on liotli sides. 'J'here is "sometliing of rascahty," or shameless un.'air- 
iiess, in the o );io Ue practice of too many national zeah)ts, mistemied "historians." 

J On tlic almost incredible worthlessness (to use no harsher term) of the riihng 
powers at Pondicherry, as to.) bitterly experienced by Lally, from the outset of these 
military oj)erations, Mdl justly remarks —"There is no doubt at all, that the neglect 
of all prepai-ation to enable him to act with promptitude, though they had been 
expecting him at Pondicherry for 8 months, was extreme, and, to the last degree, 
C'dpable. ' It a[)pears to have been taken fir granted at Pondicherry, "that the 
e.\pected armament was to do every thing, and that those who were there before 
liad no occasion to do any thing ! " He likewise shows what good reason Lally 
liail, to complain of the know-nothing and do-notliing (Jovernor and Coiuicil there. 
"They could nut tell him the amount oi the English forces on the coast; nor whether 
Cuddalore was surrounded with a dry wall, or a ram])art ; nor whether there waa 
any river to pass betv^ een Pondicherry and Fort !St. I)avid. He complains that he 
lojst 4S hours at Cuddalore, because there waa not a man at Pondicherry wIjo could 



IN THE SEKVICE OF FRANCE. 511 

mination were most conspicuous. At the assault upon the hostile on*- 
forts and their batteries, wliich commenced in the evening, continued 
during the night, and was attended with general success, he reserved the 
storming of 1 of those posts and its artillery "for himself, at the head of 
his veteran Irish grenadiers." He then puslied forward his trenches, 
"without a moment's interruption, even thi'oughout the burning day iii 
the hottest season of the year," and "he was every where present, shrink- 
ing from no exposure to the tropical sun, and restricting himself to the 
smallest portion of rest during the calm sultry night, when tlje works 
were carried on by the light of torches and lamps." To the great difii- 
culties with which he had thus to struggle on land, was added a refus;il 
from the navy to aid him by sea, partly owing to the disinclination of the 
Admiral, partly to that of the men, whose pay was in arrear; till, by 
at»i)earing in Pondicherry at the head of his grenadiers, to arrest that 
officer in case of a further refusal to sail as required, and by distributing 
G0,000 francs, out of his own ])ocket, to the sailors„the fleet had, between 
compulsion and shame, to weigh anchor, and show itself before tlie Fort, 
thereby excluding all relief from the English.* At last, or June 2nd, 
after 17 days of o])en trenches, the fire from the French batteries was so 
e+iective against the place, that the greater part of its embrasui-es were 
ruined; above 50 of its guns dismounted; the well, that chietly supplied 
it with water, was destroyed by a bomb; and this Bergen-oi)-Ziiom of 
India had to surrender at discretion, under such a retrospect of dis- 
advantages on the side of him to whom it surrendered, that a(-eording to 
his fellow-soldier, the Comte d'Estaing, "nothing but the success of the 
undertaking could convince one of its possibility!" There were taken in 
Fort St, David — or exclusive, it would seem, of the previously storuied 
outworks — 180 cannon or mortars, with a quantity of other military 
materiel, ])rovisions of every kind, which were very welcome at Pondi- 
cherry, and, what were yet more .so, 300,000 livres in specie, with mer- 
chandise or effects to the like amount. The captin-ed Ft)rt,which, as mined, 
countermined, and callable of containing 300 guns upon its ramparts, 
must have cost a vast sum to build, was destroyed, after the 1-emoval of its 
contents for Pondicherry; the 300,000 livres in coin, and the goods for as 
much more, being specially forwarded to the Treasurer of the Company. 

teli him, that it was open on the side next the sea ; that he was unable to find 24 
hour.s' provisions at Pondicherry ; and that the Governor, who promised to forward 
a portion to him upon the road, hroke his word ; whence the troops were 2 days 
without food, and some of them died." As to the siege of Fort St. David, Voltau-e 
alleges — " Tout s'opposait dans Poudich6ri a I'entreprise du General llieii n'utait 
pret pour le seconder." 

* The French author of the Private Life of Lewis XV., who writes in a hostile 
spirit to Lally, adds of the conduct of the French Admiral, d'Ache, &c., ou this 
occasion— "He had resisted the solicitations that wei-e made to him, to go ovit of 
harbour, under pretence of inability. He contented himself with forming wishes for 
the success of Count Lally at Fort St. David, by writing to him, 7'/(e oiili/ iking I 
think terrihle is, that we cannot assist one another. Count Lally was obliged to go in 
person to Pondicherry, and to force the Commodore to weigh anchor, by heading 
the grenadiers, and by giving orders to arrest him, if he refused to show himself 
before Fort St. David, in order to deprive the besieged of the hopes of receiving any 
succours. . . . We do not know, whether M. de Lally had any ri<iht to act in 
this manner. He exerted it, however*, very apropos; for the Fort cdjiitulated, an 
snon OS M. d'Ache appi'arfd." The circumstDnce of Lally's "distribuant aux mate- 
lots GO, 000 francs de sa poche" is related by his son. Lithe naval engagement, 
which took ]ilace shortly liefore with the English, it may be noted here en pas ant, 
that, of the ilegimeut of Lally, 84 fell ou board the French licet. 



513 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

Such a contribution to the Company's finances was the more acceplable 
since their Council, tlie better (as was said) to revive an expiring credit, 
had ah-cady paid away, or disposed of, the whole of tlie 2,000,000 recently 
come from France! — and even, in return for 100,000 l?v:es of his own 
money left with them by the General, were refusing liim, he informs ns, 
the support of their credit! As Fort St. David "was expected to have 
made a better defence, the English histoiians have not si)ared the conduct 
of the commanding officer;" and it is added, that "the French officei's, 
on entering the fort, were surpriz.ed at the ease Avith which they hail 
conipelled it to siirrendei', and the trifling loss to themselves with which 
its ca])tnre had been effected, not amounting to 20 men by the fire from 
its defences; although n)any had perished from brain fevers, and strokes 
of the s\in, when working in the trenches, or serving the guns in the 
toi-rid and sickening heat." Lally next, or on the 4th, took posse.ssic«i, 
V)y a detachment, of Devicottah, whose garrison of 630 men abandoned it 
with such ])recipitation, that the artillery, consisting of 80 pieces of 
cannon, which might have been nailed uj) or spiked, and the military and 
commissai-iat stores, which might have been destroyed or spoiled, were 
found, on the contrary, in a good condition. Thus, in only about o8 days 
frnm his arrival in India and assum])tion of the command there at a most 
niihivourable juncture, and notwithstanding that the conduct towards 
liim of those whom he came to assist was anything but what it ought to 
have been, a considerable territory was acquired or cleared from hostile 
occupation, between 250 and 300 pieces of artillery were taken with other 
wai-like spoil, as well as some treasure, the prestige of the French arms 
was restored, and the English, in proportionable alarm, were withdrawing 
garrisons from vai'ious posts to the north, in order to unite them for the 
defence of Madras, the rival metropolis to Pondicherry. 

The return of Lally, on the 7th, from these conquests, to Pondichei-ry, 
Wiis celebi-ated by a giand High Mass, and Te Deuni, with sumptuous 
feasting, and other public rejoicing, 'i he word of the day was " Alatlras .'" 
But the French Admiral would not undertake to assist in attacking 
that place; preferring a cruise to the south, against such vessels as might 
be coming from England; and even carrying with him a detachment of 
the land force, which, to induce him to put to sea again, after the late 
engagement, had been lent him by the General. A reference to the 
accimnts of tlie Covncil of tlie Com2:>ariy likewise too strongly countenanced , 
(ir c mfiyined, the very unfavourable impression, which Lally had received, 
from, ifficial authority, in France, of the character a.nd conduct of tliose 
coriwcied. witJt the Company s f nances. A further I'esult of such financial 
mismanagement, (to say no worse,) more unequivocally appeared in the 
announcement of Ijeyrit, Governor of Pondicherry, that, beyond 15 days, 
he would neither be answerable ibr the payment, nor for the feeding, of 
the army ! The General's extremely natural denunciation of such a 
discreditable .state of things, and its causes, in his own veiy energetic 
manner of exy)ressing him.self — yet, surely, not more so than was but too 
glaringly provoked, or merited! — only served, as was foreseen, to create 
that inveterate hostility towards him from ofiicial peculation or delin- 
quency, which would scruple no means, however dishonourable, to ruin 
him, as an avowed or uncompromising o]iponent. Under tlnse most 
Untowaid circumstances, — rendering it, on the whole, imperative, that 
since, in spendtlu'ift phraseology, mattei'S could not remain as they were, 
" something should be done to raise the wind 1" — a militaiy expedition was 



IN THE SERVICE OP FRANCE. 513 

STiwgested to the General against the Rajah of Tanjore, or Tanjour, to 
entoj'CP ])ayment of a bond, in the Company's possession, from that Prince, 
for 5, 000,000 rupees. " Lally was, of course, obliged to trust to the 
infiiriiiation of those acquainted with the conntiy;" and the pai'ties iu 
])Ower, who recommended this Tanjore enter|)rise to him, diminished, or 
*' extenuated, beyond measure, the ditBculties of the undertaking, and 
made him set out, upon representations which they knew to be false, and 
promises which were never intended to be fid filled." In reference to which 
official knavery, and the other or subordinate ruinous concomitants of 
such a system, my English authority remarks, how very hard (or rather 
i/iipossible) it was for the General, " to counteract the malignity, to stimu- 
late the indifference, and to supply the enormous deficiences, by which lie 
was surrounded." The route from Pondicherry to Tanjoi'e was about 50 
leagues, or 150 miles, with several riveivs to be crossed, &c. Lally, with 
2500 men, took the field, the 18th; but, as before, unprovided with the 
various attendants, considered requisite, in th.it country, for an army's 
regular subsistence — the HI unitionaire- General, moreover, soon absconding, 
with ilie v)hole fund for that purpose! Hence vei-y great distress, discon- 
tent, and disorder among the troops, necessitating a recoiirse to new and 
severe measures, on the General's part, in order to " make war support 
war," and proportionately operating to retard his advance. Proceeding, 
nevertheless, as soon as possible, in spite of a swarm of active native 
irregulars, and of 7000 regulars opposed to him, he, by July 18th, 
approached Tanjore. A negociatiou ensued with the Rajah. He was 
menaced, through Lieutenant-Colonel O' Kennedy, with the utmost 
vengeance, in case of non-comjjliance with the demands of the French; 
who, meantime, took possession of the suburl)S of Tanjore. The Indian 
not submitting, Lally commenced battering the place at close range, 
August 2nd; and, against the evening of the 7th, a breach was effected, 
which only 24 hours' firing would have rendered practicable. By this 
time, however, he had no other balls for his artillery than tho.se shot from 
the town, of which but few suited the calibre of the guns; of powder 
for them he had but 150 charges; his infantrj- had not 20 rounds a 
man; and provisions were running very low in his camp, without the 
])rospect of a further supply, owing to the great number of the Tanjorine 
hoi-se. Next morning, or the 8th, these misfortunes were aggiavated by 
the purport of the letters he received; 1 from Carical, the only place 
whence any relief could be expected before Tanjore, mentioning the 
repulse, on the 3rd, of the French fleet, and the English being in conse- 
quence anchored off, and threatening a descent at, Carical; another from 
Pondicheri'y, announcing its being menaced by the reported march of 1200 
of the English troops from Madras ; another from the Mahratta jiotentate, 
Gopal Row, denouncing invasion against the territory of the French, 
unless theirarmyshould immediately retire from Tanjore. Lally thereupon 
summoned a Council of War, at which the great majority of the officers 
necessarily voted for raising the siege. The wounded were to be removed 
with a due European escort on the 9th, and to be followed by the anny 
on the 10th; the batteries meantime occasionally firing, to awe the 
garrison of Tanjore. Information of this resolution reaching the Tanjorine 
commander, Monacjee, he appointed the morning uf the 10th for a general 
assault on the French camp, to be prefaced with a treacherous attempt 
on Lally's life; of which assault the better hopes were entertained, from 
the timely arrival iu Tanjore of the last of 2 detachnients of select Sepoys, 

2l 



514 HISTORY OF THE lUTSII BRtGADES 

consisting of 1000 men with 50 Enropeana, forwarded to tlie Rajah's airl 
by the English Governor of Tritchinoiioly, Captain (subsequently BrigJi- 
dier-Geneial) John Caillaud, an able oHicer of Huguenot origin. The 
entire force of Monacjee, computed as very superior in number, or 1G,000 
men, including 4000 cavalry, were di-awn out by night and posted so as 
to remain undiscovered, until ready to fall most effectively upon the 
besiegers, before sunrise. The party to assassinate Lally was composed 
of 50 Black horsemen. At dawn, riding from the city, at a leisurely 
pace, to the French camp, and being challenged by the outguard, they 
started, that they came to offer their services to the French General; and, 
accordingly, required to be conducted to him. Nothing wrong being 
suspected, they were conducted towards his quarters, about half a mile 
in the rear of his camp. Lally, informed of their approach, got out of 
V)ed, and merely in his drawers, and luckily with a thorn-stick in his 
hand, went, accompanied by but 1 attendant, to meet them. At about 
100 yards from him, the troop halted, their Captain coming forward on 
horseback ; and being now near enough, to make sure, as it were, of their 
intended victim, and in order, apparently, to signify to their main force 
about the town, that the assassination-business was in hand, 1 of the Black 
troopers galloped to an ammunition-tumbrel, fired his pistol into it, and 
blew himself up with a suitable ex))losion, at the same time that the 
Captain of the troop rode in upon Lally, making a cimetar-cut at his 
head. Lally, not losing his presence of mind, parried the blow with his 
wooden life-preserver; his stout and faithful attendant instantly des- 
j)atching the baffled mui'derer. The General, nevertheless, was trampled 
down and stunned by the onset of the rest of the Black troo]), till his 
guai'd rushing up, he came to himself, and, sabre in hand, at their head, 
gave the villains, who charged twice, their deserts; 28 of them being 
shot dead, and the remainder forced to ride into a pond, where they were 
di-owned, his guard losing but 2 men in the encounter. At the noise of 
the exploded ammunition-tumbrel, and the succeeding musket-shots in the 
French camp, Monacjee assaulted it, at once so unexpectedly and 
vigorously, with his whole force, in part directed by English officers, that 
all seemed lost there for near an hour, or till the French soldiers being 
rallied, and restored to their usual discipline and efficiency, the assailants 
were beaten out, with a loss much larger than they inilicted. Of the 
English Sepoys, more especially, by whom 3 guns within the camp were 
captured, 75 men were killed or wounded ; and the guns wei-e recovered. 
Tliat night, Lally, spiking his battering-artillery, and lightening his 
baggage as much as y)Ossible, retired from Tanjore. 

Between having to keep Monacjee's pursuing troops at bay; in sncli 
a hot climate to march 15 or 20 miles a day; sometimes to subsist only 
on cocoa-nuts, and not enough of them ; at other times to suffer cruelly 
from a want of water; V)esides the difficulty or ti'ouble of transporting 
the ai-tillery and carriages across rivers; the retreat of the French was 
most hai'iissing, and in the privations of it the General fully bore his 
part. By this expedition to Tanjore, (though imsuccessful, yet not 
tlu'ough /m' fault,) the French forces were maintained for about 2 months 
at tlie enfnny's cost, and nearly 500,000 francs were similarly realized; 
which, remarked a French officer, was effecting much in a country, the 
resources of which appeared to be so little. From Carical, where at. his 
ari'ival on the 18th, he saw the English squadron still anchored off the 
mouth of tlie river, and, alone: \\iLh & iuller account ot the Fieucli 



rx TIIR SKRVICE OF FK. \NCE. 515 

Admiral's repnl'^e, hoard of that officers api>roaHiincj intention to loave 
the Indian coast i'or tlie Isle of France, Lally rapidly took horse, with a 
small cavalry escort, for Pondicherry, to prevent, if possible, such a 
departure of the navy. He readied Pondicherry the 2Sth, and imme- 
diately summoned the Council there, to support him in remonstrating 
against such a desertion. And the Council did so. But the French 
Admiral would have his way; and, merely leaving 500 marines or sailors 
to serve on shore, he set sail, September 2nd, with the entire fleet, for 
the Mauritius. An intercepted French letter from Pondicherry to 
Masulipatam, dated the following day, gives these particidars respecting 
the recent expedition to Tanjore, or Tanjour, and the naturally depi-es- 
shig departui'e of the fleet. " We laid siege to Tanjour, and made a 
breach, but were obliged to retire, for want of provisions and ammuni- 
tion ; leaving behind us 9 ])ieces of cannon, 8 of which were 24 pounders. 
The army has suftered greatly from hunger, thirst, watching, and 
fatigue. We have lost near 20(3 men, as well by desertion, as by death. 
This check is very detrimental to us, as well with regard to our reputa- 
tion, as the real loss we suffered. . . . Poor French, what a situation 
we are in! What projects we thought ourselves capable of executing, 
and how greatly are we disappointed in the hopes we conceived, upon 
taking Fort St David! I pity our General. He must be extremely 
embarrassed, notwifltstanding his extensive genius ; without either money 
or fleet; his troops very discontented; his reputation declining; and the 
bad season approaching; which will ol)lige us to subsist at our own 
expense, being unable to form any enterprize for procuring us other 
funds. What will become of us? . . . Above 20 officers of different 
corps have gone on board the fleet; and, if M. Lally had given permis- 
sion to depart to whoever desired it, the greatest part of them would 
have emV)arked; so greatly are these gentlemen disgusted with the ser- 
vice." A paragraph from a French journal, dated " Versailles, Decem- 
ber 20th, 175D," and deriving its information concerning this enterprise 
against Tanjoiir, from the express forwarded to Europe even by the 
Admiral d'Ache, after observing, how the ill turn the French affairs in 
India had taken was " imputed neither to M. Lally, nor to the troops," 
but entirely to " the ConpVany's Directors on the Coast of Coromandel," 
then alleges of those Directors, how they "^br iJie sake of private interests, 
and personal resentments^ injudiciously turned again.st the King of Tanjour 
those forces, tliat should have been employed, only against the English settle- 
ments; and, moreover," concludes this Versailles authority, '■^ had tha,t 
Prince been prof>erly dealt unth by the Company, he would have sided with 
us against the English." 

On re-entering the Company's territory from that of Tanjore, Lally 
had written to the Governor of Pondicherry, how disorder and rajiine 
had attended the march of the ai-my from that city, and would accom- 
pany his return there ; rioting, with reference to the general official 
corruption and administrative inefficiency which had been the origin of 
his complaints — "In all this, a change must take place, or the Conpiany 
be overturned." To which the Governor's warning ^'eply was — "He 
■v^ ho would wish to establish order, in the financial as well as the 
commissariat department, wdl make himself many enemies." The co.-c, 
hy the way, in a nutshdl, (f Lally and his f")ieniieti I Meanwhile, it being, 
after the failure of the Tanjore enter])i'ise, additionally iiuperai i\e tImC 
something else should be done to meet the existing pressure iur " nn)io 



51 G HISTORY OF THE IKISII CrJG.\DT:S 

money," attontinn was directed to an acquisition so desirable as that of 
Arcot, then iiiidei- a native rnler, in tlie E))t;Iish interest. It being 
requisite jireviously to reduce the secondary forts of Trivalore, Trinr>- 
nialee, Curann;oly, and Tiniery, Lally divided liis army into 4 parts. 
The 2 former pkicea were surrendered without opposition; the 2 latter 
V. ere carried by assault; and, by an agreement with the Governor of 
Arcot, according to which he was to receive 10,000 rupees, and be taken 
with his troops into the French service, Lally, amidst the thunder of 
artilh'ry, entered that metropolis, October 4th ; thus insuring the 
revenues of the nnbobship so-called to the French Company. He would 
next have attacked the fort of Chinglef)ut. But the English, awake to 
its iui])ortance, as covering the country, whence, in case of a siege, 
r'.Iadras sliould chiefly be provisioned, and, being reinfoi'ced, about the 
middle of September, by a fleet from England with 850 European 
regulars, to whom were joined all those from Trichinopoly, strongly 
garrisoned Chingleput, previous to the fall of Arcot. Lally's applica- 
tions to tlie Government at Pondicheiry for 10,000 rupees, as necessary 
to ])ut his forces in motion for Chingleput, met with the usual reply 
of the officials, as to the "exhaustion of tlieir resources;" so that 
he was " obliged, for want of funds, to place the troops in canton- 
ments," and returneil, naturally disa])pointed and chagrined, to Pondi- 
cherry. 

After the fall of Cuddalore, Fort St. David, and Devicotah, it having 
been the intention of Lally next to reduce Madras, and thence march for 
13engal to sweep the English from India, he had resolved on consolidating, 
as far as possible, under his personal command, the French forces through- 
o>it the Peninsula; such a consolidation being absolutely requisite if tlie 
English were to be expelled, and any partial loss of territory, or diminu- 
tion of influence in particular districts, that might result from the sub- 
ordinate removals of troops which he contemplated, being consequently of 
com|)arative unimportance; since if the English power was to be crushed, 
it could not be so but by the French en inasse; and, when crushed, not 
only whatever had been relinquislied tor a time, in order to effect the ruia 
of that power, would be easily recovered, but the entii'e Peninsula would 
be at the feet of France, as the dominant European nation in Hindostan. 
Nor should such hopes, by Lally, of rooting out the English, be deemed 
too sanguine, had he been but fairly secunded, especially in a financial 
way, by those he came to defend ; of whom so many, as having made 
foitunes, would not be without a )iro|n)rtionaV)le credit. "The land- 
forces," says Smollett, "belonging to the" English " East-India Company 
were so much outnumbered by the reinforcements which arrived with 
M. Lally, that they could not pretend to keep tlie field, bict were obliged to 
remain on the defensive, and provide, as loell as they could, for the sicurity 
of Fort St. George^'' at Madras, " and the otlier settlements in that part of 
India!'' Of the French General's landing on the Coromandel coast, 
Lord Clive testified in 1772 — "Mr. Lally arrived with such a force, as 
tltreafeiied not only the destruction of all the settlements there, but of alTj 
THE East India Company's possessions; -axA nothing saved Madras from 
sharing the fate of Fort St. David at that time, but their," the French, " want 
of money, widch gave time for strengthening and reinforcing the place!^ 
Even before the fall of Fort St. David, the British histoi'ian. Mill, likewise 
adniits, " the English were thrown into the greatest alarm," as, "so much 
was the uo.ver of the enemy now supei'ior to their own, that they 



IN TUE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 517 

scarcely anticipnted any other refiuJt, than their expuldon from the c iv.n- 
Iry'' — and, had Lally been backed by such a finaiiciei- as Dupleix, i!i 
may consequently be added, in this historian's woi'ds respecting the 
English in India, " it is more titan j)robabJe, that their nwt>t ylooiay ap/ire- 
lensioits would have been realized!'' With such grounds, on Lally's 
})art, for the hopes he entertained, strengthened by "a contemptible 
0|iiniou of the English troops in India," on account of the circum- 
stances under which Fort St. David was taken, he had written to 
Messieurs de Bussy and Moracin, the former commanding in the 
Deccan, the latter at Masulipatam, to come and join him. In hia 
letter to Bussy, after the reduction of Fort St. David, he stated — " It 
is the whole of British In'/.ia, which it now remains for us to attack. 
I do not conceal from you, that, having taken Madras, it is my reso- 
lution to repair immediately, by land, or by sea, to the banks of the 
Ganges, where your talents and experience will be of the gn^atest 
importance to me." In another coimuunication to those gentlemen, he 
adds — " All my policy is in these 5 words; they are sacramental: No 
English in the Feaim^ula." Shortly before his entrance into Arcot, 
Lally was joined, at Wandewash, by Bussy, from the Deccan. "Tiie 
characters of the 2 men were very different. Bussy was an excellent 
soldier, an accomplislit;d gentleman, a polished courtier, and a cool diplo- 
matist ; he was anxious for tlie glory and supreiiiacy of his country in 
India; but he was not likely to embark his fortune, in any hazardous 
attempts to forward or secure them. Lally thought only of the ruin 
of the English ; and. to that 1 end, were sacrificed, at all times, his 
every interest and emolument ! " Duly attached, as a keen self-seeker, to 
that separate command in the Deccan, where, by turning to account the 
discordant politics of the native i)otentates, he had " feathered his nest," 
and, if allowed to return, miglit continue to feather it, far better than he 
could expect to do, if acting merely in a subordinate position under tlje 
scanning eye of Lally, Bussy naturally jtreferred to be, as the sayingis, "oa 
his own hook," in the more remote and remunerative quarter. He conse- 
quently used every effoi-t, even holding out most personally advantageous 
or lucrative inducements to Lally, in order to be permitted by him, to 
go back to the Deccan, with a 3rd part of the French troops. Lally, oa 
the other liand, though refusing such a permission, did his utmost to 
reconcile Bussy to the opposite course of proceeding against JMadras ; 
with that view raising him, from the rank of a Lieutenant-Colonel, to 
that of a Brigadier, as well as gi'anting him a seat in the Council, and 
a residence in the Palace of the Government, at Pondicherry. For 
these promotions, Bussy at first expressed himself grateful; but, remain- 
ing as bent upon getting back to the Deccan for liis own purposes, as 
Lally was intent upon inarching against Madras for the overthrow of 
the English, the 2 men were irreconcilable. Thus 2 parties were 
formed, even in the army; the King's troops being for Lally, and those 
of the Company for Bussy. To strengthen himself still further, Bussy 
did not neglect to secure powerful friends, or partisans, in Pondichcrrv, 
■with money, by which, to his equal vexation and surprise, he had found 
Lally was not to be teni|)ted ; at the same time that Lally could not 
prevail upon this man, with money for such purposes, to accommodate 
the treasury with any loan for the public service ! Bussy was defined, 
by the late Governor ot Pondicherry, to his successor, as a man to be 
mistrusted; Lallv had brought a bad oj)iniou of him fi'om France ; and, 



518 HISTORY OF THE IRTRH BRIGADKg 

from what ffhice occmrpil between them, had Lally any reason to enter- 
tain any better in^pression of ttvch a character?* 

The wortlile>;s a(]ministration at Pondicherry having, by November, 
declared, (as before) its inability to sid)si8t or pay the army, a Council 
of War was called, at wljich Comte d'Estaing a'nd the other officers wero 
of opinion, it would be l)etter to die by a bullet at M:idras, than perish 
by hunger at Pondicherry ! To reduce Madras, indeed, by a regular 
siege, since Lally first contemplated doing so, had become an undertakinii;, 
so much above the resources at his dis])osal, as to be generally reckoned 
impi-acticable. Yet things could not remain in statu quo, some move- 
ment should be made ; and, by an advance against that j)lace, the 
English might be driven into the Fort, and bombarded there; while the 
black town could be pillaged, and the surrounding country be laid wast^ 
— the more easily, as the monsoon season would be an obstacle to a 
i-einforcernent, or relief of the enemy, by sea. There being no fund to 
enable the troops to march excejjt what might be raised by contriljution, 
Some Members of the Council at Pondicherry, and other individuals not 
lost to all sense of shame, were induced to advance 34,000 rupees — 
ijally himself subscribing 60.000 of his own money, and the shabby 
fox, Bussy, not 1 sous ! With this sum of only 1)4,000 ruj)ees. the 
Cleneral prepared to take the field. The force under his command 
amounted, by accounts on their side, to 3000 Europeans ; of whom 
2700 were infanty, and 300 cavalry. They were attended by oOOO 
Blacks, of whom only about 1500 seem to have been military, or Sepoys; 
and their train of artillery consisted of 30 pieces, or 20 cannon, and 10 
mortars. The i-ainy season not i)ern)itting Lally to advance early in 
November, as he might otherwise have done, he did not come before 
Madi'as, after taking 4 places on his march, until December 12th, when 
he was without money to suV)sist his army, even " for a single week ! " 
The main force of the English, under the veteran Colonel Lawrence, 
having made such movements as might delay the French approaches 
yet avoid an engagement, in which a defeat would be " the certain loss of 
Madras." retreated into its citadel, or F<n-t St. George ; a considerable 
]>arty of Sepoys, under a gentleman of Irish birth or origin, Ensign 
Cn)\vley,+ though then absent, yet subsequently contriving, much to his 

* Bussy is best " shown up" in the French memoir of' Lally, rejieatedly cited. 
Here, as elsewhere, on the sultject of Lally, I likewise make use of the histories 
of Orme and Mi. I, together ^^•ith a work, pulilished at Calcutta, in 1855, entitled 
'• European (Jonijietition in Lulia, from the Earliest Times, to the Establishment 
of the Honorable East Lidia Com])any's .Supremacy, by the Fall of Pondicherry, 
in the year 17G1, by Daniel O'Oallaghan, Esq., Bengal Medical Service," since 
8urgeon -Major, Officiating Garrison Sui'geon, Fort-William, Calcutta, and Deputy 
Lispector General of Hosjiitals, Lucknow. I have also availed myself of British, 
Irish, and Couiuental contemporary periodicals, Voltaire, and the Private Life of 
Lewis XV., previously specified, besides Smollett, .Sisniondi, Lord Mahon, and 
the East India Military (.Calendar. So far, with respect to the main authorities, 
consulted for this Indian j)ortion of my task. 

t The Crowleys, of Heremonian origin, and at first located in Connaught, 
afterwards possessed, in the County of Cork, the woody and mountainous terri- 
t()ry of Kdshallow, west of the towu of Baudon, and ou the river so called. They 
were in ]ieace subject to, and in war among the foHowers of, Mac Carthy Eeagh, 
Prince or Chieftaui of Carbery, in which Barony the clan-district of Kilshallow 
lay. The name of O'Crowley has been anglicized into Crolii, and, as such, is nut 
without note in our modern literature. Whatever may have been the religion of 
the Ensign above mentioned, I lielieve it would lie no oVyection to his serving tlie 
Luiiiisii East inuia Company, in a vi'uitary way. lu France, the name, ditfereutiy 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 510 

credit, to join the rest of the garrison, in opposition to a European 
detachment, under Lieutenant-Colonel Murphy of the Regiment of 
Lally. When the French wei-e proceediug from a place called "the 
Mount" towards Madras, writes Orme, " '600 Europeans, with 2 twelve- 
pouudcTS, had been sent off, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel 
Murphy, against Pondamalee. They arrived at noon, and Mnr[>hy sum- 
moned EnsigTi Crowley, with threats, as resisting in an untenaV)le post, 
although the fort was of stone, and surrounded by a wet ditch. On 
Crowley's refusal, the twelve-pounders were einployed until night, when 
20 of the French detachment had been killed or wounded, and little 
damage had been done to the waU. But the Sepoys within, ex[jecting 
neither snccour, nor quarter, began to waver. On which, Crowley 
marched with them out of the fort, in deep silence, at midnight, and 
})assing where he was apprized the enemy kept slight watch, got out of 
reach before they were ready to pursue ; and, knowing the country, came 
in, the next morning, by the north of the bUick town. The number was 
500, in 5 companies, of which 3 were the garrison of Pondimalee, and 2 
had retreated hither from the Fort of Trii)assore. Their arrival brought 
in the last of the troops, stationed in distant out-[)osts, and completed 
the force with which Madras was to sustain the siege." The garrison of 
Fort St. George, by their own accounts, amoiuited, between Europeans 
and Indian mercenaries, to upwards of 4320 men, the former above 175 ) 
in number.* They were well officered, and wei-e ani]jly sni)plied with 
artillery, ammunition, and provisions. The Governor of the Fort for the 
Eijglish East India Company — a gentleman of French, as Lally was of 
Irish, origin, both thus serving on ditfei'ent sides from what they would 
have done, but for the intolerant legislation so often before alluded to — 
was Mr. Pigot. He showed himself to be worthy of the high ]iost he 
held, by a judicious deference, in the more specially military depart- 
ment, to the professional knowledge of Colonel Lawrence, and other 
experienced officers; by an unremitting attention to the other or nuina 
immediate duties of his own station as a civilian ; and, not least, V»y 
his animating the garrison, to make the best defence in their powf^:-, 
with a ])romise, should they do so, of 50,000 rupees.t Moreover, from 
the well-furnished treasury at his disposal — besides, it may be remarked, 
the great wealth of individuals in the Fort, which was far more than 
would have'" defrayed all the expenses of maintaining the ])lace — the 
Governor remitted 70,000 jKigodas for the formation of an additional 
force, eventually above 5900 hor.se and foot, |, with some Europeans 
and 6 pieceg of light artillery; which force, under Captain Preston, 
Mahomed Ls.soof, and Majoi' Caillaud, were, in aid of those invested in 
the Fort, to act against the communications, ravage thq territory, and 
distract the siege operations, of the French. 

wiitten O'CrcAvley, or O'Croly, is to be seen under Lrmis XIV., XV., and XVI., 
from the yoiis-Lieutenant to the Lieutenant-Colonel, iu the (Jenilarmes Anglois, 
Gendarmes Ecossois, Eegiment cVAunis, and Regiments of Bulkeley and Walsh, in 
some instances with the rank of (Jhevalier of 8t. Louis. 

•Namely, 1605 European military, with 1 5U European assistants, or attendants, 
1755 — Sepoys 'and irregular horse I'-ii^O, with 153 select Indians attached to Euio- 
pean military, 257.'-? - general total of Europeans as 1755, and of Asiatics as 2573, 
having consetjuently liceu 4.i28. 

+ "Celui qui recompense ainsi," notes Voltaire, " est mieux servi que celui qui 
n'a point d'argent." 

:^The ;^ highest amounts of this vnriilng lovce ai'pear as 4380, as 4803, and a3 
SUoO. The guns increased from 2 to 6. 



520 IIISTOKV OF THE IRISH EHIGADES 

Early on the 14th, the French army, crossing the Trii)licane river, and 
dislodging such English and Sepoy outposts as remained to make a shov*- 
of opposition around the black town, entered Madras. Wliile Lallv and 
his staff were engaged reconnoitring Fort St. George, a lai-ge proportion 
of the troo])s, with some thousands of the inhabitants of Pondiclierry 
•who had followed the army, dispersed, on all sides, to avail themselves of 
Buch a great booty as the contents of the city presented; and, to that 
disorder, the qiiantity of strong liquors found there added intoxication, 
■with its numerous attendant evils. The Regiment of Lorrain was, to its 
honour! alone uninfected by this brutal indulgence; in which other 
corps, though distinguished, were, nevertheless, surpassed, to its disgrace! 
by the Regiment of Lally. Meantime, it was reported to the English 
on Fort St. George, " tliat the French troops were all emjiloyed in. 
ransacking the houses, and that they had discovered sevei-al warehouses 
filled with arrack, with which most of them had already got drunk ;" 
■while such of them as were perceptible " appeared staggering under their 
loads, and liquor; on which it was resolved, to make a strong sally, before 
they could recover themselves." It was undertaken by Lieutenant- 
Colonel Draper with oUO picked men, sup[)nrted by 100 more under 
Major Brereton, with 2 field-pieces. As might be expected under the 
circumstances, the attack was successful at first, but was finally repulsed; 
the English having had 212 officers or soldiers, and the French (as taken 
at a disadvantage) 219 killed, wounded, or captured. In this affray, 
accoi'ding to Lally's biographer, the Regiment of Lorrain, mistaking the 
English for the Regiment of Lally, allowed the enemy to approach ou 
the i^ight, till only undeceived by receiving his fire. D'Estaing, fighting 
at the head of his corps, was wounded, unhorsed, and made ])risouer. 
Bussy proceeded to the left, where the gallant Chevalier do Crillon, at 
the head of the Regiment of Lally, was eager to take a decisive part in 
the contest. Lally, galloping up to the Regiment of Lorrain, which had 
lost its cannon, and was fallen into disorder, lallied it so effectively, and 
supported it so well with cavalry, that the cannon which had been lost 
■were regained, and those of the English were seized, and turned against 
them. The English, then driven from street to street, were compelled to 
hasten towards the bridge, by which alone they could re-enter their Fort, 
when Crillon, seeing the o})portunity of intercepting them by a dash for 
the tete-du-2W7it, -proiMsed making it to Bussy; who objected to it, on 
the ])lea of their being without cannon. Crillon replied, " This is an 
affair of bayonets," ordering the regiment to follow him ; but was 
Btoj)ped by Bussy, as his superior ofhcer, or a Brigadier, to which he 
adverted, and his consequent riy/d to stop Crillon. But Crillou ex- 
claiming, "No, by God, you shan't stop me!" rushed forward with the 
comparative few that ventured to accompany him; and though, from the 
delay to which he had been sul)jected, he could cmly come up with the 
last of the beaten English hastening to the Fort, he was able to kill 50, 
and take 30! — and, had he l^een aided with all that he miglit have been, 
it is alleged, "rtoi 1 Englishman would have re-entered the Furt, and the 
aieye would, not have lasted 15 days. Lally remained persuaded," adds 
liis biographer, "that Bussy, and lus party, were unwilling to allow hiin to 
take AJadras!''' Of his own counti'ymen, and Bussy 's conduct at tJiat 
.wr//e, Mill states — "They ])enetrated into the black town, before the 
enemy were collected in sufficient numbers ; but were at last o])))osed by a 
iorce, which they could not withstand; and, had the division oj the eudiLj^ 



IN THR SERVICE OP FRANCE. 521 

irhich was under the comnui.iul of Bussy, advanced -with siifftninit prnm/iti- 
tiide to cut off their relreut, it i^ highly probable, fJiatfew of them v)ould 
have wade tlieir escape. Lally adduces tlie testimony of officers, who 
commanded under Biissy, that they joined in urging him to intercept the 
English detachment; but that lie, allegiiij^ the want of cannon, ahsohitely 
refused. Mr. Ornie says, tliat he justified liimself by the deUiy of Lally'.s 
orders; without which, it was ctrntrary to his duty to advance. To gain, 
however, a great advantage, at a critical tnoment" concbides Mill, " a, 
zeaJous officer will adventure somewhat, under some deficiency both of 
cannon, and of orders." We likewise learn from the English on this 
occasion, that, "notwithstanding the ardour of the onset, it left no 
advantageous impression of the iirnmess of the garrison with the French 
officers ; and Murphy, 1 of the most experience, proposed, that a 
general assault shonld be made on the town in the ensuing night in 4 
divisions, and offered to lead the j)rincipal attack himself It was lucky 
for them," affirms the English narrative, "that his advice was not 
followed." 

Next day, the 15th, though there remained in the army-chest but 
4000 livres, preparations wei-e made for placing in batteiy againsr. the 
Fort the heavier artillery.; which, having been embarked as for a siege, 
"was still far off at sea, except a 13-inch mortar, that, coming by land, 
■with but 150 Sepoys, had its escort intercejtted and defeated by a much 
superior detachment, or 4 companies, of the English Sepoys, under 
Lieutenant Airey, between Saddrass, and Cobeloug. When a captured 
jjlace becomes the soldier's prey, says the poet, 

" all engage 



In qnest of sjxiil, and, ere the tiumpets sound, 
The plunder'd city 's scarcely to be found. 
They fell, they hear away, they load the cai-s ; 
IScarce such a din attends the work of Mar.s." 

Lewis's Statius, Thebaid, vi., 157-1G2. 

Thus, the unfortunate pillaging of the black toion absoi-bed, or diverted 
to other channels, so much of what might have constituted no small fund 
for military operations, that the place, continues my English account, 
"furnished to Lally for the demands of the service only 80,000 livres, 
lent him by an Armenian merchant, whom he had saved from plunder; 
and to these were added 12,000 livres, furni.shed by an Hindu partizan. 
With these fnnds, he began to construct his batteries, in the intention, as 
he repeats, of only bombarding the place, when intelligence was brought, 
on the 21th of December, that a frigate from the islands had arrived at 
I'ondicherry with 1,000.000 of livres.* It was this circumstance, he 
says, which now determined him to convert the bombardment into a 
siege. With only 2 Engineers, and 3 artillery officers, excepting the 
few who belonged to the Company, all deficient, botli in knowledge and 

* The Chevalier de I'Eguille, an enterprising and indefatigable naval officer, of au 
accommodating disposition in the sej-vice, having been desjjatched from Europe for 
India with 4 ships, 1100 troops, and 3,000,000 of livres, had put in, for a short 
stay, at the Isle of France, antl was about proceeding for Pondicherry, when, as ill 
luck would have it, the Admiral d'Ache detained him there, with the troops, 
2-3rds of the m(mey, and all the vessels but 1, which he jiermitted to sail, only 
with l-3rdofthe money, or the 1,000,000 of livres above-mentioned! How very 
differently matters J/u'i/AMiave turned out at Madras, Jiad L'Eguille been allowed 
to jdln Lally titer t, with the whole o/ the vesseU, truopi, and luoiicy, senc jroin 
France 1 



522 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

enter])nse; with officers in geiuM'al dissatisfied and ill-disposed, \vith 
only the common men on whoui he could depend, and of wi)ose ulacniy 
he never had reason to complain;* he carried on tlt,e .iir.r/e with a v'ujour 
and activity, which comiiiandfd the rfspect evert of th,H besieijed, thoiti/h tJifif 
W'Te little acquainted witJi the dij/ica'tien under which he toded." For 
these operations, against an enemy abounding in all the means tor 
making a good defence, and inspired witli proportionable deteriuinatiou 
to do so, the 2 chief batteries of the besiegers in the bl(i,ck toivn were that 
of the Eegiment of Lorrain, on the right, or the more inland, that of the 
Regiment of Lally on the left, or towards the sea — the latter being tiio 
quarter from which the most destructive fire of shot and shell ivas ■inaat- 
tained against the Fort, as loell as the approaches most successfully pushed 
on, to the effecting of a, breach. Of this siege of above 9 weeks, pi-onoiinced, 
l:)y its minutest British chronicler, " without doubt the most strenuous 
and regular that had ever been carried on in India," and consequently thus 
detailed by him as "an example and eneitement" for posterity, I merely 
notice such circumstances as may convey a fair general conception of its 
difficulty and importance; anything like a full narrative of it being 
incompatible with the limits of this work. The consumption of militaiy 
viateriel l)y the For-t was returned as 26,5-H rounds of cannon-anniiuni- 
tion, 7502 shells, 1990 hand-grenades, 200,000 musket-cartridges, 1768 
barrels of gunj)ovvder — the besiegers being computed to have expended as 
many, or more cannon-balls, with 8000 shells — and, while so warmly 
engaged in front, had likewise to be vigilant and active against the 
mixed force of several thousand infantry and cavalry, previously men- 
tioned as employed to interru])t the. progress of the siege, by harassing 
hostilities elsewhere. These constantly-annoying enemies were, "like 
flies," alleges Lally, " no sooner beaten off in one place, than settling ia 
another." The predatory parties of that supernuniei-ary force in English 
pay were, indeed, extremely detrimental to the French. Thus Mahomed 
Issoof and his subordinate officer Ivistnarow, with 1000 foot and 350 
horse, attacking, in December, the Fort of Elvanasore, occupied by 7 
French military and 2 companies of Sepoys, with 2 field-pieces, com- 
pelled it to surrender, burning a village in sight of Fort St. David ; some 
days after, strengthening their invading corj)s with 1400 more foot and 
250 horse, reduced the fortified Pagoda of Tricalore, held by 3 companies 
of French Sepoys; and then spread their army, to ravage all the terri- 
tory tributary to the French, .as far as the sea. "On the 15th," asserts 
the English narrative, " they ap})eared at Villenore, within sight of 
Pondicherry, and brought so much terror, that the inhabitants of the 
adjacent villages took shelter in crowds within the bound hedge," which 
extended about that metropolis. " On the 18tli, they cut the mound of 
the great tank at Valdoor, and let out the water, to destroy the cultiva- 
tion it was reserved to fertilize. The sword was little used, but fire 
every where, and the cattle wei'e driven away to Tricaloor." Again, or 
January 25th, (1759,) Mahomed Issoof, who, besides his infantry, had 

* Orme, also, in noting of Lally's soldiers, at the close of the siege, how long 
their })ay was in arrear, and how very iil-siipplied they were in otiier respects, 
a<Uls of them — "who, nevertheless, notwithstandiug the discontented discourses of 
tlieir officers, still more dishonourable because they had all got phuider, persevered 
in their duty, with unremitting spirit aud alacrity." Yet 200 of the French 
deserted to Fort St. (George, from the rani])arts of which, they appeared at incer- 
vals, with a bottle of wiue in one hand, aud a purse in the other ^ exhorting their 
oouutrymen to imitate them. 



• IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE, 523 

filinvt^ 2000 horse, plundered, by a detachment, tbe country aVjoiit tlio 
Foit of Pondauialee; this l>arty, in addition to other booty, i-etiunin^ 
" with 3000 sheep and oxeu, which liad been collected from the coiuiti-y, 
and were kept, imder the protection of the garrison, in the common 
round the Fort, to supply the Fr'ench array before Madras." By the 
27th, the same active Anglo-Mahommedan partisan, with a body of his 
horse, approaching Madi'as, came to the place, but " 2 miles north-wesb 
of Fort St. George, where most of the oxen belonging to the Frencli 
army were kept, under t. .) care of a guard of Sepoys and Black horse," 
whom he "put to flight, and seized most of the cattle." Altogether, ifc 
is noted, on the side of the British, " the attention to this army, since 
tl)eir arrival in the neighbourhood, diminished the activity of the enemy's 
opei'ations against the Fort, by the detachments they were obliged to 
send, and recall, on difterent reports, and alarms. Their appi-oach, just 
as the enemy's works were advanced so near the defences, increased the 
alacrity of the garr-ison." On 4 occasions, when more serious demonstra- 
tions to relieve the Foi't were threatened by the advance of that army, 
to the niimber, as was estimated, of 5000 strong, Lally in person, or 
through his leading officers — among whom was his 1st cousin, Michael 
Lally, Colcmel-Commandant of the 2nd Vmttalion of the family regiment 
and Brigadier,* — had, according to the French accounts, to make propor- 
tionate diversions of force from the siege, by which the enemy, although 
very superior in number, was always obliged to retire. 

At length, or in spite of so mucli opposition on all sides, a breach in 
Fort St. George was effected, "and the mind of Lally was intensely 
engaged with preparations for the assault, when he found the officers 
of his army altogether indisposed to second his ardour." He alleges, 
" that the most odious intrigues were carried on in the array, and 
gi'o\iiidless apprehensions were propagated, to shake the resolution of the 
soldiers, and prevent the execution of the f)lan;" that his situation as 
" General was thus rendered critical in the highest degree, and the 
chances of success exceedingly diminished; yet he still adhered to his 
design, and only waited for the setting of the moon, which in India 
sheds a light not much feebler than that of a winter sun." At this 
d( cisive juncture, or February 16th, 6 English vessels arrived, for the 
lelief of Madras, with 600 regular troo))S, and other supplies. "Words," 
continues Lally, "are inadequate to express the effect which the appear- 
ance of them produced. The officer, who commanded in the trenches, 
deemed it even inexpedient to wait for the landing of the enemy; and. 2 
hours before receiving orders, retired from his jjost." In the existing 
state of their affairs, any further operations against Fort St. George 
would be hopeless, and might be ruinous, for the besiegers. "The 
officers and soldiers had been on no more than half-pay during the first 
6 weeks of the expedition, and entirely destitute of pay during the 
remaining 3. The expenses of the siege, and the half-pay, had con- 
sumed, during the 1st month, the 1,000,000 of livres whicii had arrived 
li-om the islands. The officers were on the allowance of the soldiers. 

* Michael Lally, son of Michael Lally and a Miss O'CarroU, was born in July, 
1714, and entered the Hegiment of Dillon, as a Cadet, in January, 1734; in whicii, 
he became a supernumerary or i-efomned Captain by January, 1744. A full Cap- 
tain in the Regiment of Lally the following October, he attained the grade of 
Colonel in March, 1747. He was appointed Commandant of the 2iid Battalion of 
the Regiment and a Brigadier, November 19th, 17o(). Reformed, with the Regi- 
nieut, af.er his return from India, he died at Roueu, iu 1773. 



524 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

The sul).sistence of the anny, for the last 15 days, had depended almost 
entirely u])on some rice and batter, captured, in 2 small vessels, from 
Bengal. A very small quantity of gunpowder remained in the camp; 
jind not a larger at Pondiclierry. The bombs were wholly consumed 3 
\\ eeks before. The Sepoys deserted for want of j)ay, and the European 
cavalry tlireatened, every hour, to go over to the enemy." In tine, even 
"the defence of Pondieherry rested upon 300 invalids; and, within 12 
liouis, the English, with tiieir reinforcements, might land, and take 
jjossession of the ])lace!"* After a hot fire against the Foi-t till about 
3 in the morning of the 17th, and the blowing up of the enemy's i-edoubt 
and ])owder-mill at Egmore outside the black town, which woi-ks had cost 
t!ie English East India Company " £30,000, and could not be restored 
in a 12-inonth," Lally consequently raised the siege, having to leave 
behind him 52 pieces of artillery, besides ammunition ; the abandon- 
ment of which "he imputed to tlie want of serviceable bullocks ; .and tJiis 
deficiency to the ra.pacitij of the contractors, leagued ivitli the Council of 
Pondiclierry!'^ His entire loss, in this enterprise, is not specified in 
any account that I have seen. The killed, wounded, and sick, in Fort 
St. George, dui-ing the siege, where " all, in general, did honour, by their 
behaviour, to the name of Englishmen," were retui'ned as 1378; of 
■whom the European portion detieient was more than tilled up by the 
troops, that came, on the Kith, in the ships. 

" General Lally left Madras, in the utmost transports of rage and 
despair, which a man of honour and ability can feel, who is," .says my 
contemporary English annalist, " neglected by those who ought to sup- 
port him, and cheated by the villainy of contractors, and of all those 
who turn war into a low tratHc. . . . And certainly, it is worthy of 
remark, that every where there should appear something more unac- 
countably wrong and weak in the management of the French, th;ia 
has been in the conduct of that of almost any other nation, at any 
time." t In a letter to a friend in the Ministry, Lally had already 
"vritten from India, on account of the awful want of principle, or probity, 
there — " / liace not yet belteld tlie shadow of a.n honest man. In the name 
of God, vrithdrav) me from this country, for w/iich I am not made! " And 
liis still further grounds for indignation and complaint at his situation 
theie are energetically set forth in his corre.spondence from Madias, 
during the siege, with the corrupt administration at Pondieherry. 
December 27th, 1758, he says — "■ IJell has vomited me into t ,is country 
of iniquities, and I wait, like Jonas, fur the ivltale, vildch will receive me 
into its belly!" February 11th, 1759, he states — "If we should fail at 
Madras, in my ojiinion, the jnincipal reason to which it should be 
attiilmted is, the pillage o/ 15,000,000 at lejist, whereby as much has been 
lost, m what has been wasted, as in what has been dispensed among the 
soldiery, and, 1 am ashamed to say it, among the officers ; who hare not 
/if'sitated even to ninke use of my na,me, to avail thenhselves of the Vipayx, 
Chelingues, aud other's, in, order to transfer to Vondicherry a booty, uihich 
it was your duty to have detained, on perceiving tlie enor/nous quantity of 
it! " February 14th, attributing his discouraging situation before Madras 

* The e.-isier, too, since we elsewhere learn, that the prisoners there, taken from 
the English, were so many as ; UUO ' 

t la this extract from the Annual Eegister, I omit, after " who is," the words, 
"ill seconded by his troo/M," as too general an expression. It has been shuwu, 
that " ill seconded by his ojjicers " would be more correct. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 525 

to the bad conduct of some of the Company's officers, and misapj)]ica- 
tioti, among them and others, of so many of the native forces and cam]>- 
attendants for purposes of TH'ivate rapacity, all more or less associated 
with the iniquities and treachery of the administration at Pondicheny, 
he expresses hin^self to the Governor there, with not less resentment 
than previously. Of the disreputable behaviour of officers of the Com- 
pany in command of the Expedition, the Bristol, tkc, he remarks — " A 
good blow might be struck here. There is a ship in the road, of 20 
guns, laden with all the riches of Madras, which, it is said, will remain 
there till the 20th. The Expedition is just arrived, but M. Groriin is 
not the man to attack her; for she has made him run away once before. 
The Bristol, on the other hand, did but just make her appearance before 
8t. Thomas ; and, on the vague report of 13 ships coming from Porto- 
Novo, she took fright; and, after landing the provisions with which she 
was laden, she would not stay long enough, even to take on board 12 of 
her own guns, which she had lent out for the siege. If I was the judge 
of the point of honour of the Company's officers, / would break him like 
glass, as loeJl as some others of them. The Fldelle, or the Ilarlem, or even 
the aforesaid ^-mto^, with her 12 guns restoi-ed to her, would be sufficient 
to make themselves masters of the English ship,* if they could manage 
so as to get to windward of her, in the ni<j;ht." On the scandalous mis- 
employment of the Sepoys and other natives, to transfer the merchandise 
taken at Madras to Pondicherry, as so much perquisite for the misem- 
ployers, he observes — " Of 1500 Cipayes which attended our. army, I 
reckon near fc^OO are employed upon tlte road to Pondiclterry, laden with 
sugars, pepper, and other goods; and, as for the Coulis, tliey ai-e all 
employed for ilie same purpose^ from. Oie \st day we came here! " Finally, 
mentioning liis determination to the Governor of Pondicheny. not to 
mix himself up with the officials of the Company in raising money — to 
keep himself as far as possible apart from their politico-military measure.s 
— and announcing his approaching intention of devolving the command 
of the army on the officer next in rank — he asserts of Pondicherry, that, 
if it should escape the vengeance it merited of tire from Heaven, nothing 
could preserve it from destruction by the fire of the English. His 
remarkable words are — "I had rather go and command the Ca tires of 
Madagascar, than remain in your Sodom; which it is impossible but 
the fire of the English nmst destroy, sooner or later, even though that 
from Heaven should not!'" In fine, can a.ny 2>icture of those wlioni 
he thus arraigns be rendered at once more disgiisting and justi- 
fiable, than by adding what he tells us % — " that the i-etreat of the 
ai'my from Madras jiroduced at Pondicherry the strongest demonstra- 
tions of joy, and was celebrated by his enemies, as an occasion of 
triumph !" 

This disgraceful rejoicing was the infamous satisfaction taken by the 
unprincipled official clique there, for the keen, indeed, and galling, 
though certainly not more keen and galling, than abundantly provoked 
or incontrovertibly merited denunciations, from Lally, of their shameless 
misconduct, or scandalous corruption and rapacity. Instead, however, 
of being at all amended, or induced to " turn from their evil ways," as 

* The "English ship " had, it has appeared, but " 20 guns," and the BrUlnl, with 
her /«7/ complement of artillery, would have, as we eisevvbere learn, ";:!;) guns," 
and was "manned with Europenns." Her ninie of " Bristol" would show, tiiat 
she was originally English, but taken by the Freuch. 



irlo HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

tliey sLonl'l have been, in consequence of sncli denunciations fvom their 
superior, that ini})uclent clique presumed to make a grieixiyice of those 
denunciations, on account of their sharpness ! — just, no doubt, as the 40 
tliieves of the Arabian tale, if restored to life, after having been so 
deservedly scalded to death in their jars by honest 'Morgiana, would 
have made her boiling oil, in proportion to its disagreeable temperature 
for their guilty carcasses, a very great si^ource of complaint against her, 
without at all noticing the main point at issue between her and them — 
or how far she, as a " good and faithful servant," in order to arrest 
robbery, was excusable in treating them, as ])ractitioners in that line, to 
such an unwelcome, indeed, but amply-earned application of the burn- 
ing fluid at her disposal. Voltaire, who knew, and was, for some time, 
a fellow-labovn-er of, Lally, in 1745-6, with respect to the arrangements 
for sending a reinforcement of 10,000 men from France to Prince Charlea* 
in Britain, notices the "douceur de moeurs," or suavity of manners, by 
Avliich Lally was then distinguished ; the alteration of which the histo- 
rian naturally attributes to the various causes for irritation in the ill-fated 
(leneral's suV)sequent unhap])y position. The instructions he had from 
the Court and from the Directory of the Company in Paris, to have a 
vigilant eye upon the conduct of the Council at Pondicherry ; and those 
instructions, Imcked by memiu-anda on the several abuses connected 
with the administration of Council, would, it is admitted, have rendered 
him odious to that body, were he the mildest of mankind ; and he had 
received equally obnoxious directions with respect to the insubordination, 
want of discipline, and avidity for plunder, among the Company's 
European troops, or those of the " Bataillon de I'lnde." It was not for 
tlie interest — i. e., the private or personal interests — of the Council, the 
Battalion of India, " et hoc genus oniiic," that such an uncompromising 
" lioinme du lioi," or " King's man," as Lally was invidiously desig- 
nated, slionld be tliere from Europe, to discountenance or check that 
nianagejnent of affairs, which had been so suited to the taste of those 
floiuisliing, or hoping to ficnirish, by a continuance of the system, 

" All in the family way, 
All with the strictest propriety! " 

or as free as possible from any external interference and economizing 
control. It was likewise, of course, anything but right in their eyes, 
that this very " homme du Roi," already too distinguished by the 
i-('duction of Fort St. David and Arcot, should capture Madras, and 
slioidd then ])robably conquer Bengal ; in as much as he might thereby 
become both a reformer too powerful in India, and an accuser too irre- 
si.-tible in France. Such were the grounds for the hostility between 
Lally and his colonial opponents. That of Lally was warm, frank, too 
often, ])erha|)s, venting itself in terms more bitter than discreet, yet 
always ready to "let bygones be bygones," on any manifestation of an 
anieiidinent, and desire to pi-omote the service of the King. That of his 
enemies was cold, crafty, underhand, and unscrupulous, not hesitating, 
fur tli(^ destruction of an obnoxious individual, to risk the ruin of the 
public int*'rest. Thus was D'Argenson's too-well-grounded prediction 
in process of verification ! 

After retiring fiom Madras unmolested by the enemy. Lally found his 
health so impaired by the various harassing toils and numei'ous vexations 
he liad undergone, that, early in March, he was obliged to quit the camp 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 527 

for Pondiclierry,* and devolve the cdmnirttid of the force opposed fco tli« 
English on M. de Soupire, Marechal de Cainp; leaving it well yiosted at 
Conjeverara, with orders not to risk any general action, but remain ou 
the defensive. The troops there were in much distress. From I'ondi- 
cherry nothing was to be gotten ; " what monies could be collected from 
the country between Conjeverara and Arcot, or borrowed in the camp, 
scarcely furnished the expenses of the day; and the inhabitants of the 
neigiiboui-ing villages, finding that the English jiaid punctually, and at 
better prices, evaded, as much as possible, to carry any yjrovisions to the 
French camp." In Aj)ril, the English, in order to entice the French to 
a suitable distance from Conjeverara, appeared V)efore the Fort of Wande- 
wash, on which Lally ]jroceeded ftom Pondichei-ry to join Soupire for the 
purpose of saving Wandevvash; when the English, decamping thence at 
night, by a forced march, returned to, fell upon, and captured Conjeveranj 
with its garrison, by assault. The following month, the French were so 
badly ofi" for every kind of su])i)ly, pay included, that Lally was deterred 
"from trusting their good will in action, until he could satisfy their 
complaints." With this view, "he went to Aicot, and, having detected 
various frauds in. the management of the Amuldar, or renter, who firmed 
the districts, fined him 4(.*,000 rupees; raising 10,000 more, with the 
promise of some provisions, from a native ])otentate of Velore, by agree- 
ing not to molest his country. Satisfying immediate wants with these 
lesources, the General, on the 6th, led the army from Covrepauk to 7 
miles west of Conjeverara, where he stationed them advantngeouslv 
opposite the English, who, under Colonel Monson, from the 12th to the 
15th, drew out of their lines to offer battle. But the money and pro- 
A isions recently obtained being now nearly exhausted, the soldiery 
renewed their complaints, which, too many, if not most, of their officers, 
from pei-sf)nal or factious motives, " were little solicitous to repress.'.' 
Aware of these feelings, says my British authority of Lally, "he would 
•not venture the battle he otherwise wished (for he was always bmve and 
i/)tpptuous,f and had 2000 Europeans in the field.) before he had tried 
how far their prejudices might influence their duty, and made sevei-al 
motions, tending to no great consequence, which convinced him, that, in 
their present mood, they would not fight with ardour under his command." 
He consequently broke np his encampment, on the 15th, to march for 
Trivatore, dispersed the troops into different quarters, and returned him- 
self to Pondicherry; resolving, in such a verj'' unsatisfactory condition 
as his army were for money and sup[)lies, and, aided from Eui'ope, as the 
English had been, not to meet them again en masse in th(; field, until he 
should be better enabled to do so by " the arrival of the French .squadron, 
which was daily expected with reinfoi-cements." The English did nob 
go into cantonments tilltlie 28th, when this sjn-ing campaign for 1759, 
of 100 days, terminated; wherein " the principal object of both sides was 
to protect their respective territory, and not to risque an engagement 
witliout j)Ositive advantage, which neithei" gave." 

* "On se decliaina contre le Glengral,'' adds Voltaire of Lally, and his shameless 
enemies, "on Taccabla de leproches, de lettres anouymes, de satires. 11 en tomha 
uialade de cliauriu : quelqne temps apres, la fievre et de fre'qnens transports au 
cerveau le troub^erent pendant 4 mois; et, pour consolation, on lui insiiltaib 
encore! " 

•f" " To tread the walks of death he stood prepnr d ; 
And what he greatly tlionnlit, be nobly diii-M.' 

ruj?ii's HoMKii, U.i^ssey, ii., 311-312. 



528 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

Lally brought back from the camp to Pondicheriy "more reRentinpnt 
than ever against the Governor, the Council, and all who were em ployed 
in the civil administration of the Companj^'s affairs; imputing to t/ieir 
malversations all the obstacles and impediments, which obstructed tlie 
success of his arms. The Council, he alleged, 7-f.ceived -preserds from tJm 
renters of all the districts, ivho, emboldened by tJie knowledge of their pecula- 
tions, contimially evaded' the regular ■payments, or insisted on remissions, in 
the terms of their leases; * and, ivhUst the Treasury was thus disappointed or 
defrauded of its incomes, its issues, he insisted, vmre squandered loith equal 
prodigality ; because the Council, and their dependants, held sliares, in aU 
the supplies for the public service, whether in the camp, or city.'" This 
w^as tracking the thefts of Cacus to his den, and letting in light as alarm- 
ing, as it was unwelcome, to the unkennelled robber, whose " detected 
fraud appear'd in view," when — ^ 

" Expos'd to sight the monster's dungeon lay, 
And the huge cave llew ojien to the day ! " 

Pitt's Virgil, ^neid, viii., 315-316. 

The vile faction of peculating civilians, and their interested upholders, or 
roguish understrappers, at Pondicherry, in proportion to their just or 
guilty dread of Lally, as disinterring and dencmncing their financial male 
practices, became additionally exasperated against him, and rallied the 
more closely about his enemy, Bussy. From illness, (and, doubtless, o'her 
reasons,) Bussy had retired to Pondicherry since the retreat from Madras, 
and to him the junta of branded corruptionists, and their subordinate 
jobbers, paid especial court; constantly expressing I'egret at what they 
designated the indiscretion of the Ministry in having appointed Lally, 
rather than Bussy, to the supreme command; a regret, with their "auri 
sacra fames," unquestionably well-founded; Bussy, who had made such a 
fine fortune in India, (and was no less resolved to heep it,) being much the 
more likely man not to interfere with thfni in making their fortunes too; 
and being consequently the character with whom they could best sympa- 
thize, on the good old principle, that 

•'A fellow-feeling makes us wond'rous kind !" 
and that 

" Birds of a feather 
Flock together ! " 

During June and July, or since going into cantonments, nothing of 
more consequence than the detachment of parties to collect preys of cattle 
occurred between the French and English, with the exception of a blood- 
less acquisition, July 7th, of the Fort of Covrepauk by Colonel Monson. 

* See, in Mr. Mill's work, under the year 1765, the vast extent to which corrup- 
tion and extortion were carried, under the head of "presents," as received by the 
Eii<jJi>ih East India Company's servants. According to ancient custom, it is stated, 
" a person in India, who had favours to ask, or evil to deprecate, could not easi'y 
believe, till acce])tance of his present, that the great man, to whom he addressed 
himself, was not his foe." On which the same historian subsequently observes — 
" Besides the oi)pression of the people of the country, to which the receiving of 
presents prepared the way, this dangerous practice laid th' foundation of iierj>elual 
perftdy in tkc Jiervants of the Company to the interests of their employers. Not those 
plans of policy -which were calculated to produce the happiest results to the Com- 
pany, but those which were calculated to rnu'tiply t/ie occasions for presents, and 
rentier them most effectual, were tlie plans recommended, by the strongest motives 
of interest, to the ageiits and represeutatives of the Company in India." 



IN THE SERVTCE OF FRANCE. 629 

'•'The distresses and discontents of the French continued as urgent as 
ever, even after the expense of the cainjmign was diminished hy their 
reti-eat into quarters. In the beginning of August, the whole of Lally's 
regiment, excepting the Serjeants and Cor])orals, and 50 of the soldiei's, 
mutinied, and marched out of tlie Fort of Chittapet; declaring, that they 
would not return to their colours, until they had received their pay, of 
which many months was in arrears." However, " their officers, by 
furnishing their own money, and engaging their honour for more, brought 
them back, excepting 30, who dis])ersed about the count ry." TxTeverthe- 
less, "this defection, which the cause exem|)tod from rigorous punish- 
ment, shook the discipline of the whole army." The dis.seusiou, also, 
between Lally and Bussy was still in full operation, when, on the 20th, 
a fiigate from Fi-auce " brought orders from the King and Ministi-y, 
recalling all the intermediate officers, who had been acmt with commis- 
sions superior to Bnssy's, and a])pointing him second in command, and 
to succeed to it after Lally." This caused a more civil intercourse to 
take place between them, and an assent by Lally to a measure }>roposed 
by Bu^sy, although about the most ol>noxious that the latter could have 
proposed — or tiiat he should retin-n to the Deccan. It was not till 
Se])tember 2nd, that D' Ache's tieet from the Mauritius, whose arrival 
was so long and eagerly looked for by Lally, and the Fi-eneh generally iu 
India, was descried off" Ceylon by the English Admiral Pococke; between 
whom and D'Ache, as soon as the wind admitted, or on tlie 10th, an 
engagement ensued. In this action, no ship was lost on either side; 
the English, who acknowledged a loss of 569 killed or woundi'd, ])roved 
unable to efi'ect their design, of ])reventing the French reaching Pondi- 
cherry; and the latter consequently anchored there, the V-)\\\. On the 
general result of this and the preceding naval encounters b;''.\veen the 
French and English in India, "it has been observed," .says ti.e Annual 
Register for 1760, "that history can hardly produce an insbmce of 2 
squadrons fighting 3 pitclied battles, under the same commanders, in 18 
mouths, witiiout the loss of a ship, on either side !" Had D'Acho been 
the bearer of iar more assistance than he brought, such as.si.stance would 
all have been needed. The resources of the Government at Pondicherry 
were too nearly exhausted, as well by the length of the war, as, according 
to Lally's com])laints, "by the misapjMcat.ion of the public funds ; a 
calamity, of which the violent passion of iadivvhials for private ivealth v:aH 
a copious and perennial fnintain,." He " had, from his first arrival, been 
struggling on the borders of despair, with wants, which it was altogether 
out of his power to supply. The English had i-eceived, or were about to 
receive the most imjjortant accession to their power ; and nothing but 
the fleet which had now arrived, and the supjilies which it miyht have 
brought, could enable him, much longer, to contend with the dilliculties 
which environed him." 

Under these distressing circumstances, we read, with a mixture of 
cont^nipt and indignation, how '• M. d'Ache had bi-ought, for the use of 
the colony, £16,000 in dollars, with a quantity of diamond?-, valued at 
£17,000, which had been taken in an English East Tnui^iman; and, 
having landed these eflects, together with 180' meai, he declared his 
resolution of sailing again for the islands! * Nothing," it may well be 

* Was despatching a fleet like D'Ache's to India, with no greater assistar.ce than 
£16,0U(), and so few men, anything Vietter than appointing an eJejiliaiit to carry aa 
iiilaut ? Much ado about comparatively nothing ! The single Euyliisk East ludia- 

2 M 



5.0O inSTOllY OF TITK IRISIf BRTGADES 

helit'ved, " coukl exreed tlie surprise and consteriiMtion of the colonv 
iifiou tins unexpected and alarming inteliiiience. Even those who were 
the most indifferent to the success of affairs, when the I'eputation of 
Lally, and the interest of their country alone, were at stake, now hegau 
to tremble, when the very existence of the colony, and their interests 
along with it, were threatened with inevitable destruction. All the 
principal inhabitants, civil and military, assembled at the Governor's 
house, and formed themselves into a National Council. A vehement 
])rotest was signed against the departure of the fleet. But the resolvition 
of the Admiral was inflexible; and he could only be induced to leave 
400 CaflVes, who served in the fleet, and 500 Europeans, partly marines, 
and partly sailors." Having landed these, he, on the .30th, sailed away, 
never to return! The value of the African ])ortion of D'Ache's parting 
piTsent speaks for itself; the European portion of it, or the marines ami 
Bailors, were designated merely as ''the scinn of the sea'' by Lally; "and, 
indeed," says my English historian, "most of them, for a while, could be 
lit for little more than to do duty in the town, whilst the regular ti'oops 
kept the field." The other contents of the fleet, or the des])atches which 
it brought from Europe, were calculated to render Lally 's position worse 
than it jiieviously was. Those documents, indeed, contained, Jbr the 
Council at Pondlclierry, rfpi'inio,nds, and even menaces, of the severest 
kind; fur Lally, tJte highest ommendations of his achievements, and Jus 
■fjrincijjles ; with special instructions, that he should cause an account to 
be rendered of the administration; the despotism of the government of 
the Council to be corrected; an inquiry to be instituted into the origin 
of the existing abuses, in order that they might be cut uj) by the roots; 
and, in tine, pj'oceedings to be taken, by the Procureur-General, with 
respect to every Member of the Council, and other official, who should 
be found any way interested in the collection of the revenues of the 
Cora])any. To intrust him with such a commission implied, as he 
observed in his correspondence, that he should he art object of general 
horror in tlie colony, — or, in other words, among such knaves as it was 
composed oJ\ — and, accordingly, from this time, is to be dated an offensive 
and defensive league, or conspiracy, of all the Members of Council and 
inferior employes against him, as receiving such (n-ders — hateful, in pro- 
portion to the dishonesty, which had so much to appi'ehend from tJieir 
enforcement, and from him as empowered to enforce them. In short, 
what situation could now be more unhappy than his? 

Long jirevious to the autumnal season for again taking the field, the 
English, at Madras, in addition to the European recruits which they 
received, were encouraged with intelligence of the 8-lth regiment of lOOO 
men being at sea to join them, under Lieutenant-Colonel Eyre Coote, 
famous, as Majoi-, for his services in Bengal, and who was coming, with a 
commission to command in chief A further advantage pi'esented itself, 
in the circumstance of the French force nearest to Madras being weakened 
by a considerable detachment, which it had been found necessary to 
despatch elsewhere, or to the south. With such apparently favoitrable 
jirospects for striking some decis ve blow, and proportionably importuned 
to do so by Major Brereton, who was most eager to distinguish himself 
before he sho\dd be supeiseded in command hy Coote, the I'residency at 
Madras consented, that an attempt sho\dd be made to reduce Wandewash, 

man, wliich the French Admiral cxptiirerl by chance, fii vi>:/(if/ . was more valuable 
thau ali ihe trcasuie ke had |a"e\^oably on board, tor Pi^iulicherry ! 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 531 

tlie lie;id-quarters and in'inci]ial post of the Fi-eiich between Madras and 
Pondiclieny. Accordingly, on September 26th, or as soon as it was 
possible to march, after the heavy rains. Major Brereton set out from 
Conjeveram for Wandewash with 4080 foot and 800 horse; of whoi* KiOO 
■were Europeans, and the rest, 3280, Sepoy or other mercenaries. At 
"Wandewash, the Fort was held by a native Kellidar, or Governor, and liis 
garrison, that woidd admit none of the French beyond some gunners; ;«. 
state of things, in which, nnder the delicate circumstances they were 
j)laced, the latter, in order to avoid worse, had to acquiesce. The Fnncti 
etiectiv(^ force there were quartered mostly under the walls of the Fort, 
and the rest about the town. They were then but badly off, as well as 
inferior in runnber to the English, or only 1100 men, and under the 
command, pro tempore, of a veteran officer of the Irish Biigade, named 
Mac Geoghegan, a gentleman of very old and illu.strious race. 

Of the 4 sons of Niall of the Nine Hostages, Ard-Kigh or Monarch of 
Erin from a. d. 379 to 400, known as the pi-ogenitors of the Southern 
Hy-Niall, or offspi ing of Niall, in Midhe, or Meath, &c., Fiacha, the 3rd, 
■was ancestor of the sept of Mac Geoghegan, hence originally styled Kinel- 
Fiacha, or kindred of Fiacha,* but taking their subsequent designation of 
Mac Geoghegans from a Prince, the Gth in descent from the great Niall. 
The territory of the descendants of Fiacha anciently extended from Bir, 
in the Kings County, to the noted liill of Uisneach, in VVestmeath ; iu 
later times, or down to the Elizabethean age, the country of Mae 
Geoghegan was generally limited to the district of Kinaliagh, 12 milea 
long, and 7 broad, or coextensive with the Barony of Moycashel. Brought 
comparatively low at first, by the Anglo-Nornuxn obtrusion into Meath 
of De Lacy and his feudal land-adventurers from Britain in the 12th 
century, this warlike sept, nevertheless, very soon, or early in the 13th, 
showed they had only fallen like Antaeus, to rise the stronger; "erected, 
and long maintained the possession of, various castles, the chief being at 
Castletown-Geo^hegan, near Kilbeggan, whose extensive site is marked 
upon the Ordnatjce Survey;" and, tliroughout the middle ages, ranked 
among the most dreaded neighbours to the aetllers of the Pale; of whose 
defeats it might be said — 

".Swim at midnight the Sliannon, heard w(il\es iu their den, 
Ere you ride to Moycasliel, on forays again ! " 

In the Elizabi thean war, the heroic Captain Richard Mac Geoghegan of 
Moycashel, as Constable of the Castle of Dunboy, will rievei- be Ibrgobten, 
from his noble resistance and death tiiere; respecting which, alleges the 
enemy, "so obstinate and resolved a defence hath not bin scene within 
this kiiigdome!" In the Parliamentaiian or Cromwellian contest, the 
gentlemen of this sept ujjheld its previous reputation for gallantry. The 
Secretary of the great Owen Eoe O'Neill, noting how no family behaved 
so well as the Geoghegans, states — "Never a one of them was ever killed 
other then like a brave souldier, and in comannde in action;" and theu 
naming 10 Geoghegans as officers, fioin the ranks of Lieutenant-Col. nel 
and Major to those of Captain and Lieutenant, and s])ecifying where they 
were distinguished, he adds— " These 10 Geoghegans comaunders perished 
to the world, but to luture ages lett sufficient matter of honorable 

• Cam, in the Barony of Moycashel, and County of Westmeath, wns formeil/ 
called Carn-Fiachach, or the earn oj Fiacha, from tiie earn, or sci>ulchral liea^) of 
stoues tlieie, to lu^ memory. 



f)32 HISTOr.Y OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

imitation," Szc. In the snccoediiig unequal struggle ag.iinst the Anglo- 
Orange invasion of Ireland, and its numerous Continental and colonial 
auxiliaries, tlie members of this old clan duly sujiported King James I', 
lirian Mac Geoghegan, Esq. of Donoi-e, and Charles Mac Geoghegan, 
Esq. of Sionan, sat for the Borough of Kilbeggan, in that Monarch's 
national Parliament at Dublin, in 16S9; and several gentlemen of the 
name were officers in the royal army, especially among rhe cavalry. The 
luanch of Sionan, as represented by the above-mentioned Chailes, and 
liis 7 sons, fought for the King in Ireland, and afterwards on the Cou- 
tinent. Of these, Conly, the eldest, having, previous to the Williamite 
revolution, .served in France, and acquired the character there of a good 
officer, was made a Colonel in Ii-eland; where he fell, greatly regretted, at 
the battle of Cavan. between the Duke of Berwick, and Colonel Wolseley, 
in February, 1690. In the course of the same war, 4 of his brothers 
were also slain. The 2 remaining followed the King to France, where 
the elder. Anthony, was created, by that Prince, a Baronet. Charles, 
the younger, died a Captain of Grenadiers in the Regiment of Berwick, 
leaving 3 sons; of whom, the survivor, Alexander, likewise a Captain of 
Grenadiers, w-as the officer in tem])orary command of the French here at 
W--indewash. He is tirst mentioned as in the Regiment of Berwick in 
1733; when he served at the siege and reduction of Kehl. A Sous- 
Jjieutenant of the same corps in 1734, he was at the siege of Philips- 
burgh; and at the atlair of Clausen in 1735. He was at the battle of 
Dettingen, and nominated a Captain en Second in 1743. In 1744, at 
the siege of Menin. he \vav> subsequently transferred, with the like rank, 
into the Regiment of Lally. In 1745, having been j)resent at the 
successful sieges of Tournay, Oudenarde, Deiidermonde, and the victory 
of Fontenoy, he jiassed into Scotland, to the, aid of Prince Charles; com- 
manded a cor])s of his hussars; and was at the sieges of the town and 
citadel of Stirling, and battle of Falkiik, in 1746. Between this, and 
tlie general termination of the war on the Continent, in 1748, he was 
made a full Captain or obtained a company, was created a Chevalier of 
St. Loui.s, and was jiresent at the reduction of Maestricht that year, l)y 
Marshal Saxe. After the breaking out of the war in 1756 between 
France and England, he .sailed for India, as "premier factionnaire" to 
]iis regiment, (u- that of Lally. By the death, on the passage, of his eider 
brother, a Major and Captain of Gi-enadieis in that corps, <tc., he also 
becauie a Captain of Grenadiers. iiis younger brother was slain in the 
ti-enches, at the .siege of Fort St. Da\id. Acting under M. de Crillon at 
the surprise of the camp of Mousaferbeck, Alexander ca|)tured 2 jiieces of- 
cannon there. Employed, in December, 1758, to clear the way for tlie 
entrance of the French army into tlie black t<'Wn of Madras, pievious to 
<lie siege of Fort St. George, he did so, in sjiite of a vei-y great fire from 
the enemy. At the hostile sortie of the English from the Fort 4 hours 
after, he vigorously contributed to their repulse, by a flanking attack at 
the head of 2 companies of his regiment, in which he lost a Li- utenant. a 
Seijeant, and 14 grenadiers; being wounded liiai.self in both arms, as well 
as severely in the thigh. 

Since September otd, Mac Geoghegan had been ordered by Lally, to 
RKPenible all the French troops he could, or 80() foot, and 300 horse, for 
tlie protection of Wandewash, as the post most likely to Ije attacked by 
the enemy from Madras. Major Breret(»n fixed upon the night betweeu 
the 2jth and 30tii for assail. ng the French lu their quarters. His lorce, 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 533 

for that purpose, was t(i cotisiist of IGOO picked men; or 020 Enropoaiis 
and 680 nieiceiiaries, in 3 divi.si'»>is; each of the 3 supplied with 2 tiiio 
brass six-pounders. About 2 in the morning, the 1st or Monson's division 
of SnO Europeans, thi^ majoi-itv grenadiers, besides a company of lOj 
Sepoys, in all 460 men, reached Wandewash, at a portion of the wall, out 
of repair, and with neither ditch nor palisade before it; so that the 1st 
party of grenadiers were able to scramble np, drive away the guard, ami 
open the gate for the rest of the division. In 3 columns, with 2 field- 
pieces at the head of th;it in the centre, this division then proceeded 
through the 3 principal streets; silenced the opposing tire by which they 
were most annoyed, or that of 2 tield-pieces pointed by the French from 
the esplanade, to swee]) the central street; and, having advanced to the 
openings upon the esplanade where the main body of the French were 
stationed, then deemed it most prudent to halt, raise a barricade, and 
•wait for daylight; as being disappointed of the co-opei-ation expected from 
their 2iid, or Gordon's, division. But this minor division of 200 Euro- 
peans, 80 Black mercenaries, and 2 tield-jMeces, at tlie angle of the ram- 
part where they had approached to enter the town, having been duly- 
discovered, and entirely exposed to view, by blue lights thrown up, were 
so warmly received by the French fire there, that they were totally 
defeated; Brereton, to rally the fugitives, having, "in the strong impulse 
of indignation," vainly "i-an tlie 1st man he met through the body," pour 
encourayer les atttres ! Meantime, as day broke, the hre n])on Moivoi'n 
division from the main body of the French at the esplanade, aided b; thi"; 
from the Fort, became too hot to bear. "The gunnei-s," notes dm , 
"whom the Kellidar had adinitted into the Fort, plied the cannon on the 
towers opjjosite to the 3 streets, to the head of which Monson's division 
had advanced; and, with the tield-pii'ces on the esplanade, their fire was 
from 14 guns, all within point blank; from the Fort at 300, from the 
field-pieces at 100, yards. The return was from the 2 field-|)ieces at the 
head of the center-street, and from platoons of mu.sketry in the other 2. 
The disparity was severe, and could not be long maintained." Under 
these favourable circumstances. Mac Geoghegan, in order to decide the 
contest as soon as possible, or before Monson could be effectively reinforced 
from without, assailed the intruders with such sj)irit and activity, that he 
finally drove them out of the place; sending his 300 cavalry to watch 
their retreat, but not risking his 800 infantry in any pursuit beyond the 
walls of the town, against an enemy, whose reserve of 460 men, under 
Brereton, was fresh, or untouched, and whose European and Black horse, 
amounting to 800, were stationed but a mile to the rear of Brereton ; 
besides the still greater force of that officer at his camp, or head-quarter.s 
— the whole, compared with the French at Wandewash, making nearer 4 
than 3 men to 1. In this affiiir of about 5 hours' duration (much inter- 
rupted, however, by the darkness, ifec.,) the English admit a loss of 207 
killed, wounded, or missing. The French specify their killed and wounded, 
at but 114. The English claim a capture of \r> prisoners from the French. 
Tlie French claim to have captured English officers, 56 soldiers, 4 cannon, 
and 2 ammunition- uaggons from the English. As an otf-set to the general 
depression of mind among the French, so naturally associated with the 
wretched mockery of assistance brought by, and the sailing away of, 
D'Ache's fleet for the ]\lauritius, this repulse, by the Irish officer, of the 
English at Wandewash, was made the most of at Pondicherry, with a 
diticharge of 100 guus from the ramparts, &c. The advauLage ubtuiued 



■53-1 HISTORY OF THE IRISH RR:GADr:S 

l)v Mac GeogliPijfan saved, in fact, tlie French, in India, for the time; 
thoiig'\ situated hs they were, it cduid only l)e tor a time.* 

To tlie iiunieroiis difficultie.«, with which, as "a sea. of troubles," the 
Fieiicli in India were left hy D'Aclie to contend, unaided, and, as there 
wiis but too uuich reason to suppose, iu vain, 'a greater source for alarm, 
tlian ever be/ore presented itself was added, October 16th-l7th, by tho 
di.scoutent and insubordination which ai)peared in the army. 

"Nor is tlii.'=i i'a?;e tlio nnniil)liiicr of a crowd, 
Tliat .slum to tell tlieir (liscniitents aloud; 
Where all, with gloomy lonks, .saspicious go, 
And dread of an informer chokes their woe : 
But, hold in niunhers, proudly they ai)prar, 
And scorn the liashfnl, mean resti-aints of Tear. 
For laws, iu great rebellions, lose their end, • 

And all go free, wheu nudtitndes offend." 

Eovvi'/s Luc.\n's Pharsalia, v., 357-304. 

Other outbreaks, of which there naturally had been several, among the 
putil'ring sohlieiy, were partial ; but this mutiny was general, and, all 
circumstances consideied, excusably so. Not less than 10 month.s' pay- 
was due to the ti'oo|)S ; what money they had gotten was in.stead of 
provisions, which were by no means regularly furnished ; the men were 
also very badly ofl" for clothing ; they were the more indignant at the 
distress to which they continued to be subjected, even alter tiie bravery 
lately shown at Wandewash ; they ctuiceived that a much larger sum, 
tliaii that merely announcetf as brought by the fleet, had actually been 
reiiiiUed from France; and, wor.se than all, they were led to believe 
(evidently from a quarter, whose infamous nature is sufficiently marked 
by the calumny of the assertion,) that so many evils were greatly owing 
to the criminality of the General, who, at the public cost, had beea 
amassing and secreting a vast amount of wealth ! The exasjierated 
soldiery of the Regiments of Lorrain, Lully, and the Battalion of India 
con.sequently quitting their quarters, and choosing 2 Serjeants for 
their Generals, declared, that their an-ears of pay should be cleared oil 
in () days ; after which, if not satisfied, they would go over to the 
English. By a subscription, however, at Pondicherry, to which Laily 
liimselt contributed 50,000 francs, the gallant Crillon 10,000, and others 
what they could, a sufficient fund was raised to appease this most 
dangerous commotion; the troops, on condition of receiving wdiat was 
due them, for half a year, in hand, the rest in a month, and a coini)lete 
amnesty for the past in writing from the General and the Council, 
Agreeing to retui-n to their duty ; which, except 30 deserters, all accord- 
ingly did, by the 21st. As the only mode for continuing to subsist the 
army, and for a satisfactory collection of the ap])roaching revenue to be 
e:xpected from the country, Lally, soon after this )-econciliation, decided 
upon dividing the forces into 2 portions; tliat for the north, to consist of 
800 men, stationed at Arcot or Wandewash, and which by nu)ving to the 
aid of any of his gariisons attacked in those jiarts might keep tho 
English, for a certain period, in check ; that for the south, to reaf ze as 

* Orme, Voltaire, and Mill, %it sup. —Mac (4eoghegan ]>edigree, &c., in Miscellany 
of Irish ArchaH)logical Society, vol. i.— Irish and English jiulilished annalis-s 
, TT'a.M/w on Mac Oeoghegans — O Neill M.S., in Trinity College, Dublin— \ 1)1)6 Mac 
{;cogiie,'nn's note, at battle of Cavan, in 1(190— French memoir of Ca[)tain Alexaniier 
L. ;ic (;eoi>hegan m iate .lohn < 'Connell's M.S. collectii'iis at I'afisdii [ri.'-h Brigade 
— Aiciii-h ivuiLicUiurs of lontest at VVaudewash, iii Meiture lli^toiu^ue lor 17ol>. 



IN THE SERVICE OP FRANCE. 535 

great a supply as possible from tlie corapai-atively untouched or (iourish- 
ing districts between Outatoor and Tritcliino|K>ly, iiichuling the ricli and 
feitile Islo of Ser'ingham, and tlien be ready, in dne time, to march to 
the assistance of tlie division holding the English at bay in the north. 

The Governor and Council at Pciiidicherry, we ai'e told, opposed such 
a " se|)aration of the army as fraught with the most dangei'ons conse- 
quences ;" a danger, indeed, "which could no^. be concealed from Lally 
himself," as that of "dividing the army in the presence of a sujieriop 
enemy ; but," it is added, " they pointed out nn dipjihs by trJilcli, d vms 
possible to preserve it logefher." Lally im])uted tht; opposition he met 
with, respecting such a disposition of the aj'my, to a disappointed s])irit of 
peculation on the pai't of his opposers; since, with reten-nce to the better 
getting in of the revenue, he likewise announced his intention of having 
the several collections farmed under his own eye — by which, of course, 
the usuid comfortable jierquisites, or snug deductions, " so sweet for the 
gain " of the jobbing officials, who-m he had such abundant reasons for 
distrusting, would be cut off from those knaves — and hence an outcry, 
from the hungry spite of their frustrated rapacity, that Jie was acting 
thus, oidy with a view to personal emolument ! But the real character 
of Lally could not be affected by snch an accusation from those, whose 
praise would have proved him as deserving of censure, as tlieir censure 
"would ini))ly that he was worthy of })raise. While ])i-epariiig to draft; 
away, nnder Crillon, the stronger division intended for the south, the 
General caused s(< many parties to be S(;t in motion, as niiglit dill'nse an 
impression ot his being altogether bent upon maintaining himself along 
the northern line of defence, afibrded by the stream of the Paliar. lu 
the course of these varied movements, 50 men of his regiment haviri"' 
]tiet with, and ventured to attack, 3 conijianies of the enemy's Sepoys, or 
about .■)()() men, posted at the village of Cherickmalore, on the southern 
side of the river, opposite Conjeveram, are alleged, by the English, to 
have been beaten, with a loss of 5 soldiers killed, and 3 taken, besides 
an oilicer, mortally wounded.* As to Crillon's march, it was so well 
jilanned, and, for a time, concealed or disguised, that, between November 
11th and 2l)th, he was able to anticipate any effective eflbi-t, on the part 
of the English, in the south, to prevent his crossing the river Coleroon 
into the Isle of Seringham, imd, on the 21st, reducing the garrison, in a, 
fortified pagoda there under Captain Smith, to surrender, to the number 
of 3l0 Sepoys, 500 CoUeries, or long-lance-armed men, and 2 field- 
pieces, with European gunners. But such success in the south could 
not compensate for the dispai'ity, in point of numbers, under which 
Lally, in the north, had, by this time, to confront the English from 
Madras, strengthened, as they were, by the arrival of the last of tho 
reinforcements they expected from Europe, with the very able Irish- 
ofiieer who was to command against him. 

That gentleman, Lieutenant-Colonel Eyre Coote, was the 5th son of 
the Eev. Dr. Chidley Coote, of Ash-Hill, Connty of Limerick, by hi.s 
marriage with Jane, 3rd daughter of the Right Honourable Georgo 
Evans, of Caharas, or Caras, in the same County, and sister of the 1st 

* This rare success by Indians, as o])posed to Europeans, wo?/ have been owin^ 
to I t/tcr circumstances, as well as numbers, liaving heen much to tlie advanta!;e of 
the futiner, on this occasion. I liave tlion'j.ht it \n\t fair, in mentionincf the matter, 
t.i ', hmce at tlie fact of luU men having been the yeuerul complement of a company 
of tiepo^B. 



536 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

Lord Carbery.* Young Cojte was born in 1726, and appears to have 
entered the British army early, in which he is stated to liave been an 
Ensign in Scotland, in the civil war of 1745-6. In 1754, he sailed, with 
his regiment, from Ireland, for the East Indies; and, as Captain, and 
Major, throughout the suVisequent operations in Bengal, or the reduc- 
tions of Calcutta, Hoogley, Chandernagore, and the battle of Plassey, in 
conjunction with Admiral Watson, and Colonel (afterwards Lord) Clive, 
was much distinguished. The victory of PJasst-y, by which the English 
East India Coujpany ii%-st rose to be a great jiolitical, and military, or 
sovereign power in Hindostan, instead of a corporation of merely 
tolerated foreign traders, would, in fact, never have been gained, if the 
irresolution of Clive had not, on second thoughts, been brought to reject 
its original misgivings, for the sujierior determination of Coote. " What^ 
ever confidence he might place in his own military talents, and in the 
valour and discipline of his troops," writes Lord Macaiday of the situa- 
tion of Clive before the afi'air of Plassey^, "it was no light thing to engage 
an army 20 times as numerous as his own. Before him lay a river, over 
■which it was easy to advance; but, over which, if things went ill, not 
one of his little band would ever return. On tliis occasion, for the first 
and for the last time, his dauntless spirit, during a few hours, shrank 
from the fearful responsibility of making a decision. He called a Council 
of War. The majority declared against tighting, and Clive declared his 
concurrence with the majority. Long afterwards, he said, that he had 
never called but 1 Council of War, and that, if he had taken the advice 
of that Council, the British would never have been masters of Bengal." 
Elsewhere, in ccmnexion with this topic, after designating Coote, as 
*' conspicuous among the founders of the British emjjire in the east," 
Lord Macaulay, indeed, admits, of the Irish officer, "at the Council of 
War, which jireceded the battle of Plassey, he earnestly recommended, 
in opposition to the majority, that daring cour.-^e, which, after some 
opposition, was adopted, and which was crowned with such splendid 
success." But, for a fuller or more satisfactory idea of this memorable 
consultation, we are indebted to the historians Orme and Malcolm; 
authorities, unobjectionable in what they admit with respect to Clive, as 
hoth friendly to him. According to their narratives, Clive, nnder the 
alarming circumstances above described, called a Council of War to 
decide — Whether, in their situation, it would, without further assistance, 
or merely on their own bottom, be prudent to attack the Nabob of 
Bengal, or whether they .should wait, until joined by some extra native 
aid % Although it is a proverbial saying, that a Council of War rarely 
fights, being generally summoned only when a Commander is at his 
■wit's end, such appears to have been Clive"s nervousness at the ]nos|)ect 
of attacking the Nabob, and his proportionate anxiety to secure, as it 
■were, a decision, in correspondence with his feelings, from the Council, 
that he eA-en went out of the customary course, observed at such assem- 
blie.s, of taking the opinion of the youngest officer first, and ascending, 

•The Eev. Chidley Coote, D.D., was married in 1702, and died in 1730; and 
his widow survived liim till 17C3. when she died at Cork. On their gallant and 
accomplished son E_vre, compare Lodge's Peerage of Ireland, under Coote, Earl of 
Mountrath, and Evans, Lord Carbery, with the biographical sketches of the 
(General m the East India Military Calendar, Eyau's Worthies of Ireland, kc. 
Fcrrar thus refers to Ash-Hill, in 1787— "The ruins of Kilmallock are well con- 
trasted V)y Ash-Hiil, the seat of Chidley Coote, Esq., which joins the town, and 
■where there is an excellent shrubbery, with a well-improved demesne. " 



IN THE SERVICE OP FRANCE. 537 

in due grfirlation, from tli.-it to tlie Preaident's ; he liimsclf, on flie 
coiitr.iiy, giving his own opinion, as against attacking, firat, or in order 
to indicate what he wished tlie votes i)\' others to be, and then descending 
to the opinion of tlie h)west, according to snccession of rank. Of tlie 
Council, as might he expected, a niajoiity, or 9, inclusive of, and headed 
liV, himself, decided against ])roceeding to engage. But the 7 others, 
inclusive of, and headed by, Major Coote, were of an ojiposite ojiinion; 
tiie Majoi', as spokesman of the glori(.us minority, arguing— that such a 
delay, to act in presence of the enemy, wonhl aV)ate the existing ardour 
and confidence of success in the soldiery, v/hicli it wonhl Ix; difficult to 
T-estore — tliat, through such a delay, the enemy might be both ])hysicaJly 
and morally strengthened, Vjy a French reinforcement — that the Englisli 
force could likewise be surrounded, its communication with Calcutta cut 
f)ff', and thus as effectually ruined by delay, as by the loss of a battle — 
and, therefore, that an immediate advance, to decide the contest, should 
be resolved on, or an immediate return to Calcutta. The ccmsequence 
was, that, though Clive was necessarily successful in the Council of Wai-, 
as seconded by the majority of votes, he, after the assembly brcjke up, 
reconsideied the matter, and became so convinced of the erroneous 
course he had advocated, and had led others to advocate — or to remain 
where they were, instead of pushing forward to fight -that his better 
sense came round to, and acted ujion, the opinion of Coote, in issuing 
orders to pass the river next morning ; by wiiich movement, and its 
result, in the overthrow of the enemy, he reaped tlie fruits of superior 
advice to his own. The conduct of Coote in the council was duly 
supported by him in the field, or in the part he took at the ensuing 
discomfiture of the Nabob, which laid the foundation of the British 
Empire in India. To the comparative merits of Coote and of Clive on 
this important occasion, the remark of the Roman Greneral in Livy 
would consequently apply, " that he is the first man, in ])oint of abilities, 
who of himself forms good counsels ; that the next is he, who submits 
to good advice." And the application of the remark is the more 
requisite as regards Clive, since he showed himself so unfair, in his 
snb.sequent parliamentary evidence on this subject, that he emleavoured 
to shift fVom him^el/' to others every connexion with the very decisicm, 
which he had done his utmost to procure from the/ii. " This," he said, 
'' was the only Council of War that ever I held ; and, if I had abided by 
that Council, it would have been the ruin of the East India Company ! " 
But was it not he who had influenced the majority of the Council tt> 
come to the decision they did 1 — 

" In all you speak, let trutli and candour shine." — Pope. 

Such, in the person of Coote, was the able adversary whom Lally had 
now to meet, under most unequal circumstances; or with every advan- 
tage on the side of that adversary, in the way of honest political support, 
and superior military and naval resources, for the campaign ujion which 
he was to enter. 

The English Governor and Council at Madras, to profit by the weak- 
ness of the French in the north, and thei-eby prevent them making any 
further use of their strength in the south, assembled, liy November 25th, 
at Conjeveram, a superior force, of 1700 Europeans, including cavalry, 
3000 Blacks, and 15 ytieces of artillery, with which Coote, that day, took 
the field. Having: led the French to think he designed attackinjr A root 



538 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

first, althongli his real olject was to reduce Wandewash, he appeared 
before, and raised his batteries against, the latter, on the 27th, and 
efFeeted a breach by tlie 30th ; when the native Kellidar, or Governor 
of the Fort, who had 500 men, being desirous of submitting on terms 
advantageous to liiinself, and the French contingent there consisting of 
but 68 Europeans and 100 Sepoys, a surrender took place. Tiie p'in- 
cipal French force at Chittapet being too small to intercept Coote, he 
next, or on December 3rd, invested Carangoly; by the Gth and 7th, 
opened fire from 2 batteries, likewise carrying on his approaches; and, 
on the 10th, being near the crest of the glacis, and having dismounted 
all the guns of the garrisovi but 4, the place was given up by the Irisli 
officer in command there, named O'Kennelly,* of the Regiment of Lally; 
to whom, owing to his gallant defence, as well as a wish to gain time, 
and the fear of incui-ring the disgrace of a repulse, almost ail that wa% 
asked, or favourable terms, were granted. The loss of Arcot, and of 
such an important territory as would accompany it, being n(.w but too 
obviously at hand, if Coote's career could not be checked, Lally recalled 
in due haste the laiger portion of his ti-oops from about Seringham in 
the south ; to which, as alread}' observed, he woidd not have detached 
them fniui the rest, could he have maintained the whole together in the 
north; oi- if his onh/ hope of any relief from his great distress for money 
had not aiisen from the prosjiect of such an amount of revenue as might 
be drawn (Iree of oiKcial ])eculation) from the south. The tnjops thus 
recalled, otheis to arrive under Bnssy, at Arcot, and those hitherto 
obliged to keep on the defensive about Chittapet, vvonld form as many as 
could be assembled, under the General himself, to deal with Coote; and 
that olllcei's further advance was, from the I'ltli, most effectively 
diverted, tlirough a cloud of pi-edatory horse, principally Mahrattas, 
engaged by the French to harass him. Of those mounted ravagei's, 
"which," writes Coote himself, "put me to the greatest distress for 
want of provisions, as they plundered all the country," another British 
authorit}' more fully informs us, how every sort of jjillage and devasta- 
tion was extended, even on the north, or British side of the Faliar, to 
within 20 miles of Madras itself; and how thousands of cattle were 
swept away, which the enemy "sold to the 1st purchaser at 7 or 8 for a 
rupee, and then made them the booty of the next excni-su)n. With fJtis 
experience, the inhabitants would no longer redeem them; after which 
no submissions exempted themselves fi-om the sword ; and all abandoned' 
the villages and open country, to seek shelter in the woods, forts, and 
hills, nearest their reach. Not a man ventured himself, or his bullock, 
with a bag of I'ice, to the camp, which, for 3 days, were totally deprived 
of this staple food." That destructive diversion by the hostile cavalry, 
the falling of such heavy rains, for a couple of days, as no tents could 
resist, ami a consequent necessity of affording his men some shelter and 
repose, compelled Coote, on the 19th, to canton his ai'ray in the Fort of 
Covrepaid'C, and the adjoining villages; and, having also to consult with 
the Presidency at Madras, he was not able to take the field again liefmo 
the 2Gth, when he removed 6 nules from Covrei)auk to Chinasiuiundrum, 
as presenting the site for "a very advantageous encampment." By that 

• The O'Keniiellys were of the best old Ulster, or Irian, origin. Tlie Lieu- 
teiiaiit-C()lor,el liecanie a Rrioadicr in 17(i9, and died jn-evioiis to ]77->. His wife, 
a MadeuKiiselle yusaii Darcy, is mentioned, as, in consideration of his services, 
pensioned, in J780. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 539 

timf^, tV,* ii/creased Frencli force, intended to act under Lally, with 
Bn<-:y ?.-! next in command, was collected abont Arcot, wliei-e Lally 
liiniself arrived on the following day. In this condition, or encamped 
*^ut 5 miles fi'om each other, though neither, for sutRcient reasons, as yeb 
.•eady to pnsh matters to a decision, the 2 armies remained to the en;l 
of the month, and of the year 1759. 

On consulting with Bussy respecting the best plan of action to be 
adopted against Coote, the leading measnre jidvocated by Lnlly was the 
recapture of Wandewush. " Bussy, on the other hand, was of oy)inion. as 
the French were superior in cavalry, which would render it (hingerou.s 
for the English to hazard a battle, except in circumstances of advantage, 
that they should avail themselves of this superiority, by acting upon the 
comnnniications of the English, which would soon compel them either 
to fight at a disadvantage, or retire for subsistence to Madras: wheiea.s, 
if they besieged Wandewash, the English would have 2 important 
advantages : one, that of fighting with onl}' a part of the French army, 
while another ])art was engaged in the siege; the other, that of choos- 
ing the advantage of the ground, from the obligation of the French to 
cover the besiegers. At the same time, the motives of Lally were far 
from groundle.ss. The mental state of the soldiei's required some bril- 
liant exploit, to raise theiri to the temper of animated* action. He was 
de[)rived of all means of kee])ing the ai'my for am/ consideraV)le time in 
the field. By seizing the P^nglish magazines, he counted upon retarding, 
for several days, tlieir march to the relief of Wandewash ; and, as the 
English had breached the Foit, and taken it in 48 hours, he counted, and 
not unreasonably, upon rendei-ing liiraself master of the place, before the 
English could arrive." Accordingly, from Jannai-y 9th, artfully manoeuv- 
ring in such a manner as drew Coote from Chinasimundium, and 
caused him to resort to other ])recautions as in appreliension for the 
innnediate safety of Wandewash, Lally, by the 12th, overreached him in 
arriving at Conjeveram, where, though disappointed in the expectation 
of finding magazines of I'ice for the English, the French met with, and 
carried off, 2000 bullocks, and other booty, on their march for Trivatore; 
and, the 14th, with a select division of European and Asiatic troo|)s, and 
4 field-guns, the General proceeded thence for Wandewash ; leaving 
Bussy \sith the main body at Trivatore, as the best, or most central 
point, from which the division to attack Wandewash might be joined, 
it the English should march after it; or might be oppf)sed and intei-- 
rnpted, should they menace Arcot, as a set-off against; or divei-sion 
from, the siege of AVandewash. After I'eaching that ])lace, the same 
day, Lally lost no time in his arrangements to carry the pettah, or 
town, previous to assailing the Fort. The soutliern quarter, garrisoned 
with 330 men, (or 30 Euro])eans and 300 Sepoys,) by the Governor, 
Ca))tain Sherlock, was to l)e assaulted, at 3 in the morning, by all the 
Generafs infantry, in 2 divisions. Of these, the infeiior, or that whose 
Europeans consisted of the Marines, already mentioned as designated by 
Lally " the scum of the sea," was to act against the western rampart, 
merely as a diversion to the real attack in the opposite direction, "where 
the Europeans were of Lally's i-egiment," and to be " led by himself." 
Both divisions, being perceived by the garrison ere they could reach the 
foot of the wall, were suitably opposed, when the Marines venfiei the 
bad opinion which had been expressed of them, in breaking, and running 
round to the General's division; by which, being mistaken, in the dark- 



540 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

Tiess and confusion, for enemies, they were not undeservedly treated as 
such, until the error was detected. This disaster, through tlie miscon- 
duct of tlie Marines, caused nothiufj more to be attempted till 8 next 
inorniu"'. The whole of the infantry liaving then to advance, with 
2 field-pieces at their head, against the south side, in 1 column, were 
exyiosed to such a fire, that the front of the column halted, without 
orders. Upon which, Lally rode up, got ofi" his horse, called for volun- 
teers, rushed to tlie ditch, was himself the 1st man to mount the wall, 
sword in hand, after 3 of the 7 volunteers who followed him had fallen 
about him; and his entire column, pouring into the town, obliged tlie 
ganison to escape through the streets into the Fort. 

Had siiificient ex})edition been used in forwarding the heavy guns 
requisite for battering the Fort, and, could the eiigineers have aftei-vvarda. 
been gotten to dispense with professional technicality, or pedantry, by 
hastening to direct a proper fire against the ))lace, Lally \s design of reduc- 
ing it woidd seemingly have been accomplished, in ample time to antici- 
])ate C'onte's arrival, for Sherlock's relief Unfortdnately, the siege 
artillery from Valdore took several d;iys to come up, or until the 2()th, 
when tJie General ordered the engineers, says Mill, "to batter in breach, 
with 3 cannon, upon 1 of the toweis of the Fort, which was only pro- 
tected by the fire of a single piece, and which, 5 weeks before, the 
English, with inferior means, liad breached in 48 Iiours. But tlie 
engineers insisted ujjon erecting a batteiy, in exact conformity with the 
rules of the .schools;" so that even "the soldiers, in derision, asked. If 
they were going to attack the foi-titications of Luxembnrgh ? " And 
well might the soldiers have thus expressed themselves, since, adds 
Orme of Lally, "he had reason to expect greater industry and s[jirit in 
the artilleiy, officers, and engineers, who might have breached the ])]ace 
in ha// the time." These circumstances enabled Sherlock to hold the 
Fort, until Coote could arrive to rai.se the siege ; for which j)urpo.se. he 
appeared, with his army, on the morning of the 22nd, in view of the 
French camp. His approaches were so skilfully directed, that, after 
pro'-eeding along the foot of a mountain, until op])osite the Fort of 
Wandewash, and then making a conversion of his lines to the right, his 
army " would immediately be formed in the strongest of situations ; 
their right protected by the fire of the Fort; their left by the im])iis.salilo 
ground under the mountain, and with the certainty of throwing any 
number of troop.s. without opposition, into the Fort ; who, sallying with 
the garrison to the other side, might easily drive the French from their 
Ijatteries in the town; from whence, the whole of the English army 
might likewise advance against the French camp, with the choice of 
attacking it either on the flank, or in the i-ear; where the main defences, 
which had been prepared in the front of their encampment, or arose 
from the usual dispositions on this side, would become entii-ely u.seless." * 
Lally no sooner saw this march commenced along the bottom of tlie 
mountain, than equally detecting the drift of Coote's operation, and 
re.solved upon interru))ting it, he left 150 of his Europeans and 300 of 
his Sepoys to man the siege-batteries, and attend to Captain Sherlock in 
the Fort; drawing off the rest of his troops, disposable for action, to the 
ground in front of his lines, or the direction in which he designed tt 
engage the enemy. 

* In tliis quotation from Orme, the 2 itaUcizel words are adaptive substitutiou 
for " enemy " aud " jpettah," in the original. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE, 



.0-1 1 



The comparative strength of the French and EuL^lish, for the ensuing 
battle of Waudevvush, lias been computed as ioUow.s : — - 



French. 

Mon. 

Foot 9i)0t^ 

Marines, 300 j" 

Horse, 150 

Europeans, . . . 1350 

Sepoys, 1800 



l.'OO 



Total, 



3150 



Artillery, 1 (3 pieces. 



Enoltsh. 

Men. 
Eiir'-peans, of whom 1()20 

foot, and 80 horse, . . 170Q 

Sepoys, 2250 ) .^oa 

Black horse, 1250 ) "^'^" 

Total 5200 

Artillery, 15 pieces." 



From aliout 7 to lietween 11 and 12 o'clock, there was much prelim- 
iiiai-y nuuiaMivring ami skirmishing. The cannonade th'^n became 
t!inarter, as both sides advanced to the more serious business of the 
day. When the English, towards 12 o'clock, were coiwiug forward, 
Lally, from his right, thought he could perceive such an unsteadiness 
upon the hostile left, which he attributed to the effect of his artillery, 
■that he yiroposed, by a wide and dashing sweep over the plain, to 
pet round to, and fall upon, the horse of the English, in the rear, or 
3rd line. He acc<u-dingly proceeded to his European cavalry, to turn, 
at their head, the ap|iarently-favourable moment to account. The mis- 
conduct, however, which so far justified his subsequent complaint, " that 
his troo|)s did their duty ill in this action," commenced here. ''The 
Ciivalry refused to march. The General suspended the commanding 
officer, and ordered the 2nd Captain to take the command. He, also, 
di.sobeyed. Lally addressed himself to the men ; and a Cornet crying 
out, that it was a shame to desert their General in the day of battle, the 
officer, who commanded upon the left, (iffered to ])ut the troop in 
motion." Lally was quite correct, as to the wavering whi(;h existed in 
the quarter he hastened to assail ; 9-lUths of C-oote's cavalry thiMe, or 
the Black horse, retiring in confusion, on witnessing the French advance; 
a body of Sepoys, who were to check that advance by a Hanking mus- 
ketry, displaying but too little resolution to do so ; and only tin; 80 
European horse of the English, and 2 guns, under C<q)tain Barkci-, 

* I give the French, according to Lally's own enumeration of them, as cite 1 
V)y Mill, with the exceptidu of their artillery in the action, which, in default of 
any statement on that head by Lally, (as so cited,) I euumcra c from Oraie. I 
give the English according to Coote's total of their men and guns ; ineroly ailopt- 
iiig the proi)ortions of their European and Black horse from Orme. It was only 
tlie Europeans, who were of consequence, on either side, as oL/.iers, in this acrioii; 
and, without dwelling upon the various causes which existed for Cooto's Euro- 
peans having been much superior in -moralf, discipline, and condition to Lady's, 
L'oote, as having 1700, had a considerable arlvaubage over Lally, with 13")() 
Europeans nominally, though, in etfect, only his 9l'0 regular infantry, and 150 
cavaliy, or merely 1050 ; the 300 Marines having shown theuiselves not to l^e 
relied on as soldlfrs. The com|iarative numbers of the 3 regular battalions or 
regiments of infantry in each army, between whom this engagement was fought 
and decided, would, on an average, be thus :~FkI';nch : Lorrain's, C(unpaiiy's, 
L.illy's, each 300, or total 900. Enolish: Coote's, Company's, Draper's, eac'i 
5-ti). or total 1620. Even should we admit the 300 M.irines to have beea 
"all right," Lally would still have only 1_'0;) infantry to L'oote s 1G20, aad the 
latter still be, by upwards of a 4th, the more numerous. Neither Orme, nor 
Mill, would ai)iiear to have consulted tlie ile-|>.itcli of Coo'f, to w'loso alleged 
totals of lu8 own men and guns, should we iioi adliere, " coulc c^ui couie ^ " 



,5-12 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIG.ADES 

keeping tlieir ground. Bnt, in less than a miiinte, upon 10 or 15 of 
tlie approaching men and liorses being hronglit down by the fire of 
BaikeVs guns, the rest of the French cavalry tell into disorder and panic, 
wheeled about, and went otF at fnll gallop, followed by the small number 
of the Anglo-Enropean horse who had sto<id firm with Barker, as well 
as by many of the Black horse, who, when they only had to pursue, 
returned to ilislinguitih themselves in that branch of the service;* 
both following the routed French about a mile, or as far as the rear of 
their camp. 

Lally, necessarilv ohliged to retire from the English cavalry wdien thus 
totally or disgracefully abandoned by his own, joined the nearest portion 
of his line of infantry, or the Regiment of Lori-ain. This cor])s, as well 
as the rest, "he found suffering, and with much im])atience, fi'om the 
English cannonade : his own impetuosity concurred with their eagerness , 
to be led to immediate decision, and he gave the order to advance." 
From the nature of the ground, and corresponding arrangement of the 
troops on both sides, the hostile lines did not come within musketry- 
reach till about 1 o'clock. Coote was with his own regiment, oy)posite 
that of Lorrain. Coote's " only fired twice, when Lorrain formed in a 
column 12 in froTit. The operation is simple, and was expeditious. 
Colonel Coote made no change in the disjtosition of his regiment, but 
ordered the whole to reserve their next fire; which Lorrain, coming on 
almost at a nni. received at the distance of oO yards in their front, and 
on both their flanks. It fell heavy, and brought down many, but did 
not stop the column. In an instant, the 2 regiments were mingled at 
the })ush of bayonet. Those of Coote's, opposite the front of the 
columti, were immediately Viorne down ; but the rest, far the greatest 
part, fell on the flanks, when every man fought only for himself; and, in 
a minute, the ground was spread with dead and wounded; and Lorrain, 
having just befoi-e suffered from the reserved fire of Coote's, broke, and 
ran in disorder to regain the cam]). Colonel Coote ordered his regiment 
to be restored to order before they pursued, and rode himself to see the 
state of the i-est of the liiu'." 

The 2 centres, consisting of the foi'ces of the 2 E;)st India Companies, 
meantinu' keeping up merely a di.stant though smart fire, as if both 
equally inclined to leave closer ojierations to the regular troops elsewhere, 
and mattei-s now piogressing to a nioie shar])and decisive course between 
the English right antl the French left, in which quarters the Regiment 
of Draj)er and the Regiment of Lally were opposed to each other, Coote 
hastened up to direct the movements of Draper's corps, as Lnlly, after 
the defeat of the Regiment of Lorrain, did to join and manoeuvre his own 
regiment. Here, too, however, 

" Fortmie, that, with malicious joy, 
Does niau, lier slave, oppress, ' 

and, 

" Prond of her office to destroy. 
Is seldom pleas'd to bless,'' 

■was still adverse to Lally. His regiment had been well posted, pro- 

* As the wallaiit Spartan Brasidas observes, in Thncydides, of his barbaric opjio- 
nents " yiuli as will <;ive ground, and tly before tliciu, they pursue with eager- 
ness: and are excellently brave, wben there is no resistance." Or, as another 
writer would say of such mldkrxhii,, it was "yielding to the intre]iid, intrepid to 
tlie yielding ! " See, likewise, the conduct of the English cavalry, at Cuhodeu. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 543 

tected by a retrencherl tank, in which was another European corps of 300 
men. or that of the Marines with 4 tieid-pieces ; at a 2ud tank, to tlieir 
rear, was a farther sup|)ort of several hundred Sepoys, that had been 
eno'nged in the French cause by Bussy; and a still larger reserve 
of the like native mercenaries were ranged behind a ridge, which ex- 
tended along the front of the camp in that quarter. But, as Coote 
and Lally, after their late infantry-contest elsewhere, were coming to 
take in "hand a similar one here, a shot, from 1 of the field-piecea 
attached to the Regiment of Draper, striking an ammunition-waggon, at 
tlie retrenched tank, next to the Regiment of Lally, where the 300 
Marines were stationed, catised a disastrous explosion, by which 80 men 
with their officer, a 'Knight of Malta, were either killed, or, for the 
most part, mortally injured. " All who were near, and had escaped the 
danger, fled, in the 1st impulse of terror, out of the retrenchment, and 
ran to gain tiie camp by the rear of Lally's, and were joined, in the 
way, by the 4U0 Sepoys at the tank behind, who, altliongh they had 
sutiered nothing, likewise abandoned their post." 

Coote ther<-upon ordered, that, ere the enemy could recover from this 
confusion, Major Brereton, with the Regiment of Draper, should seize 
the retrenched tank ; from which they might gain the im])ortant advantage, 
of acting, under cover, against the flank of the Regiment of Lally. 
Bussy, however, who commanded the French on tins wing, pr-omptly 
rallying 50 or 60 fugitives, and adding to them 2 platoons fiom the 
Regiment of Lally, so far anticipated the occupation of the tank ; 
returning to l)ring up the rest of the regiment, foi' the maintenance of 
that post. Yet Brereton, advancing so rayudly as to suffer little from 
the fire of the Regiment of Lally in its divided and distracted conditiori, 
assaulted the i-etrenchment so im|)etuously on its left, that he carried it, 
after a volley of much execution from those within, by which he met his 
own death-wound. "The first of Draper's, who got into the retrench- 
ment, fired down, from the ])arapet, upon the guns on the lelt of Lally's, 
and drove the gunnei-s from them; whilr^t the rest, being nr.my more 
than required to maintain the . ]jost, formed, and shouhh'red under it, 
extending on the plain to the left, to prevent the Regiment of Lally, if 
attempting to recover the post, fi'om embracing it on this side. Bn.ssy 
wheeled the Regiment of Lally, and sent otf i)latoons from its left to 
regain the retrenchment, whilst the rest were opi)osed to the division of 
Draper's on the plain." These detached platoons from Lally's, naturally 
considering themselves not strong enough to recover the retrenched 
tank by an assault, acted with coni|)arative or proj)ortionate faintness, by 
only maintaining a skirmi-shing fire against those under cover, or so well 
protected, in that post. "The action likewise continued only with 
musketry, but warmly, between the 2 divisions on the ]ihiin, until the 
2 field-pieces attached to the right of Dra])er's, whicli they had left 
behind when marching to attack the retrenchment, wei-e brought to bear 
on the flank of Lally's, who had none to f)ppose them, on which their 
line began to waver, and mary were going off. Bussy, as the only 
chance of i-estoring this part of the battle, put himself at their head, 
intending to lead them to tiie push of bayonet, but had only advanced a 
little way when his horse was struck with a ball in the head, and, 
floundering at every step afterwards, he dismounted; during which the 
fire from Drapers had continued, of which 2 or 3 balls passed through 
his cioaths, and, when he alighted, only 2U of Lally's had kept neai- hint, 



544 HISTORY OF THE IKISH BRIGADES 

the rest had shrunk." He was consequently surrounded and made 
prisoner. As to Lall y, who, " after the rout of Lorrain. rode away to join 
his own regiment," he, " on the way, saw the explosion of the tumbril 
at the retrenched tank, the dispersion of the Marines at this post, and 
the flight of the Se])oys out of the tank behind. He was in this instant 
near, and intended to speak to, Bussy, but turned suddenly, aud ordered 
the Sepoys, stationeil along the ridge in front of the camp, to advance." 
Since " none obeyed," and, as most of them had been engaged by, and 
served under, his enemy, Bussy, he, not unnaturally, "suspected treachery, 
and, unable to controul the impulse of distraction, rode into the camp, to 
stop the fugitives of Lorrain." 

It was about 2 o'clock, when the whole of tlie French were . thus 
driven from tlie held, in the direction of their camp. Meantime, how- 
ever, the French cavalry had recovered from their ])anic and rout in the 
beginning of the action, by rall3-ing on the plain to the rear of their 
camp, keeping the English horse at bay there with various evolutions; 
and they now endeavoured to compensate, as far as possible, for tlieir 
recent misconduct, by their repentant gallantry, in covering the retreat. 
They, on seeing " the flight of Lorrain through the camp, animated witli 
a sense of national .honour, resolved to protect them, if, as might be 
expected, they should endeavour to escape still further, by gaining the 
plain. In this purpose, they united their squadrons, and drew up in the 
rear of the camp, and in face of the English cavalry; of whom the Black 
horse, awed by their resolution, dared not, and the Europ,ean were too 
few, to cbarge them. This unexpected succour probabh' pi-evented the 
vitter dis])ersion of the French army. There were, in the rear of the 
cam]), 2 tield-pieces, with their tumbrils of ammunition; at which, the 
fugitives of Lorrain, encouraged by the appearance of the cavalry, stopped, 
and yoked them. These protections restored confidence to Lally's and 
the India battalion, as they arrived, likewi.se beaten from the field, 
although not in rout, as Lorrain's before.* They set fire to the tents 
and dangerous stores near them, and the whole filed oflT into the plain, 
in much better order than their officers expected. The 3 field-]iieces 
kept in the rear of the line of infantry, aud behind them moved the 
cavalry." Proceeding westward, towards the Fort of Wandewash, they 
joined the troops who had rtmained at the batteries there, which were 
ali:indoned, with all the stores and heavier baggage; the garrison of the 
Fort ('tiering no interruption to the retreat. The lighter baggage, and 
a nundier of wounded, were saved, or brought away, bj' Lally. •' Coote 
^ent repeated order.s to his cavalry, to harass and impede the retreat of 
tiie Fiench line. They followed them 5 miles, until 5 in the afternoon, 
but the Blaek liorsc could not be brought up within reach of the carliine.s 
of the French cavalry, and much let^s of their field-pieces. 'J he brunt 
of the day jiassed intirely between the Europeans of both armies; the 
Black troo])s of neither had any part in it. after the cannonade coiu- 
nienced." The French, with tents, stores, and baggage, as above men- 
tioned, and 11 tumbrils of ammunition, lo.st, between the field, the camp, 
and before tlie Foit of Wandewash, from 22 to 24: pieces of liglit or 
heavy artillery, and ajipear to have certainly had 433 killed, wounded, 
or caj>tured, exclusive of a further diminution unascertained, but that 

* The words, "altliough vot in roitt, as Lorrain's before," are areqnisite aiiditii-v,, 
from oiioilicr jjortion of Oi-me's narrative, to tha sentence ending in tLe original, 
at the word '"lield." 



IN THE SKUV.'CE OF Fr.ANCE. 5-15 

wiinlfl malce tLeir entire deficit by tlie contest, perlmps, 600 men* 
Among iL'/se tajcen prisoners, were LientetiauL-Colonel Mnrpliy,|- 2 
Ci)pt;iins, und 2 Lieutenants of the Ee_2;iinent of l.ally. 'J'he En^^llsli 
killed and wounded were, of Coote's, 53; the Company's. 41); Draper's, 
as engaged witli Lally's, most, or 89; Eniopeau horse and artillery, G, 
Sepoys and Black horse, 70; total, 2G7. 

" Except the battle of Plassey,| followed by the revohition in Bengnl," 
remarks the contenipoi'aiy Annual Register, " this action was the most 
considerable, in its consequences, of any in which our troops had ever 
been engaged in India. This was fought in ]»ait against European 
troops, headed by an able General. The disjjositioiis for the battle, and 
the conduct of Colonel Coote in the engagement, merit every honour." § 
And Coote's European troops were worthy of liim as a Commander. 
" During the whole engagement," he writes, "and ever since I have had 
the honour of commanding the army, the officers and men have shown 
the greatest spirit ; nor can I say too much for the behaviour of the 
artillery." Very diiferently here from. Coote was Lally circumstanced, 
with a force, whose available, or European portion, was the smaller in 
number, comy)ared with its opponents; in 1 respect, or, at least, a.s 
regards the Marines, verj' inferior in quality; and which was otherwiso 
found too deficient in its conduct, as might be expected from the various 
bad effects on discipline, or obedience, of long irregularity of j)ay, accom- 

• These details respecting Lally's lo.«s— inclusive of 73 men wounded iu the 
action, caud suhseqnentiy fonnd at Chittapet — are taken from Orme, as I have iiofc 
seen any Fi-£iich data on the subject. 

t The sejU of O'lMurchiidha, prononr.ced O'Murraglioo, at first Anglicized 
OMmclide, and finally Murphy, were likewise designated Hy-Felnny, or descen- 
dants of Felisny ; from their progenitor, a son of the celebraied Enna Kinsellai;Ii, 
liing of Laigliin, or Leinster, c(jutemporary of St. Patrick, in the 5tU century. 
The territory of the sept consisted of the Murroos, or Barony of Ballaghkeen, m 
the County of Wex.ord; the seat of the Chieftains being in the locality now called 
Castle-Eliis, where, in 1G34, Conall O'Murchudlia, the head of the race, died, and 
was interred ; and, till within the present century, a resjieetable branch still 
jjossessed a cnnsiderable estate at Oulartleigh. To be a Murphy is to be prover- 
bially associated, at home and abi'oad, with old Irish or Milesian extraction, even 
withdut the prctix of 0' ; "Don Patricio Muiphy, the stewai-d of the Duke of 
Wellington's estate in Sjiain, being," writes Dr. O'Donovan. in IStU, "the only 
man living, who retains the 0' in this name." During the War of the Eevolutiou 
in fieland, the Murphys were re]iresented in the Jacohite army among Hamdtou'.s, 
Kenniare s, Tyrone's, fellevv's, Ivilnial lock's, and Hunsdon's infantry, by several 
officers, from the raidc of Major to that of Lieutenant ; and 7 of the name, iu 
Wexford alone, besides many more in other Counties, arc to be seen in the attain- 
ders of the Jacobite loyalists, by the Urange revolutionists. From the sailiu'g of 
the Irish forces for France, after the Treaty of Limerick, in lO'Jl, to the reign of 
Louis XVf. , there were various Murjiliys, also, from the rank of Major to that of 
Lieutciiaut, in the Lish Eegimeiits of Charlemont, ('lancarty, Limerick, Fitz-ljlerald, 
G;dmoy, Dillon, and Clare, besides those in Fn'iich regiments ; tlie Lieutenant- 
Colonel of the Pegiment of Lalij' having been, so far, the highest iu rank of his 
name. 

J Corrected from the misprint of " Paissy." 

§ How iulerior in point of millarij merit seems the success of Clive at Plassey over 
the miserable Surajah Dowla, underminetl Ijy treadiery, an<l at the hearl, rather 
than iu command of, a woitliless ai.d distracted Asiatic rabble, to the success of 
Coote at Wandewash against Lally, with a less numerous, indeed, yet a European 
force, and in a regular engagement, unattended by any hostile ]i!ott!ng with thosu 
about him, to iii.sure Ids defeat ! Hence Clive's busiuei-s at Plassey cost him liut ;2 
men killed or v.ounded ! Pe-'ides, e»cu ;is reganls fhat affair of Plas?ey, was not 
the advai;ce, to ligfit there «t all, accoraiii.; l,.^ Coolt'n origiual opuuou, in ujiposi- 
tion iv Clive s? 

o - 
^ a 



546 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

pariied witli snfTering and disconti-nt in prnjiortion ; and the latter 
feeling sjiecially aggravated to h s prejudice, by the nnscrnpulous calialri 
und calumnies of those dishonest and malignant officials, wlioni he would 
not gratify in their filthy famine for fiscal frauds. Nor can the unto- 
ward residt of the "chance shot" be forgotten as regards the explosion 
on Lally's left, where, but for that casualty, and its destructive and 
disorganizing consequences, there would ai)pear to have been the best 
prospect of re])elling the enemy. Still, amid so many disadvantages as 
those with which Lally had to contend, he made a good retreat, in 
which, and the engagement, he behaved in such a mariner, that all the 
officers and soldiers in the King's service, as contrasted witli those in 
the Compariy's, or the partizan Battalion of India, became indignant at 
the vile intrigues and falsehoods, that proved so far injurious to the 
charactoi- and authority of their Commander, as not to have been withftut 
influence in contributing to the loss of the day. Tliis just indignation 
these brave men accordingly manifested soon after at Vahlore, in flocking 
around Lally; and exclaiming, with reference to the infamous arts of 
})eculating persecution that marked him out for its victim — " Do not 
be discouraged. General! Thej/ have caused yoti to lose the baft/.e, but 
you have gained the army. Thfi/ have contrived that you should, fall., 
but roe will all support you !" On the whole, in this affair of "diamond 
<put diamond " between Coote and Lally, as each connected with Ireland, 
it may be fairly observed, that if the one was victorious with honour, the 
other was unsucce.ssful without dishonour ; and it may be likewise regretted 
by the country, on which each reflected such a lustre, that either should 
have been opj^osed to the other, under a different standard, instead of 
V>otli, with united invincibility, rather resembling Achilles and Patroclus, 
in the happier days, when 

"Thuii' swords kept time, and coiiqiici''d side by side." 

Pope's Homkk, lli;ul, xviii., 401, 402. 

The axiom that "knowledge is power" cannot be better exetn|)lified 
than by a contrast of what Cot)te did uot do after his success at Wande- 
wash with what he might have done, but for his ignorance of how very 
badly tlie Frencli were situated. Had he immediately marched to Pondi- 
cherry. he could, as we learn from Lally, have decidel the contest between 
the 2 Com])anies, by making himself master of that meti-opolis within 8 
days ! Notwithstanding the repeated letters, entreaties, orders, and 
menaces, from Lally to the Governor during 2 years, to collect, at all 
events, a su])ply of rice there, so far had that functionary been from even 
commencing the establishment of a single magazine of the kind, that, it is 
Kaid, "il n'y avoit pas nn grain de ris dans la place!" But the English, 
having had no sus{)ici()n of the existence of a state of things which would 
have enabled them to give a wound at once so rapid and so mortal to their 
enemy, only proceeded to deprive that enemy of his limbs befn-e striking 
at his head, when, by striking, as they nn'ght have struck, immediately 
and effi'ctively at his head, the limbs would have fallen as a matter of 
course. Coote's attention was thus directed to a reduction of the sub- 
ordinate places subject to the French, previous to any attack upon their 
metropolis. Lally meanwhile withdrew his troops successively by Chit- 
tapet and Gingee toValdore, in order ''to prevent the English from taking 
post between them and Pondiclierry, and to protect the districts of the 
south, from which alone provisions could be obtained. The diillculties of 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCK. 547 

Lally, which," continues in\' ho^itile authority, " had so long heen great, 
were now approaching to extremity. The army was absohitely without 
equipments, stores, and provisinns, and he was destitute of resources to 
supply them. He repaired to Pondicheiry to demand assistance, wliich 
he would not believe that the Governor aTid Council were unable to afford. * 
Amply justified, as he considered himself to be, in this impression, anct 
jiroportionably provoked at their refusal to aid him, " he represented 
tliem, as embezzlers, and peculatoi's." in reply, this "knot of I'ogues," 
with the audacity of the robber, and the b:a.ss of the yjrostitute, abstained 
from no imputation of folly, dislionesty. and even "cowardice" (credifg 
posteri!) at his expense. The outrageous iiisuboi'dinatiim of those insolent 
officials was aggravated by a mutiny of the cavalry, for want of pay; who, 
when drawn out, in order to retaliate upon the enemy for some devastating 
and ]ilundering hiu'se- incursions to the country about Pondicherry, 
whereliy 84 villages were burned, and 8,000 head of cattle swept away, 
not only refused to march with the General, but made dispositions as if 
they all designed to go over, like 27 who actually did so, to the English j 
several of the more violent or ruffianly troopers, on the night of February 
11th, being even heard to propose what they termed bringing the General 
to reason, by turning the guns iipon the i^amparts of the town against the 
Government House! On Lally's re])resentation of the depositions to this 
alarming effect to the Governor and Council, they did nothing better than 
propose expedients, which, as connected with a ])reservation of their 
authority in the administration of the revenues, implied, (as might be 
ex])ected,) that, whatever they or theirs might receive, he was to get no- 
thing ! To 2 of their agents, European inhabitants of the colony, a large 
tract of country was let (or rather umhrAei) for a rent of 1,450,000 
rupees a year; from whom, on^Iie plea of a diminution of receipts in 
proportion to recent losses of territory, the aiiswer, like the Couucil't^, 
was, that "they had no money;" wliereas a Malabar, to whoni Lally had 
previously rented the districts around Arcot, agreed to advance 50,000 
rupees in 10 days, and 80,000 more in 20 days, on condition that what 
was left of the districts let to the Council's 2 Europeans should be leased 
to him, with other territory, south of Pondicherry, for 1,750,000 rujoees 
a year. This offer (opposed, of course, by the Council, as keeping tlieir 
linger out of tlie financial pie.) was necessarily accepted by lially, since it 
would furnish him with some money, inst^ead of leaving him, at such a 
critical juncture, without any; though it may be added of this pecuniary 
aid so obtained from tiic Malabar capitalist, that it, like whatever assist- 
ance of the kind had been received in India, could enable the General to 
do little, if any thing, more, than "stop a ga]) for the present," or barely 
keep him afloat, as on a mere temporaiy plank, amid.st the ocean of 
difficulties which raged around him — Ids position, if any body's ever was^ 
being that, in Po[)e's words, of 

" A brave man .struggling in the storms of Fate ! " 

Between the ably-directed sujieriority of foreign power, and the unscru- 
pulous spirit of domestic disaffe::ti(ni. against which, like Hercules o])])Osed 
to the 2 serpents he had at once to contend, the only wonder is, Jtow he 
could so long conti'ive to resist the former, while in every way crossed 
and worried by the latter! 

Since the victory of the English at Wandewash, the pro^jvess of their 
ariiis by land, seconded by the presence of a considerable sc^uaehon ai act, 



518 UISTORY OF TIIK IRISH BRIGADES 

was SO great, that, previous to March ISth, tlieir advancecl milifary out- 
posts approaclied and .skirmished with those of the Fi-encli around Pondi- 
cherry; while the naval ai'uiainent showed itself oil" the jjort, causing the 
»)ore alarm, from the absence of any force of the kind there. In this 
t-nicrgency, Lally, to impose u[)on the English, by making them think the 
French troo])S to be many more than tliey really were, issued his orders 
for a general review, to be held, the 20th, outside the town, along the sea 
sliore, or in view of the hostile squadron; at which display, the regnl;u* 
soldiei-y were to be a))parently augmented by the [)resence of 1100 Euro- 
})r'ans; 600 of whom were invalids only fit for gai'rison-duty, and the 
remainder, 500 inhabitants of the place, including the civil servants of 
tlse Company, all in uniform, the material for which was supplied. Ou 
the <Uiv, however, fur this well-designed display, 250 of those refractory 
employes of the Company, heade<l by the Council, and armed with mu.skets, 
tumultuously entered the General's apartment; exclaiming, that they 
v«»ukl not obey his order, or any command to them, unless from the 
Coverni.)r established by the Company. The Members of the Council 
Avere ]),irticularly (iff^nsive to the General, in claiming an exemption froni 
l)fHring arms beyond the walls of the lown. This behaviour, at such a 
f!'i-is, was so disreputable, even in the eyes of the very Governor wiioiu 
tiiey had profe><sed themselves ready to obey, that he (to his credit!) offered, 
ir' they would mai'ch, to place himself at their head; upon which, the 
seditious quibblers, liai-s, and dastards "ate dirt," as the honest Turks 
would say, or shamelessly backed out of what they alleged they would do, 
by refusing to obey either the Governor, or the General! Lally conse- 
quently had the 2 spokesmen of the Council, and 2 others of the most 
] romiuent recusants, arrested, and punished those heads of the cabal 
«gainsfc him, by bani.shing them fi'om the town; pronouncing that sentence, 
hs was natural under the circumstances, in terms of cutting severity, nob 
to l)e forgotten ; and, having disarmed and dismi-ssed the rest of the crew, 
be ])ermitted them, as it were, in the language of the poet, or "with 
Iieartless breasts, and unperforuiing hands," to "leave to men the bus'ness 
of the war"*— thus granting them the ignominious or feminine exemptioa 
thaj claimed, while he proceeded to hoKl the review without them. 

"As we wax hot in faction, 
In liatlle we, wax cold ; 
Wherefore rnon Hghfc not, as they fought 

In the brave days of old." — Lui;u Macaulay. 

Judging likewise, and most excusably judging, from this laft act of 
opposition, in connexion with the results of his previous experience, that 
the Council's " measure of iniquity was now full to overflowing," as that 
of an insufferable gang, whose wicked or factious conduct had too gener- 
tilly or plainly emanated from no better principle, than a resolution of 
opposing him in every thing, he prohibited that body to a.ssemlile any 
more, without a special permission, or requisition from himself, to do so. 
It was surely hi<»h time, that a den of the kind should be closed, if the 
(ii.>order, of which it was so foul a source, was not to reign triumphant, 
and thus occasion the destruction of the colony much sooner, V\y the 
jirevalence of a scandalous anarchy within, than it could l)e accomplished 
I'V jdl tlie enemy's {)owa'r from without. During, indeed, but a few daya 
before, 2 other outbreaks of sedition, t>r mutiny, had been directed against 

* 6ee Pitt's version of the scornful speech of Nuuiumis, in Virgil's 9tb .(Eneid. 



IN THE SERVICE OF PRANCE. 543 

tlip General. In 1 of tliese outbreaks, according to Voltaire, a compnny 
O nveiiadiers armed with sabres, penetrated into the chamber of the 
(.(iieral, insolently demanding some money from him. Although alone, 
his replv was, to charge them sword in hand, and chase them out of the 
room. Yet this was the man, remai'ks Voltaire, of wjiom we have subso- 
qiiently seen it stated in print, that he was a coward! 

From January to May, the accpdsitions, at the expense of the French, 
by Coote and bis subordinate officers, supported by Admirals Cornish 
and Steevens, continued to draw the fatal circle closer and closer about 
Pondicherry; as including the I'eduction of Chittapet, Timery, Ai'c t, 
Dcvicotah, Seringham, Velore, Trinomalee, Fermacoil, Alamparvah^ 
Villaporum, Carical, Valdore, Chillambrum, Cuddalore, Verdachidam. 
In the operations connected with those conquests — which Lally, incapa- 
citated from keeping the field with a pro[)er force, and having no tleeti 
to aid him against an enemy so snpeiior on botli elements, was unable to 
interrupt — nothing appeals to have occurred with respect to the Irish, 
but at Arcot and Fermacoil. The former place, vvitli a garrison of 247 
Europeans, nearly as many Se])oys, 2'1 pieces of cannon, 4 mortars, 
jilenty of ammunition, and military stores, when not 3 of the defendei-s 
bad iallen, and 10 days befere a stoi-niing could have been risked, wan 
given uj), February 10th, to Coote by the Governor, designated by Orme 
as " the French otlicer, Ca))tain Hussey " — one, I slinnld think, of tho 
vlheiwise resjiectable Irish family of Anglo-Norman origin,* — who. how- 
ever, " extenuated the early surrender by the Cf.itainty of not being 
relieved," on account of the bad condition to which tlie French were 
reduced, by their recent defeat at Wandewasli. The defence of the 
latter pla-^e, or Fermacoil, was more creditable to a Milesian veterau 
attached to the Regiment of Lally, Colonel 0'Kennedy,t then lame of 

* The " Barun Huge de Hose" was among; Henry II. 's earliest Anglo-Xormana 
jilaiited ill Midhe, or Meath. 'J'liere that iiohleuuui olitained " large possessions,'' 
tir "all the hinds of Dies, which ScachUii held," othervv.se "the Barony of Deece, 
the ancient estate of J*Ielaghliii, or Alelscachliii." From the locality of Galtrim, 
Huge de Hose s successive senior representatives, under the ultimately corrupteil 
or anglicized name of "Hussey," have been known as Palatine " Barons of (jai- 
trini. ' The titular "Baron of Galtrim," in 1S6U, was "Edward Horatio Hu.-sey," 
grandson of John, likewise " Baron,' deceased in 18(j3, a Captain in the Austriau 
fccrvice, in which several Husseys have been officers. During tlie war of the 
lleviJution in Ireland, 3 Husseys sat as Members in King James's national Par- 
liament of 1GS9, at Dublin ; and, in the Jacobite army, there were Hussej s, from 
tlie rank of Ensign to that of Colonel, among the infantry Pegimeuts (if -Sir 
Maurice Eustace, of Lords Gormanstown and Louth, and of Mac Elligot. Variouij 
gentlemen of the name in Leiuster and Munster were likewise attainted by tho 
V\ ilhamites. M. de la Ponce specitie.s, among the otiicers of the Iri-rih Brigade, (} 
Hus.'^eys of the rank of Captain in the Eegimeuts of Clare, Berwick, and Dillon, 
'2 of wlioia were Chevaliers of St I/)uis. 

t Tlie O'Kenuedys were of Dalcassian origin, being descended from the brave 
Kennedy King of Thomond, or North Munster, deceased in 951, through his 
son, (and elder brother of tlie great Brien Boru) Dunchuan. The original 
Country of the O'Kennedys was Glenonira, coextensive with the Parish of Killo- 
kennedy, iir the County of Clare, whence tlie^' were afterwards generally driven 
ill the civil wars of Thomond; though, writes Dr. O'Donovan, in ISOtJ, "some of 
tlie race remained hehiiid. and their descendants are still e.xtant iu Glenomra, 
and its vicinity, in tlie condition of small farmers and cottiers. ' The clan t'lea 
settled to the east of the Shannon, in Tijiperary, or the district of Ornioud, 
anciently much more extensive than it is in modern times, or as merely com- 
jiiised in the 2 Baronies of Upper and Lower (^rmond. There the sept liecame 
pubd.ivided into 3 bnaiches, or these of Kennedy Finn the Fair, Don, the 
lii\,aii, and iiuadh, the lied. Their liead, the O'Keuuedy sometimes with aiore, 



650 HISTORY OF THE HUSH BRIGADES 

old wounds, and not long after obliged 1iy his failing sight to rotnrn to 
Europe; mIio, with a littie garrison of only about 145 men. of whom Ixit 
15 gunners were Eui'Opeans, did not surrender, March 5th, to Coote, 
until there was neither cannon nor musket anuiiunition to withstand the 
final assault about to be given, nor provisions left for more than 2 days; 
(\>ote himself, at a previous re])ulse thei'e, having been wounded in the 
knee.* An Irish otficer, on the other hand, of the Regiment of Laliy, 
luerely alluded to as such, or anonijiaoudy, and as "supposed to ha 
much in his favour," is noticed to have brouglit censure upon the 
Central iVom his enemies, as at fault, for not having advanced, with a 
Considerable reinforcement of men and st(n"es, to succour Permacoil, iti 
such an expeditious manner, that it miylit have been relieved. But we 
should know more of the circumstances of this " shoit-coming " attri- 
|ijuted to the anonymous Irish officer by the enemies of Lally, before 
admitting that officer to be censurable, on an imputation from so preju- 
diced a quartei". 

The English, by the commencement of May, had 10 sail of the line at 
sea, and were encamped under Coote oi)posite to the partly natural, 
j)artly artificial, outwork before Pondicherry, called the bound-hedge. 
Like that of other towns in India, it was formed of the strong prickly 
jsiirubs of the country, as a sufficient hairier against any sudden ])lun- 
dering incursion of irregular cavalry; it was also strengthened at 
different ])oints by redoubts ^ and included, besides Pondicherry, an area 
of nearly 7 squaie nnles about it. To the protection of that meti'ojjolis 
and little territory, with the principal force he still contrived to keep 
together, the attention of Lally was now directed as well as it could be, 
HUiidst the hostility of those whose contributions to the public d>'fence. 
were too little known beyond misrepresentations of Idni as the cause of 
evei'y reverse; while he more justly "retaliated with sarcasms on tlheir 
Sureness for the loss of their own peculations, out of the districts which 
he had been obliged to abandon ! " Continual supplies reaching, and 
DKUv iH'ing on the way to, the l)esiegers, "the early pait of May," wi'ite.s 
Dr. O'Callaghan, "was occupied in skirmishes and attacks on the French 
Oiitpdsts, in which, the Bi-itish being almost invariably successful, the 
besieged were driven, by the 20th, within the bound-hedge, and Coote 
ponunenced the regular investment of the place; whilst Lally found 
himself surrounded, and at bay, and shut up in the town with a deficient 
{supply of provision.s, and many useless non-combatants to be provided 
tor. In this extremity, deserted by those who ought to have su])ported 
jiim, and thwarted, opposed, and maligned by the Council and Officials 
\vithin the walls, he had turned his eyes everywhere around, seeking for 
the aid and alliance of the Indian Princes." Among them he m-uiaged 
to set on foot, with "the famous Hyder Ali, then rising into power iu 
the Mysore country," a treaty for the relief of Pondicherry. " These 

soTnetimes with less, power, according to the fortune of war, was known as a 
Prnice, Lord, or Chief of Ormond till the I'eign of Elizabeth. In the War of the 
devolution, the name appears among the infantry, horse, and dragoon otiicers of 
King James's army; and the Williamite outlawries exhibit due proscriptions of 
Kennedy i)ro]irietois, as Jacobite loyalists. To the Uegimeuts of Lee, U'iSrieu, 
CLu-e, Bulkeley, Dillon, Berwick, &c., in the Brigatle, the O'Kennedys supplied 
officers, including some Chevaliers of St. Louis. 

"(old el ( tfu," says Crme, "by constantly ex])osing his own person witli 
t.lip Sepi'ys, had br<uight them to sustaiu daugerous services, from which the 
luuiopeans were preserved.'' 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 551 

iiegocidtioDS were conducted with sncb secrecy and despatch, that they 
Were entirely concealed from the English till the 24th of May, when 
Cdote received intelligence of their success and completion, hy a letter 
from a correspondent within the walls of Pondicherry; informing him, 
tliat Lally was ahout to march, with. a strong detachmen't, to join Hyder 
Aii at Thiagur ; and, although the latter part of the rumour did not 
prove tine, yet, on the 7th of June, he was infoi-med, that the 1st divi- 
sion of the Mysore troops had actually ari-ived at Thiagur, on their 
mai-ch towards Pondicherry , within sight of which they arrived on the 
23rd, when an outpost engagement took place between them and tho 
English, in which both sides claimed the victory. On the 27th, tiie 
treaty between Hyder Ali and the French v.'as signed, and, next day, 
the Mysoreans left the camp, pi'omising soon to return, with augmented 
forces. Both armies, awaiting their arrival, remained inactive till the 
14th of July ; on which day, Coote, who had availed himself of the 
interruption of active operations to visit Madras, and consult with the 
Council, returned to the British can)p. On the 17th, Major Moore 
vas attacked, at Trivadi, by the My.'^ore forces, and, from their great 
superiority of numbers, was forced to give way, and retreat ; but, 
towards the end of the month, they received several checks from tho 
British, which, being repeated, on many occasions, in August, and the 
English ti'oops cutting off their convoys and foraging jwrties, food began 
to be veiy dear and scarce in their camj), and the Sepoys to desert. 
Lally did everything in his fiower to persuade them to remain ; but they 
were Orientals, and seeing that his star was on the wane, they withdrew 
in large bodies, or in small numbers, to escape the English cavalry; and, 
by the end of August, Lally was abandoned to his fate, and to his own 
resources, now very much impaired indeed." The English, on the other 
hand, were preparing to carry on the reduction of Pondicheny witli 
augmented vigour, by forcing their way beyond the bound-hedge and 
redoubts, on the land side; while, on the sea side, it was determined, 
tliat their fleet should ''press the dire blockade'' even throughout the 
monsoon season, "a thing never before attempted ! " Their aiuiy, at tho 
l)eginning of September, consisted of between 8000 and 9000 men, of 
whom between 2000 and 3000 were Europeans, and GOOO native foot 
or hoise; and their navy amounted to 17 sail of the line. 

"Lally," notes Mill, "had now, and it is no ordinary praise, during 
almost 8 months since the total discomfiture of his army at Wandewash, 
imposed upon the English so much respect, as deterred them from the 
siege of Pondicherry ; and, notwithstanding the desperate state of his 
resources, found means to supply the fort, which had been totally desti- 
tute of provisions, with a stock sufficient to maintain the garrison for 
several months. And he still resolved to strike a blow, which might 
impress them that he was capable of offensive operations of no incon- 
siderable magnitude." It was of the utmost consequence, that the 
external line of the bound-hedge and redoubts should be maintained as 
long as possible against the enemy; since the ground behind that barrier, 
or between it and Pondicherry, afforded pasture for a number of cattle 
sufficient to supply the garrison and inhabitants, with the aid of the 
additions to the existing stock, which might be introduced in small con- 
voys occasionally, or from time to time, so long as the line sliould 
remain unforced ; whereas, if captured by the English, that ca])ture 
would be "the beginning of the end" for the besieged, thus reduced 



552 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

to limited, and constantly-decreasing, means of subsistence. Tlie force 
which Lally conld mnster, for assailing that of the besiegers, vvas 
far infeiior in sti-eiis;tli to theii's, yet not so much so. that it might not 
inflict a. severe stroke upon them, by stratagem ; thiough wliidi, even 
though U(jt altogether defeated, they might be so shattered and dis- 
couraged, as to be obliged to desist fiom their immediate design, upon 
the bound-hedge and redoubts, for some time ; if not also compelled, l)v 
tlie iiutumnal rains, and other circumstances, to defei- a renewal of tlieir 
attem)it to a mr.eh later period. His consequent plan of actimi was. on 
the night of September tiie 4th, to attack the English cam]) liy surprise; 
for wiiich undeitaking. " dis[)ositions," says the hostile nari-atixc, "were 
made with much skill and sagacity;" and it adds, tliat, "altliough 
Colonel C'oote entertained spies and corres|)on(lents in the town, not 1 
of them acqnii-ed the least surmise of Lally's intentions, or suspected atfy 
Tinusual operation." The entire slretigtii of the French for tliis sortio, 
(owing to detachments elsewhere) appH'aivs to Jtave been but li KK) men, 
or 1400 Euro|)ean infantry, 1(0 of the like cavalry, and UOO Sepoys — 
if the ((diial total were not rather under tlud estimate, wlien we con- 
sider it as an enemys. , The English were to be assailed on ?i points in 
front, or at a retrenchment, and at 2 redoubts, while the Battalion of 
India and Volunteers of Bourbon, under an experienced otlicer of the 
Com] aii3''s seivice, were to settle the business, it would seem, by a simul- 
taneous (uislauglit against the besiegers' reaiv " As soon as the iiiing 
became genei al at the entrenchment on the Oulgarry road, the redoubt 
on the liillock and the tamarind redoubt," or the 3 firmer jmsts, "these 
ti'o()]is,'' stat(^s Orme, of the Battalion of India, and Volunteers of 
Bourbon, " were to advance fiom the village in which they were halting, 
and ] roceed I'long a short road which would bring them to tl)e termir.a- 
tion of the Villenoi-e aveniie, and exactly in the rear of the right tiank 
of the English encam])ment; on which they were to fall with the utmost 
vigoui'., in full confidence, that the other attacks would have thrown the 
whole camp into disordei-, by the uncertainty and distraction of what and 
whei-e succouis were to be sent." Lally himself, " with a guard of horse, 
renained at the bridge of Oulgarry. Calculation had been made when 
{)11 the troops would ai'rive witiiin equal reach of their res])ective attack.s, 
where they were to wait in silence for the signal of 2 sky-mckets wliieh 
were lo be thrown ujj at Oidgariy, when all were to advance to the 
attacks allotted them. The sky-rockets were shot off a little before 
midnight, and soon alter the firing commenced, nearly at the same time, 
ut the tamarind redoubt, the hillock, and at the retrenchment in the 
avenue of Oulgarry. The attack at the tamarind redoubt was i(>pulsed ; 
but the r((loulit on the hillock was carried ; the Lieutenant of tiie artil- 
]er\', and M gunners, we)'e made ])risoners there, and the rest of the 
guard driven out ; noi' did they rally." This gave the French "time to 
cany off a bra.ss three jjonnder, destroy the carriage of another, s])ikeup 
ii 3rd, and burn down the battery. At the retrenchment in the Oulgarry 
road, the at'ack and defence were mo)-e tierce. Colonel Coote himself 
brought down ti-oo])S to that in the Villenore avenue and Barthelmi's 
garden, and instead of wai,ting to be attacked, advanced across to sustain 
the other ledoubt ; against which LoiTain'« and Lally's persisted, until 
y Serjeants, besides ci.mmon men, were killed ; when the oflicers, hearing 
no signs of the iinmi attack, on the right and i-ear of the Englisli cam]), 
drew off. This division, by some unaccumUable eiror, instead of aJvana- 



IN THE SEIIVICE OF FRANCE. S-iS 

incf to the villages under the Fort of Villeiiore, halted in another, a iniiu 
to the south of it, not far from the river" Ariancop mg, "and in a lino 
with the village of Oulgany. At this erroneous distance, they liad nob 
time, after the sky-rockets were fired, to reach the ground of their 
attack, before the 3 others were cither repulsed, or ceased. They were 
led by D'Haranibure, who had always Ijehaved hitherto with gallantry." 
though, concludes this Anglo-Indian writer,* " Lally, with the usual 
severity of his ])rejudices, imputed the failure to a design, as the Com- 
mander of the Company's troops, of frustrating the honour which would 
have redounded on himself, had the hardy effort he was making succeeded 
to his expectation." 

How nuuiy I'easons there were for this asse'-ted "severity" of Lally's 
" y)reju()ices," in reference to the Company's officials and ])artizans, 
need not be recapitulated here, since " wh;it so tedious as a twice-told 
tale!" But, considering that the Coni]iany's Battalinn of India were 
so iinlmod with the hostile feelings of their masters to the Geneial — 
that their leader, D'Haranibure, was a military ni-.ii of ex|ieiience and 
didtiuction in that service, years befoie the Geneial's ai rival in India — 
tiiat, after such a long professional career thei'e, he can scarcely, if at 
all, be supposed anything but very well-informed with respect to tiie 
country about Pondicherry — that he, and the Com])any's troops, or the 
Battalion of India, with which he was best acquainted, and the straru/est 
in the army, would thus seem the fittest to act where ap])ointed, and 
where a spirited assault would V)e most likely to render the general 
o|)erations against the English effective — that, nevertheless, it was ojv/// 
the Coui])any's officer and the Company's troops who were not uj) at thtj 
time and at the point required — considering all these " ngly-looking 
circu instances,'' and the very nnscru])ulous character of Lally's enemies, 
lie cannot. I thiidc, be fairly censured in this instance, any more 
than in others, for what is termed "the usual severity of iiis preju- 
dices." The Company's officers and troops were among his s)iecial 
adver.saries, and to the absence from, or non-performance of, their task 
by them., through what is unsatisfactorily de.signated " some unaccountable 
error," though the rest of the foices were {)resent to act as had been 
designed, the frustration of tlu; General's confessedly wcll-l.ud plan 
against the enemy, without a fair trial of it, was unqutstioiiably owing. 
If evea 

" trifles, li;j,lit as air. 

Are, to the jealous, cnnHruiations strong, 

As proofs of Holy Writ," 

did not Lally here mei^ely feel, as any body else, in hi:^ position, must 
have felt? — and how much more was lie acquainted with, than /re are 
acquainted with, to justify "the usual .severity of his prejudices" in the 
culpable direction, where that alleged " severity " was n\ade a grievance 
of? — as if the jjrovocation for such, and far greater "severity," were not 
but too abundant, and too intolerable, to admit of any other than the 
very worst opinion being entertained of tho.se, from whom that provoca- 
tion proceeded ! The necessarily brief duration of this broken-off 
nocturnal affair, between the French and English, was attended with 

• Mr. Orme was a native of India, having been bora in the territory of Travan- 
core. To this circumstance, the minuteness of local details in his work is ajttiar- 
eiitly attribntahle ; a raiuuteuess, that makea the book so much more valuable, 
than generally readable. 



554 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

little loss to eit'i<'r jiafty, or. apynireiitly, not 50 men a side; the Rogi- 
ments of Laily and Lonain being the principal sufferers, on that of the 
French. 

From the 4th to tlie 13tli, tlie Eiiiilisli, under Colonel Monson, (hy an 
nnseasonalilc order i'voiw Turope. raised to command, instead of Coote.) 
having made arrangements hy niiilit to break tlii-ough the bound-hedge 
and its redoubts, succeeded in doing so; the French forces, except some 
in the fortified out|)Osts of Arianco|)ang and Madras, i-etiring towards 
the glacis of Pondicherry; yet being jc»ined there by several small 
escorts, with ])rovisions fi'oni the interior trf the country, that contrived 
to elude tlie English. In cari-yiug tlie bound-hedge, Monson was so 
eeverely wounded by a cannon-shot, and thus disabled from commanding, 
that Coote, who was about to sail for Bengal, had to take that officer's 
place, and arrived before Pondicherry, on the 20th. By October 1st,* 
thiough the construction of several wcn-ks, and the reduction of the 
Arianco[)ang and Madras redoubts, he acquired '"the entire possession of 
the bound-hedge," consequently turning " against the town, with every 
advantage, the line of circumvallation intended for its defence;" and, 
soon aftei', prevented a ]'?>rty with bullocks from entei-ing the ])hice by 
night. In the night, also, between the 6th and 7th, 2 vessels, the 
Balelne and Ilerinione, were, by 26 ai'med boats" from the English fleet, 
cut out of the rfiad of Pondicherry; and the decrease of provisions was 
now so much felt tliere, that Lally called a council to propose the ex])ul- 
sion of all the Black inhabitants; which proposal, however, thiough the 
opposition of Messieurs, the Euroj)eans, who would be thereby deprived 
of their domestics, was negatived. Nevertheless, sevei'al of those recus- 
ants requested permission Irom Coote for their families to retire Irom the 
town, as l)esieged, to the neutral or Danish and Dutch settlements on the 
coast, and obtained his permission to that eifect. On the 7tli, when the 
expulsion of the Blacks was jiroposed by Lally, (which it would have 
been the better jiolicy to adopt then, as it had to be executed after- 
wards,) and on the 8th, the refractory and demoralized crew whom he 
was making such exertions to defend, acted in such a manner as to 
justify the wcu-st portion of his subsequent general denunciation of them 
in France, as "rogues, or villains tit for the i-ack." Hating him, in 
proportion to every measure which he was obliged to adopt for the 
preservation of the jdace, they, on the former day, threatened to assas- 
sinate him, (apjiarently on account of the inoiivenience which their 
"high mightinesses" were unwilling to suffer from the ejection of the 
Blacks !) and, on the latter day, even proceeded to make that threat 
good, by an attempt to pu-i.-^un liiin !* Between the 23rd and 25th, the 
English Admirals, from apprehensions respecting the weather, and in 
order to refit, liaving to witluhaw for a time, on their unexpected disap- 
pearance, the Cdmpacpiie des hales, and a sloop in the road of Pondi- 
cherry, were directrd to turn this lucky absenteeism to account; or be 
ready to set sail by the 3()th, in oider to obtain ]irovisiotis, partly from 
the Danish settlement at Tranquehar, and ]iartly by intercepting some 
of the native grain-boats; which, at that season, came down, witli wind 
and tide in their favour, from north to south, mostly keeping in sight of 

• Lally's son (most probnlily from prndential considerations) is rather concise, 
in merely referrinu' to his father, as "plus hai a, chaqne mesure ijuc lai \\v.- 

1>i!sait le saint de la villc; menace d'assassinat le 7 Uctubre; atteiui de poison 
e8." 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 5o5 

the shore. At sea, towards which, from the prevention, hy the great 
rains, of any hind-operations of consequence, tlie chief attention of both 
Bides continued to be directed, the English armed boats, November 7th, 
captured 1 boat from TranqueViar, with grain for Pondieherry, and 
another, freighted thence, with effects of value. Then, learning that the 
Compngnle des Indes, a schooner, and several smaller vessels, were 
taking in provisions at Tranquebar for Pondicherry, the enemy dis- 
patched 2 men-of-war to seize them ; which 2, with the Salisbury of 50 
guns, already at Tranquebar, obliged, on the 8th, the (Jonipagnie des 
Indes to strike; the schooner, laden with 400 bags of wheat, and some 
barrels of salted meat, running ashore; and the rest having to disperse, 
and escape, as well as they could. "The news of this loss," we are told, 
" was received at Pondicherry, with as much concern as a disaster in the 
field." 

The 9th, a ricochet-battery of 4 eigh teen-pounders, planted by Coote 
amidst the ruins of a village, 1400 yards to the north, to harass the 
garrison of Pondicherry by a ])lungiug tire against the east side of the 
town, wtis hotly answered by 12 pieces of cannon from the place; and the 
batterv, proving ineffective, had eventually to be broken up. The 10th, 
according .to the preparations which had been made at Madras for con- 
vertinc: the blockade nnto a rejjular attack on Pondicherry, the Eni^lish 
began to land stores, and otherwise arrange for pi-essmg the siege with 
vigour. The 12th, information being received, that a convoy of 24 
European and 100 Black hf)ise, escorting 100 bullocks laden with salted 
btief, besides a parcel of the same at the croup of each riders sadtlle, 
designed to enter Pondicherry l)y night, Ct»ote, in conseqrence of those 
horsemen losing time by attempting to augment their stock with 300 
bullocks met on the way, had tlie party intercepted, near the Fort of 
Ariancopang, on the 13th, at 4 in the morning, by a stronger detach- 
uu lit of 240 horse and foot; but 12 European norsemen of the defeated 
escort escaping into Pondicherry, by the ferry, under the guns of Fort 
St. Thomas. On the IGth a vessel, the Admiral Wa/soii, of 500 tons, 
came from Madras, with all kinds of supplies nn board, in furtherance 
of the measures for closer o^ierations, mentioned as commenced b}'- Coote 
on the 10th; and on the 18th, Mr. Call, the Chief Engineer, reached the 
besieging camp, to conduct the trenches. To proti-act the means of 
subsistence at Pondicherry, too much le.ssened by the grain which the 
cavalry-horses consumed there, and turn to better account some of his 
best troopers, by sending them to join 1 of the 2 divisions of his forces, 
that, from Thiagar and Gingee, yet in their pos.session, at once subsisted 
themselves, and gave employment to the enemie.s' ])arties in the interior 
of t\u) country, Lally, on the 21st, ordered 50 of his horsemen to make a 
dash tlirough the besiegers' lines; and, at 2 in the morning, ])i'otected by 
the fire of 200 grenadier.s, they thus escaped, with the exception of 13, 
who were captured, from the inability of their horses to keep pace with 
the others. The heavy rains ceasing by the 2Gth, Coote, in order to 
harass the defenders of Pondicherry, by rendering the garrison duty as 
fatiguing as possible, directed 4 batteries to be raised in such })Ositions, 
that the .shot from them might enfilade the works of the place; at the 
same time that the men and guns of those batteries might not be 
exposed to any certain or effective tire from the town. Since the frus- 
trated attempt of the last convoy to enter the ])lace, the block ide was 
most vigilant, or strict, by laud; while, at sea, several armed boats, 



556 •» HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

t 

with arrack and salted provisions for the besie^'od, were inieircppted hy 
the English. On the 27tli, the proportionably inci'etising distre.-^s <ililig- 
ing Laily to attend no l()iig(>r to anything but the stern dictates of 
necessity, be caused all the Blacks in the town, amounting to about 
1400, to Ij* turned out, exce[)t a few, who were domestics to the princi[)al 
inhabitantt!,; and he had to put the soldiery upon an allowance of only a 
pound of rice a day, with a little meat at intervals. 

At the beginning of DecemV)er, the General was compelled to reso)-t to 
the stronger measure of ordering every house in the town to be searched 
for ])rovisions; that whatever should seem superfluous under the ciicurn- 
stances might be brought to the citadel, to be equally divided between 
the garrison and inhabitants. The search was to include, and commence 
with, the General's own residence, that otliers might, if possible, hnvo 
no grounds for complaining of a regulaticm, from which he did nob 
claim :>ny exemption. It was yiretended, however, that tho.se charged 
with, the execution of this unwelcome task, did not act with sufficient 
discretion, in reference to officers of distinction. The ill-disposed 
exclain)ed against what they termed the t/jranni/ to which they weie 
subjected ! M. Dubois, as Intendant of the Army, the leading enforcer 
of this order, was specially held up to genei-al execration. " When 
conquering enemies command a search of the kind," remarks Voltaire, 
" noUody dares to murmur; when the General ordered it, to save the 
city, all rose up against him." At the head of this impiident clamour 
were 2 aristocratic Colonels. These military exquisites, according to my 
British authority, " lately arrived from France, men of family, deemed 
the search in their apartments an affront,* and sent word to Mr. Lally, 
that they would no longer act as officers, but, on every occasion, as 
Vctluuteers. But," it is added, "the event justified the severity." Aa 
au illustrious ruler writes — 

" When teTni)ests rise, and blacken on the view, 
fV) steer the bark is a/l that 's left to do: 
Tho' Envy liiss, and loud Eesentmeut swell, 
Be tlieir's to raije, and ours to (jovern well." 

Frederic the Great. 

On the 2nd and 3rd, 2 vessels, a sloop and a pinnace, which remained at 
Poudichei ly, wcve despatched for Tranquebai'. Of these, the ])iiinace 
was eventually taken, though not till after she and her com]<aiiiori 
accomplished their primary task of landing there from Pondicherry 10l> 
infantry, whom Lally sent away, to lessen the consumption of his |)rovi- 
sions, ami contribute to the accomplishment of another design, he had for 
some time in contemplation. Relying but little IdiiDidf cm the too 
dubious assuiauces ht> had received of a relief by sea, though, from 
jiolicy. of course, not discouraging the expectation, in otliers, of such aiti ; 
and, at any rate, determined upon defending himself so long, tliat, should 
a naval iclief ap[>ear, it would find him, if possible, still holding out to 
])rotit by it; he had been for some nioiiths in correspondence with a 
Mahratta ]ioteiitate, Vizvazypuut, to prevail on him, with his own 
numernus birce, to join the French troops still abroad, or about Gingee 
and Thiagar, and thus united, coajptd the English to i-aise the sit-ge of 
Pondiclierry. Of tUe French so detaciied, or not shut up in Pondicherry, 

* As if sa I ordinate officers could ever be justified in I'esejiting, as an aff'rniil, 
what their (Ji'iieral iiiiLclit order for the public good, and submit to luniat-if, beTora 
rei-[uinii^ tAt'/;i to do no'. 



IN THE SERVICE OP FRAKCE. 557 

tliose "asspm1)1ed at Thiagar," says my English account, "were so much 
siijierior to tlie little posts around, tliat they became tlie terror of the 
codiitry, and their smallest parties brought iu provisions in j)lentv, and 
without risque." With this force at Thiagar was IMajor Luke Allen, of 
the old family of St. Woolstan's, in the County of Kihlare. The son of 
a. mother who had 21 childien, he passed into France in 1735 to enter the 
Irish Brigade; rose to be a Major in the Irish Regiment of Bulkeley 
ami a Ciievalier of St. Louis; then served with the same rank in the 
Regiment of Lally; was likewise nominated an Aide-Major-General to 
the army for India in 1757; and particularly signalized himself thei-e in 
escalading the Fort of Sarzamalour, by forcing his way into it, accom- 
panied only by 1 officer and 20 soldiers of the Regiment of Lorrain. On 
the night of December 3id, taking with him all the cavalry at Thiagar, 
the Major posted himself in the hills westward of Trinomalee, with the 
view oi' joining Vizvazypunt in marching for Pondicherry, should the 
pending treaty for that purpose be concluded with him ; and, a few days 
after, these cavalry, uniting with the 100 European infantry last Imided 
from Pondicherry at Tranquebar, and acting as a guard to the Envoy 
from Lally, empowered to conclude the n^'gociation foi- the relief of 
Pondicherry, the Envoy, thus doubly protected by hi)rse and foot, 
succeeded in reaching tlie Mahratta's camp. 

The 4 batteries, which Coote, since November 21th, had ordered to be 
constructed, were ready for service by December 8tli. The 1st, or 
Prir)ce of Wales's, of 4 guns, was from the beaeh on tlie north, to 
enhlade the great street, running nortli and .soutli, through what was 
called the wit. te toivn of Ptmdicherry ; the 2nd, or Duke of Cumber- 
land's, of 4 guns and 2 mortars, was, from the north-West, to enfilade the 
noith face of a large counterguard before the north-west bastion ; tiie 3rd, 
or Prince Edward's, for 2 guns to the southward, was to entlhide the 
streets from south to noi'th, so as to cross the tire from the northern 
battery; the 4th, or Prince William's, of 2 guns and 1 mortar, to the 
8outh-west, was to destroy the guns in St. Thomas's I'edoubt, and any 
vessel or boat near it. The 4 "opened at midnight, between the 8tli 
and 9th, firing all of them at the same time, and in vollies, on the signal 
of a shell." On Coote's approaching, with 2 other otHcer.s, sutBciently 
close to the place to perceive the effect of this fire upon the besieged, he 
found, that dispositions suitable for the occasion had been made by Lally; 
the garrison on the alert, beating to arms witiiout confusion, and evei-y- 
thing being right along the bastions, while blue lights a|»peared in 
different parts of the town. This fire of cannon and mortars, with 
cessations at uncertain periods, was kept up through the rest of the 
month by Coote, and answered with corresponding vivacity by Lally. 
The loss of the besiegers, as well as tlie besieged, in killed or wounded 
by the artillery, was but small; the former, however, not the le.ss attain- 
ing the object "of wasting the garrison with fatigue, which their scanty 
allowance of provisions little enabled them to endure." For, though 
Some supplies of food were able to run the blockade, or enter the place 
by sea during the month, yet, by the end of it, the sto(;k in the ])ul)lic 
magazine, even scanty as the allowance was for each jierson, would not 
suffice for above 3 days; it being further ascertained, that no search 
could procure what would suffice beyond 15 days more. And to such a 
low scale was the later sulisistence of the garrison brought, that, accord- 
ing to Voltaire, " the officer was rednceil to a half-pound of rice a day, 



558 HISTORY OF THE rrjRii dpjgades 

the soldier to 4 ounces." Lally, as "Gl-eneral, had 2 rations, and 2 little 
loaves," respecting which it is added, that "a ])oor woman, burtliened 
with children, having ajjiiealed to hiin for assistance, he ordered that, 
evtirv day, the half of what was rcservfd for himself sliould he given to 
her." Thtis any objection which niigtit he directed against him l)v tlie 
nialice of disaffection, on the ground that he might well persist in defend- 
ing the place so long, as having a donV)h' ])Oi'tion of food comjiared with 
others, was forestalled, since he reserved i)ut half for himself; and he 
acted, at the same time, in a meritorions f)r cliaritahle manner, liy daily 
allotting the other half, to sustain the poor woman and children. That 
nialice of disatfection, referred to, as but too corrui)tly anxious for a 
surrender, is duly admitted, even by a French contemporary writer 
adverse to Lally; who, in mentioning, how "he had been sent to India 
bv the Company, as much to defend them against their domestic, as 
their foreign, enemies," observes, " the tirst were their most devoted 
servants, who, enriched by their spoils, and hai-incj nothiwj more to 
gain from, the distress to which they had reduced tJcem, V)ere inwardly 
desirous of falliiaj into the hands (f the Uvglish; in order to cover their 
pa7-ticidar dr-predations, tinder tlie general system, of pillage, lohich always 
attends conquest." On the 29th, for closer or more decisive operatiims 
against the defences than those of the 4 batteries previously specified, 
which were erected at from 1000 to 1200 yards distance of the town — a 
new battei-y, called the Hanover, of 10 guns and 3 mortars, was com- 
menced to the north, at 450 yards from the walls, against the north-west 
counterguard and curtain of the place. Dnring the remainder of the 
month, communications reached Lally from his agents with Vizvazypunt, 
exjjressing hopes of success in the negociation with that potentate for 
raising the siege; and it was even rejjorted in the English camp, that a 
large Mahratta force, with all the French cavalry, were actually on the 
march to Thiagar. " whence they intended, at all events, to ])ush, with 
provisions, to I'ondicherry." 

The year 17(J0 ended, and the year 1761 commenced, around Pon'ii- 
cherrv, amidst a teitible storm of wind and rain, which i-aged, vvith 
corres])()nding effects on sea and land, from 8 in the evening of December 
31st. to between 3 and 4 in the morning of January 1st. The English 
blockading squadron, then consisting of 8 ships of the line, 2 frigates, a 
fire-shi]), and a store-vessel fVom Madras, in all 12 sail, were generally 
dispersKl, shattei-ed, or run aground; 3 being sent to the bottom, with 
1100 men. Allowing foi- the difference between the 2 elements, the 
ravages of the tempest by land were p)-oportioned to the destruction by 
sea. Having noted how all the temporary barracks of the besiegers' 
can^p and its outposts were swept away, and the ammunition aijroad 
for immediate service rinned, nothing, exce|tt under masonry (as the 
])rincipal store (»f gnn|ow(ier was) being undamaged, my British his- 
torian adds — " The soldiers, unable to cairy off their muskets, and i-esist 
the stoiin, had lelt them to the ground, an.d were diiven tf) seek shelter 
wherever it was to be found. Many of the Black attendants of the 
camp, from the natural feebleness of their constitution, ])erished by the 
inrlemencv o( the hour. The sea had everywhere broken over the beach, 
and overllowcd the country as far as tlie bound-hedge; and all the 
batterii^'s und renonbts which the army had raised were intire'ly ruined." 
C)n the (ith-r hand, " the town of Pwtidicherry beheld the storm, and it.s 
etIecLs, as a riehverauce sent from Heavcu. The sua rose clear, and 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 559 

shewed tlie havoc sin-ead around. It was projjosod l>y some, to march 
out immediately, and attack tlie English ainiy; l»ut this o|)erati()n w^.a 
ira]n-actical)le ; becaiise no artillery coiiLl move through the inundation, 
nor could the troops carry th(dr own ammunition dry; otherwise 300 
men, properly armed, would not. for 3 hours after day-light, have ni«t 
with 100 together, in a condition to resist them." Now, or " in the 
interval before the English ships in the road were repaired, or others 
joined them from the sea," might a naval relief have securely entered the 
harbour with supplies, and saved the place, "even in the 11th hour." 
But no such relief ap])eared. To profit, nevertheless, to the utmost in 
his ))Ovver, by such a disaster as this tempest was to the enemy, Lally, 
on the 2nd, hurried away letters to the French Residents at Tranquebar, 
Puliacate, and Kegapatam ; urging them, in the most; pressing terms, 
to avail themselves of the opportunity, afforded by the dispersi(ui of the 
English fleet, to forward him provisions. To effect this tlie more readily, 
he wrote, "offer great reward.s. I expect 17,000 Morattoes within these 
4 days. In shorty lisk all, attempt all, force all, and send us some rice, 
should it be but half a gar.se at a time." 

But the superior i-esources, and characteristic energy of the English, 
in naval matters, so soon repaired the damage inflicted by sea, that, "in 
a week after the storm, which had raised such hopes of deliverance in 
the garrison of Pondicherry," the blockade of the harbour was resumed, 
by Rear-Admiral Steevens, with II sail of the line, and 2 frigates; 
whose " boats, continually cruizing, intercepted, or drove away, whatso- 
ever embarkations came towards the road, with provisions." After using 
every diligence to restore the various works and stations of his lines and 
encampment to the condition they were in before the hurricane ; the 
more so, as the menacing reiiorts continued with i-espect to the Mah- 
rattas, who. if such repaii-s were not made, would h;ive the best 0[)por- 
tunity of provisioning the town ; Coote resolved, on the 5th, to endeavour 
to surprise St. Thomas's redoubt, furnished with 4 twenty-four pounder.s, 
and the only outjinst of consequence still retained by Lally. That 
redoubt stood in reference to the as.sailants on the opposite side of a 
channel connected with the river which sup])lied water to the ditches of 
the town. " After it wns dark," .says my English account, " a French 
officer, with 3 troops of his nation, who had taken service in the English 
army, crossed first, whilst Colonel Coote himself, with the rest of the 
detachment, halted on the nether .side of the channf-l. The officer was 
challenged, and answered, that he came froni the town with a party, 
which Lally had .sent off in haste,, on intelligence that the English 
intended to attack the redoubt this very night. He was believed and 
admitted ; and Colonel Coote, hearing no bustle, or firing, immediately 
sent over the front of his party, who, as soon as their numbers were 
sufficient, declared themselves and threatened to put the whole guard to 
death, if a single man made the least noise, or attempted to escape. All 
obeyed, excepting 1 Caffre, who stole away unperceived. They con- 
sisted of 1 Serjeant, 5 gunners, 5 GaffVes, and some Sepoys" Notwith- 
standing that the alarm was given at Pondicherry, (no doubt by the 
Caffre who escaped) upon which blue lights appeared there at 1 in the 
morning, as if in expectation of an attack, and a well-aimed fire of single 
shot was also directed thence at tlie captured post, from 2 to 4 all 
seeming quiet, the place was secured with suitable works ; and left by 
Coote in the custody of a Lieuteuauc of Artillery, who, witli 40 Euro- 



SCO HISTORY OP THE IRISH BRIOADE3 

peans, and as many Sepoys as marie his party 170 in number, had orders to 
defend himself to the last. Lally, however, to give the enemy a partui"' 
blow there, ordered the veteran Alexander Mac Geoghegan, (who had 
beaten Bi-ereton at Wandewash) to recapture the surprised post with 
2 companies of grenadiers, supported by volunteers from tlie garrison of 
Pondicherry. Advancing through water breast-high, tlie Irish officer 
and his men reached the fort at 5 o'clock, and assaulting it, according 
to tlie English, "on every side at once, few tired, and all pushed, with 
fixed bayonets, through the ditch, over the parapet. The resistance was 
not equal, either to the strength of the post, for it was closed on all sides, 
or to the number of the guard, which were, including the Sepoys, 170 
men. Some escaped, by jumping over the parapet; a few were killed; 
and the greatest part, with the officer, surrendered themselves prisoners.* 
At noon, Lally sent back all who had been taken to the English camp, 
for want of {u-ovisions to feed them; but on condition, that they should 
not act again. This discovery of the distress of the garrison could only 
be required or warranted by the utmost necessity." From the Gth to the 
9th, the besiegers worked at a commanding redoubt, on a sint of sand, 
to mount 16 guns and contain 400 men; and laboured to complete the 
Hanover battery, which the artillery from the town strove to interrupt, 
though with little etiect; and sn])plies of siege-cannon, ammunition, and 
stores, to replace recent losses by the storm, were forwarded by sea from 
Madras. By the 9th, too, information reached the English, which freed 
them from any further alarm with i-espect to Vizvazypunt, and his 
Mahrattas; that potentate, on being offered so much better terms for 
agreeing to leave Pondicherry to its fate, than the French could offer to 
induce him to aid them, having definitively declared, they were to 
expect nothing from him. Ui)on this, Major Allen, and his 200 Eur-o- 
pean hoi'se, and 100 foot, quitted the Mahratta camp, and a return to 
Pondicliei-ry being then impossible, marched away to enter the service of 
Hyder Ah at Bangalore : the Major, with his companions in arms, being 
thus the only portion of the French force in India enabled by circumstances 
to act on the principle of "no surrender."t And now, or from the 10th 
to tlie 15th, the combined fii-e of the Hanover and Royal batteries^ 
including 21 cannon, of which 17 wei'e 24, and 4 were IS, pounders, 
besides 6 mortars— added to the vigour of the besiegers in making their 
approaches, became as destructive to the defences, as exhausting to the 
defenders, of the town ; where, in order to give the utmost time for 
the possilile ap])earance of a relieving fleet, the wretchedly inadequate 
remains of the usual sources for subsistence were eked out by the con- 
s\im]ition of camels, elephants, cats, and dogs ; the flesh of 1 of the 
last-mentioned animals selling, in the extreme scarcity, for 16 rnpees, or 
half-crowns, otherwise £2! For a resistance beyond the 15th, even of 
such food as did exist, there would be, in 2 days, none ! 

Meantime, the situation of him, who was charged with the preservation 
of all, bad as it had been before in the atmosphere of that comparative 

• Of Alexander Mac Geoghegan, connected with this last success on the part of 
the garrison of Pondicherry, my manuscrii)fc memoir merely states, that "le lioi 
bii accorda, au commencement de I'anaee 1774, le brevet de Colonel, a. J3nve-la- 
Gaillarde." 

t Memorandum on Luke Allen in the late .Tohn O'Connell's French MS3. oa 
Irish Brigade, coini)ared with Mr. Orme's history. There was a " Liil<e Allen " to 
th(; last, or 1792, au officer of the Irish Brigade, as a Lieutenant iu the Reginieut 
of Ber..ick. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 561 

"hell on earth" by which he vvas snironnded, became, as tlie siege drew 
to its tevmiimtiou, or for several weeks, more and more analogous to 
Milton's idea of the niaddeuing extent of misery, presenting, as it were, 

" In the hucefit deep, a loivr deep, 
.Still threat'niu^ to devour." 

While, as regards the vastly-superior besieging force opposed to him, 
Lally might be deemed but too abuudantly occupied in keeping a lion at 
bay outside trie ramparts of Pondicheri-y, as i-egards his unjjrincipled 
otKcial foes and their partizans, he might be considered to exist amidst so 
many scorpions within those ramparts. Even /us naturally-vigorous con- 
stitution collapsed, beneath the intolerable amount of increasing trouble 
and bitter vexation imposed' upon him. Confined, from December 4th, 
to his bed, by convulsions, and receiving there every day the unmanly or 
heartless annoyance of anonymous letters, threatening him with being 
desj)atched by the dagger or poison, and finally believing himself to be 
actually poisoned — for what, that was most demon-like, might he not 
believe, as worthy of such a Pandemonium ^^he fell into epile])tic tits. 
Nevertheless, upon the apprehension of an assault by the besiegers on the 
night of January 13th, he, altliough a[)parently in a dying state, issued a 
general call to arms, had himself carried out to the ramparts, distributed 
with his feeble hands whatever wine still remained to the worn-down 
soldiery there, and took his post at the lireach, to meet, as he hoped, a 
glorious death ; in which hope, he was only disappointed b}' the very 
sensible resoluticm of the enemy, not to waste blood in any attempt to 
storm a place, which, from want alone, should, as they knew, so soon 
surrender, without lighting.* By this time, writes Mill, he "urged the 
(Council, since a capitulation must regard the civil, as M'ell as the military, 
affairs of the colony, to concert general measures for obtaining the most 
favourable terms; and procured nothing but chicanery in return. The 
device of the Council was, to preserve to themselves, if possible, the 
appearance of having had no share in the unpopular transaction of sur- 
render, and the advantage, dear to their resentments, of tht owing, with 
ALL its weight, the blame upon Lally." To his 1st projjosal, that they, as 
repi-esenting the civil power, should unite, with him and the military, to 
obtain the best conditions for the common intertst, the answer of the 
Council was, a refusal to act, under the pretext, that this step, on his 
jiart, was premature. With a 2nd proposal from him, to the like effect, 
they also i-efused to comply; alleging that, since he had dissolved them 
as a body, they were then nothing. To which impudent lie the Genei-al 
truly replied, that he had 7iot so dissolved them, having only forbidden 
them to assemlile again, without his permission; and adding, that he 
th re/ore commanded them, in the King's name, to assemble, in order that 
a mixed council might be formed, with a view to asqertain the means of 
making the best of existing circumstances for themselves, and the colony 
at large. To this they rejoined, V)y casting upon him the v)hole res])onsi- 
bility of arranging inaitei's with Colonel Coote. Lally then called a 
Council of War, composed uf all the leading officers still ca])able of serving; 
who agreed ujton surrendering, though without being able to agree upon 
what conditions they should surretider. Consequently, in the evening of 
the 15th, a Colonel of Artillery, on the part of the military in the place, 

* For t!;esfi and other particulars rcs|iectiiij,' Lallj', I am indebted to Voltaire, and 
Laily's sou. 

2o 



f)Q2 HISTORY OF THE IRISn BRIGADES 

or the troops of tlie King of France, and of tlie FreTicli East India Oom- 
jiany, was despatched by the Geneial to Coote, with whom it was settled, 
that tlie garrison of Pundicherry, as iu such want of provisions, should, in 
the course of the 2 ensuing days, surrender, as prisoners of war, together 
with the town and citadel, to his Britannic Majesty. The refractory 
Council necessarily left to negociate separately for such terms as more 
immediately concerned themselves, and those connected with their 
interests, were deservedly snuVjljed, through their envoy, by Coote; in 
being merely referred by him to the substance of his agreement with the 
military, that surrendered "to be at hia discretion, which," it was added, 
"should riot l)e deficient in humanity." 

Thus the fate of Pondicherry was not decid ^d until .51 weeks after the 
defeat of Waiidewash in the preceding January, though, of the state of 
affairs, on Lally's side, after that defeat, we are told, how "tout fut 
<lese.spere alors!" — an assertion sufKciently indicating the merit of the 
subsequent contest, so long maintained against a coexisence of int(;rnal 
and external hostility, as calculated to discourage hojie, as to ])anilyze 
exertion. Having [)remised, how, on the morning of the IGth, pursuant 
to the arrangements made between the besiegers and the besieged, the 
grenadiei's of (,'oote's regiment marched from the camp, and took possession 
of the Valflore gate of Pondicherry, &c., Ornie adds — "In the afternoon, 
the garrison drew up under arms, on the parade before the citadel, and 
the Eiiglisli tr()Ops facing them, (colonel Coote then reviewed the line, 
which, exclusive of commissioned oHicers, invalids, and others who had 
hid themselves, amounted to 1100, all wearing the face of famine, fatigue, 
or disease.* TIte yrenadiers of Lorrain and LaJly, once tJis ablest-btjUied 
m.e7i in tlie army, appeared the moat impaired., having constantly put tliem- 
selves forward to every service; and it was recollected, thai, from their first 
landing, tJiruugliout all the services of the field, and all the distresses of tJie 
blockade, not a ina,n of them had ever deserteil to the English army. The 
victor soldier gave his sigh (which none but banditti could refuse.) to this 
solemn contemplation of the fate of war, which might have been their 
own. . . . The next moi-ning," 17th, "the English flag was hoisted. 
in the town, and its display was received by the salute of K'OO y)ieces oi 
cannon, from every gun of every ship in the road, in all the English posts 
and l)atterie,s, the field-artillery of the line, and on the ramparts and 
defences of Pondicherry. Tiie suii-ender," concludes Orme, " was inevit- 
able ; for, at the scanty rate of the wnstched provisions to which the 
garrison had, for some time, been reduced, there did not remain sutKcient 
to supply them 2 days more." The artillery in the town amounteil to 
some hundred pieces, with a proportionably large supply of other militaiy 
inaieriel. 

The departure of Lally fi'om Pondicherry for Madras, on tlie 18th, 
"was," says an Irish officer in the English service, " accomijanied with 
scenes and acts more disgracefid, to the vanquished, tlian (heir conquerors, 
or worst enemies, could luive desired." Nor can anything be more just 
than this statement of the scandalous C' induct referred to, "aw'd hy no 
law, by no respect controll'd;" yet merely a sample of that torrent oi 
shameless licentiousness, the general foulness of whose current should 

• My French authority, after stating, how Coote " avait une armCe de 1.5,OitO 
honimes, et une flotte qui en reufermait 7000 autrcs," asserts of Lally, that "700 
hoiTimcs coinposaient toutes ses forces," iu a most miserable couditiuu, while he 
" ii'avait j^ias uii es(^uif a ojiposer a 14 vaissejiux de iigue I " 



IN THE SERVrCE OF FRANCE. 



5G3 



oTiTj' 1ie (leetned worthv of the Aroyi pollution of its souroe. Memliers of 
the Coniicil, suljonlinate eiii,/'/oi/es' of the ('oinp«ny, and olficors of its 
troops, or the partizan " Bataillon de I'liide" — all cnmbined in anirunsity 
against the General on account of his hostility to corruption, to nesjlect 
of d\ity, and the consequent severity of his reproofs, which they resell trd 
as insults, whereas, if he had been the niaii they represented, lie wimhi 
have iiiHicted not .severity of reprnnf, hut severity of f main It meat — from 
an early hour of the day, assembled, along with such as they could delude, 
or persuade, that lip. was the sole cause of the present calamity; and tiny 
resolved to refrain from no outrage at his expense, if not even to maku 
an attempt by open force upon his life, whi'.-h, though previously menaced 
with, had esca]>ed destruction liy, piisatt. The eni.ployes " op.ened the 
ball" of outrage and sedition by posting up intl;(Tnmatoi-y placards against 
liim, breaking the windows of lijs ivsidence, and uproariously designating 
him traitor and villain. Befoi-e noon, a trooii of officers, mostly (>f the 
factious dorps above-mentioned, audaciously ascended the steps of the 
Government-House in the direction of the General's apartments, and, on 
meeting his Aide-de-Camp, proceeded to insult him, but were driven 
awav by the guard, who luckily came up in time. The troo)), then 
reassembling, waited below at the gate of the citadel, till 1 o'clock. Tiie 
gieat object, however, of their rebellious hatred did not come forth, for 
his journey to Madras, until late in the day. He then a|)peared. borne, 
as he was very ill, in a ])alaiiqiiin, accompanied by 4 fiithful troopers of 
his guard, and followed, at some distance, by 15 trusty English hussars, 
whom he obtained, and, as the event showed, was but too well justitied 
in having obtained, from Coote, as an escort. There were about the gate, 
V, ith the worst intentions, 100 villains, generally otKcers of the battalion 
before specitied, headed by 2 Members of the Council, Moracin and 
Courtin — 1 of whom was afterwards admitted to be a witness against, 
or accuser of, the General, at Paris ! As soon as Lally wap seen, a universal 
outcry, accompanied by the most violent gestures, hi.sses, and every sort 
of abusive name, was raised against him; and so alarmingly was even his 
palanquin approacheil, with exclamations of insolence, and menaces of 
death, that the English officer — who, at such a disgusting spectacle, miglit 
have congratulated himself on 5io< being a Frenchman! — asked permis- 
sion, from the sick man, to charge the rascals. But Lally, contented 
with presenting, in each of his feeble hands, a loaded pistol, had the 
generosity to spare the lives of those desircuis of taking his; and, merely 
directing his escort not to interrupt their march, thus fortunately passed 
uninjured through the midst of the nefarious gang, letting 

" The scattering dogs around at di.^tance bay.'' * 

Pope's Homer's Odyssey, xiv., 40. 

Not having murdered their General and Viceroy, or representative of 
their King, in the person of Lally, those wretches compensated themselves 
f<n' that failure, by better success against another officer of rank and 
jirobity. Their victim was M. Dubois, likewise,* as we have seen, 
obnoxious to them, for fulfilling the duties of his station honestly, or 
without respect to persons, as regards the search for firovisions during 

* In addition to the particulars, resjiecting Lally's departure, from other authority, 
he himself mentions, in a letter, how he was " attacked, coming- out of the Fort of 
roudiciierry, and should have lioeu murderod, if the English guard, that escorted 
hiiii, liad arrived a miuute later I" 



f)()4 HISTORY OF THE IIUSII BRIG \DES 

the Nie2;e; an<l still more olmoxions. or drfailed, fioni liis liaviii!^ not. only 
expressixl liis >iis;i[)))r(>l)atioa in writino; upon every questioualile act of 
the corrupt aduiinistratioii at Pondicherrv, and its representativrs, siiico 
lie came there, bvit trom his having preserved those numerous writings, 
or dncuments; which, if not destroyed, would be ])roductive of very 
nn])leasant consequences in France to tlie officials thereby criminated, for 
their various misdeeds in fndia. Dubois, as long ])ast the period for 
effective tield-seivice. or, at this time. 70 years of age, had been app<Mnted 
Intendant, or Commissioner of the King, to Lally's force, and, as short- 
sighted, always wore spectacles. He quitted the Fort, where he was 
quartered, on foot, rmt long after I^ally, in order to follow him to Madras; 
when he was assailed with such noisy and violent demonstrations of 
iriutinous malignity, as those which had been directed against Lally. The 
veteran Intendant, though unhappily without any escort, or guard, among 
those villains, yet, with a high spirit, more suited to the boiling vigour 
of youth, than to the weakness of unprotected age, stopped at thi.s dis- 
graceful u|)roar, and, facing his insulters, indignantly exclaimed, that, for 
liis conihict Ae was ready to answ>'r to any one! — n]ion which, a ruffian, 
ii;jnied Defer, step))ed out from the crowd, both drew, and, at the 2ud 
j)ass, poor old Dubois was leit dead on the spot! 

" \ eenerons foe reLi'ards, with piryino; eye, 
The iu;iii, wlioui late has laid, where all must lie." 

Dr. Johnson. 

But .such was not the case here. The body of the nnfoitunate "homrae 
du Roi" (in seditions language) was ,vtripj)ed and pillaged; and his death, 
*• violent and ini(]uitous as it was," being "treated as a meritorious act," 
there was ''no one would assist his servatits to remove and bury the 
corpse," which was at last interred in a gaiden. Of his writings, which, 
according to the Satanic nia.xim of "evil be thou my good," were, for 
yood reasons, [)oU(nced upon, at his residence, immediately after his fall, 
"it was known," observes my authority, "that he had, ever since his 
arrival in Pondicherry, composed protests, on the part of the King, against 
all the disorders and irregularities which came to his knowledge in any 
of tlie de})artinents of tlie government, and the collection was very 
Voluminous; but," it is a<li]ed, "none of his papers have ever a])])ea)'ed." 
Of course not, or what would have been the use of tir.st murdering IlIih, 
and then making away with thenii On this occasion, as elsewhere, it is 
but too plain, in the expressive language of Scripture, that " men loved 
darkness rather than ligiit, because their deeds were evil. For every one 
that doeth evil hatet). the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeils 
should be reproved." (John iii. lO-'JO.) The mutineers next gained acce.s.s 
to the chests and trunks of Lally, which, as having no object for conceal- 
ment, he had left behind him at Pondicherry; and they then overhauled 
them, in order to detect what treasures in gold, diamonds, and bills of 
exchange, he was accused of having amassed, by those who judged of him 
from themselves; or who would have been so very careful to butter tlLeir 
toas',) on BuTU sides by peculation, or ))lunder, if in Ids place. Their 
laliouis, however, in turning over his baggage, terminated, to their 
disa)i]>ointment and vexation, merely in "a mare's ne.st!" Nothing was 
gotten beyond a small quantity of plate, clothing, or household stuff, and 
pa]>ers of no consequence; which effects were not obtained by Lally from 
the Engli.->h cu.stom-house, till lie di.scharged the debts, contracted in his 
Dauie, for the defence of Pondicherry. 



IN Till-: SKKVICK OF FRANCE. 5{)5 

Pnrsnant to Ihe directions frf»ni Enrojic to I.;illy, intercepted at sea, 
tl)at he should destroy sncli Kn<>-lisii settlements a.s he might capture, the 
English now resolved to repay the French in their own coin, hy demolisli- 
iiig Pondicherry — of which, as a Sodom, it will lie recollected, that Laliy 
had predicted the destruction hy the Kniiiish, if not liy Heaven! Tluj 
ijentleman appointed Governoi-of the -place until it shonld be de!noHshe<l, 
JVI. Dnpre, a Member of the Council of Madras, appears to have been tli« 
i!;randson of one of those French Protestants whom the intolerant 
llevocation of the Edict of Nantes obliged to become exiles from their 
countiy, and serve foreigners against her. Louis XIV., notes Voltaire, 
little thought that the inetropoli-s of his East India Company would bd 
destroyed, under sucli superintendence ! * After the fall of Pondicherry, 
the only 2 places of strength still held Viy the French in India wero 
Thiagar and Gingee; by wlios(! reduction, in February and April follow- 
ing, the ascendancy of England, as a Euro[)ean power, was established ia. 
Hindostan. 

The causes of this issue of the contest there between England and 
France, without a general survey of which, the merit of Lally, in sup- 
porting such a long though unequal struggle as he did, canntit be duly 
estimated, have been thus stated, and, as compared with French admis- 
sions, not unfairly stated, by a gentleman in the late English East India 
Company's service, and since in tliat of Great Britain and Ireland. "It 
was," writes Dr. <)'Callai;han. "the patriotism, energy, ami disinterested^ 
ness of the" English East India "Ciuniiany at home, and their servants 
in India, which brought the contest to its triumphant conclusion; sup- 
iiorting, throushout the struggle, our brave commanders and soldiers in 
the field, at every sacrifice, risk, or loss; ;iud it was the want or these 
virtues, in our o|)f)onents, tiiat mainly con(hiced to their defeat and ruin. 
Almost throughout the entire war, the Council Chandler at Pondicherry 
was distracted by quarrels, mutual hatred, recrinaiiation, and distrust;' 
and, at the time that the Fi-ench and their cause were becoming odious, 
from the means to which their armies wei'e obliged to have recourse, to 
support themselves, and keep tiie field, men, ia In yh place and cimfiilenw, 
were dishonestly accuinu'at ng great foiluues, by the sacrifice of tlie pub'tc 
interests and vxal. With the interests of the English committed to their 
liands, how different was the conduct of the Council at Madras, and the 
officers of all ranks employed under their command ! Firmness, unanimity, 
harmony, self-devotion, and a desire to sacrifice every personal consideration 
or emolument for their country's good, animated their councils, and directed 
their operations; and, at times when every available rupee, either iiublic 
or private, was being despatched to su[)port the soldiers, and meet the 
exigencies of the war, the Company's civil servants and functionaries 
cheerfully and willingly remained in straitened circumstances, and with 
long arreai-s of ]iay due to them from an empty treasury. Hence it was, 
that the English Commanders were enabled to maintain discipline, and 
justice towards the natives, procure their willing aid on all occasions, 
]'ay for what they wanted, and, even when they had not the means to do 
so, obtained for promises what the French could not obtain by violence. + 

*"The fortifications were clRmoIished," alleges another French contemporary 
rcspectinc; Pondicherry, "and the plough was made to pass over this superb city, 
which hereafter exhibited nothing more than a heap of ruins." Yet, like Carthage 
and Corinth of old, it has heeii relmilt. 

t It would be very wrong, however, to consider the English to have been all so 



666 HISTORY OF the luisn brigadi^s 

The Fi'ciielj in Iinlia had Iiepn obliged, l)y the force of cirenm- 
stances, to adopt tiie .system of making wai- support war; which Jias su 
often ])roved ruinous^ to their cause, sullied the glory of their arms, and 
iiullitied the results of their victories. Neither the Monarchy, nor the 
French Company, was able, at this time, to meet the expenses and 
demands of hostilities in India; the former was fully occupied, with its 
own affairs, in Euroj)e and the Canadas; the latter had never pre])ared 
itself for a long, heavy, and continuous drain on its tinances; having 
always looked upon its ])ossessions in Hisdustan as a cei-tain source of 
iininterrupted gain, which was to gush forth, and flow in a steady stream, 
at th(! stroke of the sword. The English Monarchy sent to the shores of 
the Coromandel a naval force, worthy of the British nation ; and the 
Company, also strong in that arm, strained, to the highest pitch, their 
credit at home, and their resources abroad, to cany on their operatiotis 
in the fleld, without inflicting, on the country, the losses and hori'ors, in 
addition to the unavoidable distresses, of war. These are the features of 
the contest, which, seconded by the genius and valour of the British 
Commanders and .soldiers, account for its ultimate termination in their 
ia.vour, after so many vicissitudes, and changes of fortune, on both 
sides." 

The intelligence of the reduction of Pondicherry was i-eceived ia 
London with f>'elings suitable to its importance. The public aiiuounce- 
ment of it on July 21st, after mentioning the ari-ival from the Ea-it 
Indies of Captains Hughes and Monckton with the accounts of the 
event, adds of the ivception of such gratifying news by the young King 
George III., who had only ascended the throne in the ])receding 
October — " The expi'ess reached the King, just as he was going to take 
bis morning ride, which, on that account, he declined. At noon, there 
Avas a great Court on the occasion; and the Park and Tower guns were fl red. 
At night there were bonfires, &c., and the East India House, in particular, 
was finely illuminated." What honour Ireland might claim on iy^A sides 
of the contest, in the persons of Coote and Lally, was, of course, unmen- 
tioned in England. Yet how considerable was that honour I The best 
Anglo-Ir;dian chronicler of that war notes of the battle of Wandewasli 
in connexion with the merit of Coote, " he fought it with the inexplicit 
disapprobation of the Presidency in his pocket; but his dispositions 
liad secured resources against mischance. Before this important s\iccess, 
the views of no one liad extended to the reduction of Pondicherry; but, 
instantly after, all were po.ssessed with the flrmest persuasit)n of this 
termination of the war. This "fortunate confidence," lie continvies, 
"led to the most vigorous counsels," — with consequences, I may add, 
corresponding to the poetical axiom, that 

"They can conquer, wlio hr-lieve they can." 

Dkyden's Vn;oiL, ^neis, v., 300. 

On the other hand, to the military energy and ability which so long 
delayed the accomplishment of Ids labours, Coote bears this high testi- 

much in the right, and the French all so much in the wrong, in India, as might be 
inferred here, if no native view of the English, when tliey gob tlie upper liand in 
tlie reniiisula, were fortlicoming, siich as the Seer Mutaliliareen, in which it id 
oli!=er\ed, and but too truly ohserved, of the latter — "77<e pi'ople under Ihrlr 
(Kiiiiiiidi/ (/roan everyvhere, and ore reduced to povert and distres><. O God ! mnip. 
tu I he (isfiixfrnii-e of ililne iifjli.df.il Hervdvfs. and deliver thnn fmni the o^ [.resalons lUcif 
•*'(/^'ty .'" Our couatryiuan Edmund Burke amply couliiins tins. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 5G7 

mony, " Nobody has a higher idea than I have of General Lalhj, ivlio, to 
my knowledge, has struggled against obstacles, lokicli I believed uaconqw-r- 
ahle, and has conquered them; iioViody, at the Kame time, is more his 
enemy than I, as seeing him achieve tli,ose trinmphs to the prejudice of my 
nation^'' — that is, the nation in whose service he was. " There certainly 
is not^^ concludes Coote, " a secand man, in all fiidia, ivho could have 
managed to keep on foot, for so long a 2Jeriod, an army ivithout pay, and 
without any kind oj' assistance." * 

The treatment which Lally, as a prisoner, expeiienced from his 
enemies, first with respect to his removal from Pondieherry for Madras, 
and next with iTgai'd to his conveyance thence for England, was any- 
thing but in the spirit of his conduct towards his wounded and captured 
English opponents at Fontenoy; anything but indicative of such honour- 
able feelings as would have suggested, that when hostility is carried 
beyond a certain point, or 

" Against a yielded man, 'tis mean, ignolile strife." 

Dryde.n's Virgil, /Eneis, xii., 1359. 

Pigot, the Governor of Madras, whose power, as rejn-esenting tiiat of 
the English East India Company after the surrender of Pondieherry, 
was predominant there, refused the request of the sick General, tha', iii 
consideration of the circumstances to which he was reduced, he might 
be allowed to stay where he was for 4 days ; in this refusal ap[)arently 

* The handsome and generous tribute of Coote to the merit of his opponent, 
Lally, is given by Lally's son in French, which I translate into English, not hav- 
ing seen iltat, in which, I sup[iose, Coote wrote. In my preceding account of Lally 
in India, as au officer of the Irish Brigade, I have necessarily avoided any details 
respecting naval warfare, operations in the Deccan, &c. , where he and liis regi- 
ment, or the Irish, were not immediately engaged ; considering such det;'ils to be 
no better than so many "episodes," calculated to interfere with, or diveit due 
attention from, the "main action" oi iny subject, though, of course, circumstance.<} 
that should be fully descrihed by historians of England, France, and India. Li 
taking leave of Coote here, I may note of him, that, as Lieutenant-General Sir 
Eyre Coote, he, at his decease, April, 178.3, in his 57th year, generally respectetl 
and lamented, was considered to have been, "perhaps, the ablest otiieer in the 
British army." He was Commander-in-Chief of the East India Company's Forces, 
Knight of the Bath, and Member of the Supi'eme Council of Bengal. Nor was 
he merely a soldier. Dr. Johnson, whom he invited to dinner in Scotland in' 
1773, meutions himself, and his companion, Mr. Boswell, to have been, on that 
occasion, "entertained by Sir Eyre Coote with such elegance of couversatiun, as left 
ttiem no attention to the delicacies of his table." Having had no issue by his lady, 
daughter of Charles Hutchinson, Esq., Governor of >St. Helena, whom he married m 
17(59, his jiroperty, nearly £200,000— his appointments having amounted to about 
£10,000 a year— was inherited by his brother. Dr. Charles Coote, Dean of Kilfenora. in 
Ireland. With reference to Sir Eyre's last victorious campaigns against the formidable 
Hyder Ali — though under such disadvantages in numbers, &c., opi)osed to Hyder, 
as Lucullus opposed to the myriads of Mithridates and Tigraues — Lord Macaulay 
alleges of the "glorious memory " of the Irish officer, among the Sepoys, even to 
our own day, or 1842 — "Mor is he i/et forgotten by them. Now and then, a 
white bearded old Sepoy may still be found, who loves to talk of Porto-Novo, and 
Pollilore. It is but a short time siuce one of those aged men came to present, a 
memorial to an English officer, who holds one of the highest employments in 
India. A print of Coote hung in the room. The veteran recognised at once that 
face and figure which he bad not seen for more than half a century ; and, forgetting 
his salam to the living, halted, drew himself up, lifccd his hand, and, with solemn 
reverence, paid his olieis;nu-e to the dead! " In Anglo-Indian history, iiuleed, the 
iame of Coote, as the gainer of the ('arnalic fiom Lally, and the rogaijier of it from 
Hyder Ali, wdl last. What oppuneut of Ciivc, by the way, could be cumparrtl 
eit.ier with Lally, or Hyder Ali? 



668 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

actuated by the desire of revenge for a previous offence given to him ia 
the General's corresj)oii(lence, and for the General having paid some 
visits to Mr-!. Pigot, after she absconded from the matrimonial roof. 
At Madras, the jiatient. from disease of body, ;: .i-.ivated by chagrin of 
mind, was barely convalescent <>n March 10th. in consequence of which, 
he requested his dei)arture, on a voyage so long as that for England, 
might be ))Ostponed for G weeks. But he could no more obtain this 
favour at Madras, than that of the 4 days, for which he had applied 
at Pondicherry; and, on the 10th, says Voltaire, " they carried him by 
force into a merchant-vessel, the Captain of which treated him with 
inhumanity during the entire passage. He was gi'anted no comfort 
beyond pork-broth. This English Captain believed," adds Voltaire, 
"that it was in this manner an Irishman in the service of France ouglij; 
to be treated!"* As if, even apart from the respect due to the high 
rank Lally held, he, as having bien born in France, and, so far, a 
Frenchman, was not entitled, by every law, to serve the government of 
the country in which he was Ijorn ! — and, as if, even though a nacive of 
Ireland, he could be worthy of such intamous treatment, tor being iu 
the service of France, when excluded, by English law, from the service of 
England ! Yet undepressed, it would seem, by such conduct towards him, 
as merely what was to be expected from a brute, incapable of any better, 
" it is remaikable," observes an English contemporary notice of Lally, 
*' that, during the whole voyage, he was ever inquisitive, and eager after in- 
structions ; enquiring after the uses of every part of the vessel, even from 
the lowest sailor." Having ai-rived, September 20th, in the Downs, the 
General, on the 23rd, reached London. There he was informed of the 
storm already brewing against him in France ; his unpr-incipled or lying 
enemies, as the best means of at once deluding the public, and exas- 
perating it against him, having given out, that he had betrayed or sold 
Pondicherry to the English ; while the late administrative body for the 
East India Com])any at Paris was changed ; Bussy was strengthened by 
a matrimonial alliance with the family of the Premier, the Duke <''i 
Choiseul ; and the Admiral DAche, who had left Pondicherry unre- 
lieved, was likewise protected by high political intiiience. 

Proportionably anxious to i-eturn to France, to bring his maligners to 
a suitable account there, Lally addressed the following letter to Mr. 
Pitt, (subsequently Earl of Chatham,) whose ability, as a Ministtn-, in 
conducting the war (if his couutry against France, had identiiied the 
flag of England with victory by sea and land all over the world. 

"London, 8p]dcm\,i-r 'I'yii, 1761. 
"Sir,— Since my departure, now ;ilmo.st 5 3 ears, from Europe, for the Asiatic 
climates, I am historically acquainted but with 2 men in this world, the King 

* Lally writes, " Mr. Pipot refuses mo, with the m^- st nnheard of violeuce, a 
Btay of () weeks, which is nccessaiy for the re-cstal)lis]niient of my her.kh ; and I 
am to be conducted on board, like a criminal, liy a detachment of soldiers ; having 
positively declared, by the annexed notice, that I will not depart otherwise." 
Pigot, the Governor of Madras, whose conduct thus apjiears so reprehensible, 
ended his life unhappily. Being, iu 1776, as Lord Pigot, again Governor at 
tladras, he was audaciiaisly dejiosed by a mutinous Council and Commander of 
the Forces there, and imprisoned u])wards of 8 mouths ; the morlitication of 
which, and bad effects on his constitution, at his advanced period of life, caused 
his death, before an order for his release and restoration could come from Luroi)e. 
In Ihix contiii^meut, did he ever think of Nemesis, along with his own liarsuiicoa 
towards Lallij? 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 



569 



of Prussia and Mr. Pitt; tlie one by a series of distress, the other of success; the 
former suatchiug at fortune, the latter directing lier. But, when I shall have seen 
and heard here of Mr. Pitt all I have already read of him, T shall always remember 
I am his prisoner, and liberty to me, though a Frenchman, is of an inestimable 
value; therefore I earnestly beg your interest, with his Majesty, to grant me 
leave to repair to my native soil, either upon my parole, or upon the terms of the 
carte!, in accej^ting n^y ransom. Nothing, but my sense of gratitude for this favour, 
can add to the high regard, with wliich I am, sir, your Excellency s 
" JN'Iost humble and most obedient servant, 

"LALLY."" 

In reply to this application, he received a permis.sion, through the 
Admiralty, to return to France, on his parole of honour; and, having 
first taken care to repay whatever he had borrowed for the public 
service, he set out for that country. October 5th. On landing there, he, 
j)revious to pursuing his route for Paris, paid a visit to his old friend and 
brother Jacobite, Kobei't Mac Carthy, Earl of Clancarty, residing at 
Boulogne. "The Earl," says my account, "received him with great 
hos|)itality. and kept him 3 days for the purpose of persuading him to 
return to England, in order to save himself from the machinations of his 
enemies. Lally, however, was positive, and would go on; he relied on 
his services and integrity ; and could not bear the imputation of guilt, 
which would attach to him by his residence in England. ' Their malice,' 
said he, 'can but cashier me at the worst.' When the carriage was 
ordered on the 4th day, in order to proceed on his journey, the Earl 
followed him to the door of it, and again renewed his entreaties not to 
go on. He even brought out a bottle of Burgundy, which they drank 
together at the side of the carriage, to prolong the time, in the hope of 
some inoment of conviviality ])rodncing a favourable effect — ^but in vain. 
At last they shook hands and parted ; with a promise, from Lally, of 
again visiting him, in the course of the ensuing summer. To this the 
Earl shook his head, and, in his strong, energetic manner exclaimed — ■ 
' Never, my friend ; you and I are doomed never to meet again, but in 
another world'" — and, it is added, " tlie evtut justified the Earl's pre- 
diction." He but too clearly saw 

" Coming events cast their .shadows be''ore." — Campkell. 

Lallv, on reaching Paiis, presented himself to the Government, to 
denounce, as an officer of the Ci\)wn, the misdeeds of Jiis subordinates; to 
offer personal proof of what he alleged on that head; and to abide by tlie 
result of what accusations might lie directed against himself The Duke 
of Choiseul, Minister of War mul of Foreign Affairs. aiisw<'icd, that 
justice should be done him. Yet. as a veteran politician, and as also 
recently connected by marriage with Bussy, the Duke wished that the 
e.xisting contest, instead of being permitted to go any further, should be 
coni])romised, through a reconciliation of the General with Bussy; and 
public advances, for a like object, were made, in full court, at Versailles, 
by the Admiral D'Ache to Lally. But Lally, who believed himself to 
be as much in the right as his adversai'ies were in the wrong, was, like 
Achilles of old, unmoved by any overtures of the kind; the contest had 
thus to proceed on the terms marked by Bussy when lie said. "Either 
Lally's head must fall or mine;" and things were then apparently so 

* ('hatham Correspondence. Had it been Lally's "better destiny" to serve under 
Mr. Pitt, they were just the men to have uiidtrstuud one another. 



670 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

settled, or put into such a tiain by tlie hand of power, that Bussy's head 
should be the safer of the 2!* For a year, during which Lally was 
promised justice by the Government, silence was imposed upon him; 
while, on the other hand, a petition and memorial against him were 
j)rivately gotten up by the late Goverjior and Council of Pondicherry, 
and a multitude of writings from members of the same party were like- 
wise circulated in Paris, to ])rejuilice or poison public opinion the more 
efiectually with respect to him, from whom no reply could proceed, since 
he was officially muzzled. Tlie hostile petition and memorial having been 
pi-esented, August ord, 17G2, in the highest quarter, Lally, on learning, 
after some time, how injurious were the effects, at court and elsewhere, 
of those documents tojiis character, and unable to endure any longer such 
very unfair or one-sided treatment as he had been subjected to, ref)aired 
to Fontainebleau on the subject, when — matters being nov) evidently- 
arranged for duly "turning the tables against him" — he met with no more 
satisfaction foi- his pains, than to be told, "It was in agitation to commit 
him to the Bastille!" He, however, was too firmly convinced of the 
justice o{ his cause, and had too much of the "gens flecti nescia," about 
liira. to be thus intimidated. Previous to this, 1 of the agents of his 
enemies had offered to reveal to him all their intrigues, but he refused, 
with contempt, to avail himself of that offer; and, respecting the last 
attempt to overawi- liim by a threat of the Bastille, he addressed the 
following characteristic or uncompromising letter, November 3rd, to the 
Duke of Choiseul : — 

"My Lo>!D, — The nnnonrs, whicV prevail in Paris, have brought nie here. My 
enemies will never be able to terrify nie, since 1 de|iencl on my own innocence, and 
am ¥ensil)le of your equitj'. The King is master of my hberty, biit my honour is 
nuder the safeguard of the laws, of which he is the protector. I do not ask you, 
my Lord, who are iny slanderers; I know them; but what their slanders are, that 
I may obviate them ; and repel them with such ]iroofs, as will cover the authors 
of them with shame. I have brought here niy head and my innocence, and shall 
continue hei-e to wait your orders. — 1 am," &c. 

A Jpffrp.-de-cdclifit had, in fact, been signed, on November 1st, by the Duke 
of Choiseul. for committing the General to the Bastille; of which circum- 
stance, lie, through the Minister's friends, was informed, in order that he 
might make use of this information to escape. But, scorning not to 
"stand his gi-ound "' against this ])olitical manoeuvring, at once to get rid 
of and ruin him — through first fi'ightening him to fly, and ne.xt making 
flight to be a. virtual proof of guilt, — he, by the above letter, manfully 
defied such double-dealing hostility to do its worst, and then acted in 
compliance with what he had stated in that letter, by voluntarily giving 
himself up on the 5th, to be confined in the Bastille. 

He claimed, and rightfully claimed, that, as a General Officer, he should 
be tried by a board composed of those of the like military rank, who, and 
not civilians, would necessarily constitute the fittest tribunal for passing 
judgment on his conduct in command. But it was perceived, that a 
concession of this riglit would too clearly amount to an acquittal for him ; 
while, with that additicmal advantage on his side, he would tlten be able 
to direct his attention to a suitable exposure and conviction of those, 

* In reference to those overtures for a reconciliation rejected by Lally, his son 
states of him, "il n'etait dans son caract^re de fiechir, et il etait dans sa destinee 
d'etre victimc. " Or, as (Joldsmith would sa^', he was "too fond of the right to 
pursue the expedient." Arc noD such the characters we iiiu-si admire V 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 571 

cons])itnig to destroy him. His demand for sncli a military trial was 
consequently evaded, and he remained in the Bastille during this and the 
ensuing year, (17G2-3) ere his enemies could determine vipoii the ]ilan by 
wliich they should begin with etFect "to work their wantonness in form 
of law" against him. To the honour of Louis XV.'s [)rime mistress, 
and, to a corresponding extent, ])rinie ministress, of the day, Madame de 
Pompadour, acting in co-oi)eration with the Minister of Finances, M. 
Bertin, it seems evident, that, had she lived, the captive would have been 
"released from prison with glory, or, at least, with imi)unity" — as he 
deserved to be. By July, 1763, indeed, the Attorney-General l)roughb 
forward charges against Laily " of extortioits, op])ressi(>ns, abiises of 
authority, and even of high treason !" Nevertheless, by subsequent royal 
letters jjatent of January, 1764, the fairest mode of proceeding, as that 
which should be followed with reference to the misfortunes of the East 
India Company, was intimated to be the institution of a compi-ehensive 
judicial inquiry, which, instead of being pointed against any jieison in 
j)articular connected with the Company, should have for its object an 
examination of all the crimes committed in India with regard to the 
administiation and commerce of that body, pi'evious to, as well as since, 
the sending of the troops there under Lally. Such an equitable inquiry, 
as singling out no special scape-goat on whose head the sins of others 
should be visited, but as designed to render any one who might be guilty 
only accountable for his own misdeeds, would have been all that Lally 
requii'ed; but was not, of course, what tlip.y required, who wanted to save 
themselves, by making Aiwi the scape-goat to be condenmed for the results 
of the malpractices of others. And here his enemies, as, in the expressive 
language of the proverb, "the Devil's children, had the Devil's luck!" 
For Madame de Pompadour falling sick not long after, and dying in 
A|n-il, the nature of the inquiry to be held was then so unfairly altered or 
restricted, that it was merely to be directed against Lally,"' as, forsooth, 
the great culprit, or others only as Ids accomplices, or adherents! 

" This," writes even a hostile contemporary of Lally, " was an essential 
point gained by his enemies, who, by this contrivance, invalidated the 
inibrmation of abuses made by the General, and, from being accused, 
became thus the accusers. The i-eason of this was — that they were at 
liberty — that, being better acquainted than he with the use that could be 
made of the enormous sums they had either acquired or purloined, tJiey 
had didrdnited their gold with profusion — in a word, that, being united 
in a powerful motive of personal defence, they formed a confederacy, not 
to be destroyed. It cannot otherwise be accounted for, that, among the 
multitude of dishonest servants of the India Company, — who, most of 
tlievi, returned immensely rich, when the Cumpany itself was ruined — who 
were, most of them, indicated to Count Lally, at his departure, by the 
administration in Euro])e, as pi'evaricators, in the memorial, containing 
interesting particulars upon the character and qualifications of the several 
jiersons, with this clause at the end of each article, He does not forget 
himself there — who were, most of them, acknowledged to be corrupt — 
who were informed against by the Chief, and denounced to that same 
Company for dejnedations, of which the Count pretended he had obtained 
pioofs — it cannot otherwise, let us repeat, be accounted for, that, among 

* "Till the period of Maclaine de Pompadoin-'s death," accordiii^,- to Louis XV.'s 
biographer, "the Duke de t.'lioiseid had only governed tlie King secoudarily; l)ut tliea 
he ruled over him eutirely.'' And, consequently, so much the worse lor Lally ! 



5<3 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

ihi^ muJiitude, n.ot 1 7nan of them should have been punisJied — and tliat 
t!ve sword of jitstice should only have fallen upon him, before whose arrival 
tkoae enormities existed, and icho was sent to discover, and chastize them!" 
i^fjaiust this odious cabal for the iinjnuiity of guilt, and the ]muishaient 
of innocence, Lally, who, we are told, "had never once anticii>ated the 
})ossil)ility of any other sentence than that of an honourable acquittal, 
defended himself with an ability and vigour of tongue and pen, that, 
Avliile duly vindicating his own conduct, likewise " stung his foes to 
wiath," and would have triumphed over them, and their so-called 
" witnesses, as rogues," if he had V)een arraigned anywhere el.se, or before 
aiiv tribunal beut upon administering justice, instead oi making a victim 
for tlie executioner. From the vague and frivolous nature of the iniputa- 
ticms brought against the accused — not 1 of them amounting to a crime, 
vet, by legal sophistry, argued, on the w-hole, to constitute him criminal ! 
■ — he appears, upon a fair allowance for all the trying circumstances of 
his most unenviable position in India, to have only merited condemnar 
tion, by not having contrived to be, in the jioet's words, 

"A faultless monster, whom the world ne"er saw I " — Buckingham. 

As Mr. Mill, (who cites the French documents of both sides on the sub- 
ject) observes of the persecuted General — " Nothing whatsoever was 
jiroved, except that his conduct did not come up to the very perfection of 
prudence and wisdom, and that it did display the greatest ardour 

IN THE SEHVICE, THE GREATEST DISINTERESTEDNESS, FIDELITY, AND PERSE- 
VERANCE, WITH NO COMMON SHARE OF MILITARY TALENT, AND OF MENTAL 
BESCURCES!" 

His imprisonment of between 3 and 4 years in tlie Bastille was termi- 
nated, in May, 176G, by a sentence, to the effect, that "Thomas Arthur 
Lally should be decapitated, as duly attainted and convicted of having 
betrayed the interests of the King, the State, and the Company of the 
Indies, and of abuses of authority, vexations, and exactions upon the 
subjects of the King, and strangers resident in Poudicherry." As to the 
charge of having "betrayed the interests of the King, the State, and the 
Company," it was in no sense applicable. "Within the bounds of fair 
liostilitv, Lally had always shown himself to be a most inveterate enemy 
of the Engli.sh ; he could not, as was mendaciously re])orted, have obtained 
money fiom the English for Pondicherry, a })lace they were so sure of 
reducing gratis, or merely by fandne ; and, had he made any bargain of 
the kind with them, he would as certainly have remained in England to 
enjoy the wages of such perfidy there in safety, instead of returning to 
France, as the American traitor Arnold afterwards remained in England, 
rather than return to America. If having "betrayed the intei-ests" be taken 
in another sense, of |)ecuniary breach of trust or peculation, it does not 
apjiear how such a charge — although too applicable to others — could im])li- 
cate Lally, since he was not intrusted with the custody of the King's or the 
Conipanv's money. Under the vague objection of "abuses of authority, 
vexations." it was impossible, without more ])recise penal legislation, and 
coi respcmding ciiminatory ))roofs, than existed to affect him. that he could 
be capitally condemned, unless by such a system of absurdity, as would 
have exposed every Commander of an army, or Marshal, on hein:.; 
Bimilarly arraigned before any court in France, to have his head taken ()ir 
his shoulders! Lallv, indeed, among the too numerous and too serious 
causes fur loss of temper, by which he was alternately disgusted ard 



IX TTTK SEIVrCK OF FRANCR. 573 

agonizerl in India, may have offended too nmriy, even nfPj-crs, V>v a 
seventy of remurk, and a deficiency of deconuu or respect towards tlieni; 
of which, before his nature was changed, we knovv, he was incapable else- 
where, or in Europe. Yet such "abuses of authority, vexations," couhi 
tiot V)e deemed worthy of the headsman's axe, unless by what many were 
impartial enough, even at the time, to consider a far greater "abuse of 
authority" on the part of the Parliament of Paris, in passing such a 
sentence. 

" Some faults must be, that his misfortunes drew. 
But such as may deserve compassion too." — Buckingham. 

It is certain, that the officers, who were his severest accusers, in reference 
to those causes for personal offence, would have moderated the tone of 
tlieir evidences against him, had they imagined, that what thev stated 
coit'd contribute to consign the unfortunate Genei-al to the scaffold! 
They would rather have made such allowances, for the verij tryiu" 
circumstances in which he was placed, as to excuse him. With respect 
to " exactions," Lally had not only never imposed the contribution even 
of a single penny at Pondicherry on the Council or inhabitants, but, 
while he subscribed largely from his own means to forwai-d tlie pulilic 
cause, he never tron,bled the Tnsasury of the Council for the payment of 
his appointments as General; post])oning his demands on that score till 
his return to Paris — where his reward was caluauiy, imprisonment, and 
death ! 

If any circumstance could ])lace in a specially damning light such at 
once shameless and cruel ingratitude towards him, it was this, whici), 
more tlian anything else, eventually served to open the eyes of the public 
to the abominable injustice of his fate. A hypocritical portion of his 
nefarious sentence — "lugging in i-eligion," as it were, " bv the head and 
siioulders" — provided that, from his confiscated jirojjertv, 100,000 crowns 
sliould be set apart for the poor of Pondicherry! It had been lyingly 
given out, that the fortune he had managed to amass was one of an 
enormous amount, and afterwards as lyingly reported, that tlie returns 
he had furnished of his means were falsified by the discovery of a large 
sum, which he had placed where he believed it would have escaped detec- 
tion by the Government. The actual fortune, however, of the maligned 
and, murdered veteran was found to be so inconsiderable, that, when liis 
debts were paid out of it, there would not remain 100,000 crowns for 
the poor ! — although the infamous Council of Pondicherry had accused 
him of having realized a treasure of 17,000,000'!!* But, if he were 
not condeunied, peculation should account and suffer for its evil gains 
abroad; ministerial culpability or want of success in the late most dis- 
astrous war should be without a victim, against whom to divert public 
discontent at home; or a sort of Jonas to cast overboard, that the 
state-vessel, instead of having to encounter a tempest too great for " the 
pilot to weather the storm," might pi-oceed as i-equired by the political 
steersman ; and such a combination of interests, as so influential, was 
necessarily aided, to make sure of its prey, by lawyer-sojjhistry. the 

• "Ce qui coutribua le plus a retablir sa memoire dans le public," writes Voltnire, 
"c'est qu en etfet, apres bien des recherches. on ti'ouva qu il n'avait laisse qu'uiie 
fcn'tune mediocre! L'arret portait qu'on prendrait sur la coiitiscatiou de ses l)ieji3 
11)0,000 ecus pour les pauvres de Poiidichen. 1] ue se trouva pas de (juoi payer 
cette somme, iettes pre'alables acquittues ; tt le Couatll de, Ponllchcri avaU, dau,-< st» 
iiquittb, fact rnu/Uer ics tresuvs a 17 ludiious.^'' 



574 HISTORY OF TIIIC TliTSH I'.KinAnKS 

too fi'oqnf'iit prostitute to powi-r, as pi-(>sentiiiG: prospects of jtroflt or 
pi'ornotion. "By one of tliose acts of imposture and villainy, of 
which," notes my well-informed authority, "the history of ministries, 
in all the countries of Euro])e, affords no lack of instances, it was 
resolved, to raise a scn^en between the Ministry and popular hatred, by 
the cruel and disgraceful destruction of Lally ;" and, as to the co-opera- 
tion needed from lawyei's for the ])urposi!, "the grand tribunal of the 
nation, the Parliament of Paris, found no difficulty in seconding the 
wishes of the Ministry, and the artificial cry of the day, l)y condemning 
him to an ignominious death." 

Over the long and disgusting farce of the politico-legal formalities 
that were to terminate in such a melancholy tragedy, 1 pass to the mf)re 
immediate preliminari(?s of the final catastrophe, and its heartless perpe- 
tration. For the inteirogatories that were to precede his sentence, the 
pri.soner was ordered to be removed, in the night between the 4th and 
6th of May, 17()0, from the Bastille to the i)rison called the Concier- 
gerie; whence there was, by several flights of stairs, and through dif- 
ferent halls, a communication with the great Court of J'arliament. 
'Jliough it was not more than 1 o'clock in the morning when he arri\ed, 
lie wonld not go to bed. About 7, he was brouglit before liis Judges, 
and soon found he might make up his mind for the worst. Pie was first 
divested of his honours, or commanded to give up his Grand Cross and 
lied Riliand of the Order of 8t. Louis. This he did with such power over 
his feelings, as not to (ivince any apparent concern. He was next told, to 
.scat liiuisclf upon a stool ; an indication that the sentence to he passed 
upon liiui would at least involve coi'poral ])unisliment. " He could not," 
says an enemy. " beai- up against this decree of infa-my. Covered with 
14 scars, how hard was his destiny, to fall into the hands of the execu- 
tionei'!" Accordir)gly, "then, and imt before;, he discovered gi'eat 
euiotion," unco\-ered his head, displaving the giev locks of age, bared 
Ills luiMst iiiaiked with the wounds of hoiioiu', anil joining his hands, 
and lo(jking upwards, as if ajjpealing from earth to heaven, exclaimed — 
" //ere, then, is the reward of so many years' services! " * P'he interroga- 
toi-ies to which he was subjected lasted 6 hours, duiing which, being 
greatly fatigued, he was allowed a glass of wine and water. Prom this 
examination, he was reconducted to ))rison. Next day, the (ith, to the sur- 
Jiriseand horror of all not interested in such a decision, the sentence of con- 
oemnation (already set forth) was j)ronounced, with a reluctant deferring, 
by the Pailiament, of execution till the !Jth. A characteiistic de{)uta- 
tion from the same iniquitous tribunal to Louis ^V. recommended the 
]ving to show no mercy, or, as they metajiliorically expressed it, "to 
enchain his clemency!" — that shameless request being made, in order to 
inistrate the efforts, in Lally's favour, of his connexions and friends, 
who, in opposition to the meditated murder of the General, loudly 
demanded what they knew, that, on his b(dialf, they were so well entitled 
to demand, "not pardon, but justice!" The Parliament, with their 
t>lher reasons (such as those reasons were!) for thus hounding Lally to 
death, had, it should be observed, a special motive for being intent on 
making hivn an exam])le — namely, that, as in their contentions on 
several occasions with the Crown, a General Officer had been deputed to 
break u]) their refractory sittings, they, with ])roportionable irritation, 

' For tlie " nf) years" of one account, and tlic "45 years" of anotber, I sub- 
etilutc "su viuni) years," as aiiplicable to eltlitr ^n'riod passed iu tlie service. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 575 

anrl de'^ire of revenf^o for sucli niortifying exercises of nntliority at tlieir 
expense, were anxious to have sutislaction against some re])resentative of 
the like military grade, and more ])articularly against Lally. Not that 
he appears to have been such an instrument of the Crown lor dissolving 
them; but that the trium])h for which they longed would, they con- 
ceived, be the greater, if ol)tained over him, sijice he was not only of 
the rank in the army obnoxious to tliem. but had also exercised vice- 
regal sway; and thus the oliending military and sovereign power would, 
as it were, be botli rendered accountable toi' the ])ast, in his person, in 
opposition, however, to this cor[)orate spirit of ])ersecution, so strong a 
feeling was excited in favour of Lally among those of his own ]>rofession, 
that, on the 8th, at the rising of the Council of State, the Marshal de 
Soubise threw himself upon his knees before the King, beseeching his 
Majesty to gi'ant, " in the name of the army, at least the pardon of 
General Lally!" With the treacln^rous and hy|K)critical effrontery of a 
master-politician, the Premier, or Duke of Choiseul, as if //,e had no 
hand in the al)oiniual)le treatiuciit of Lally, followed tlio example of 
Soubise. Louis raised up tlu! Iionest Marshal, and fixing his eyes 
pointedly on the double-dealing Duke, said to him — "It is you who 
• have caused him to be arrested. It is too late. They have judged him. 
They have judged him." And, long after, his Majesty remarked, that 
Buch an execution was, indeed, a massaci-e, though it was others who 
were answerable for it, and not /te — an attempt of the King to excul- 
pate himself, which, however satisfactf)ry lie may have deemed it, seems 
anything but so to u>^. 

The evening of this last incfl'cctual appeal to tlie (h'own for mercy, the 
unfortunate Count was talaiti from the Bastille, as too honourable a 
place of confinement, to a jail for common ci'imin;ds. Notwithstanding 
tiuit sufficiently ominous removal, and his being aware of the decision 
against him, he is said to have still clung to the notion, that there would 
be some posti)onenient of his fate. Next day, however, (jr the Dth, at 
noon, he was summoned to the chajjcl of the prison, there to learn, too 
surely, that he had now only to prepare for death. The officer appointed 
to read his sentence to him, the attendants to take possession of his 
person for the executioner after the reading of tliat sent(nice, and a 
confessor, appeared before him. On hearing the unjust doom, lie si)ecially 
denounced, as. utterly false, the allegation of his " having betrayed the 
interests of the King," and naturally devoted, in the strongest terms 
of indignant despair, the political and legal authors of his unmerited, 
destruction to general e.^ecration here, and divine vengeance hereafter. 
Then, seeming to recover from this vehement outburst of passion, or 
become more collected in himself, and pacing to and fro for some time, 
while directing one hand, beneath his dress, towards his heart, and with 
the other seeking a pair of compasses he had been using for geogra- 
phical purposes, he affected to kneel down as if to pray, and suddenly 
attempted to wound himself uioitally with the compasses, which pene- 
trated 4 inches, but without effecting his oVjjcct; a movement he made 
in lowering himself having preserved the heart. He was, of course, not 
allowed to re])eat the blow, and the blood-stained compasses were handed 
to the Confessor, the venerable Aubry, Cure of the Parish of St. Louis 
f^n rih'; who did his utmost to console the unhappy General, and bring 
hiu), from this state of distraction, to a dilfer<!nt disposition of mind, or 
i(eeiin2:s of resij^nation and religion. Nor were those zealous eii'orts of 



576 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

the Priest without producing such satisfactory results, that, in the 
generous coritlict of sentiment between the principles of his classical and 
theolo'jical education, the worthy man observed of the Count after his 
decease — " lie atahhejl Idmxelf as a liero, and repented as a Christia.n!''' 
Meanwhile the i-age of Lally's enemies against him, instead of being at 
all mitigated by the approaching certainty of his death, was bent, with a 
8oit of diabolic s]iirit, or Jewish intensity of vengeance, on adding what- 
ever anguish they could to the closing scene of his existence. The 
King had intimated to the Parliament, that, so far as might be consistent 
with the charges for which the prisoner was to suffer, every respect 
should be sliown him, in connexion with his execution. It was conse- 
quently undeistood, and accordingly communicated by the Confessor 
to the General, tliat tlie ceremony was to take place by night; that he 
was to leave the piison by torch-light in his own carriage, with tl^e 
Confessor, an oihcei- in a civilian's dress, and a valet-de-chambre; that 
the carriage miglit be followed by the coaches of such friends, as desired 
to pay him that last sad tribute of their i-egard; and that the execu- 
tifiner should only be in attendance at the scaffold, for the peifoimance of 
his duty. But the persecutors of Lally could not bear that he should 
quit life, without draining the gall and wormwood of their inveterate 
njalignity to the very dregs. They conti'ived to set the above ari-angement 
for the execution aside, as not sutiiciently lacerating to the feelings of the 
d}ing man. 

The principal hand in effecting such a detestable "change for the worse" 
was the infamous Recorder, Pasquier. This hard-hearted official, whose 
name is also associated elsewhere with a sentence of most monstrous 
cruelty,* is described as "very expert in the labyrinth and chicanery of 
the law, very dexterous and subtle, and, at the same time, an old man, 
subject to ])rejudices, headstrong, violent, and choleric;" and. having been 
rough!}' handled by Lally in the course of his so-called trial, had drawn 
the final report upon it in stich an unfair and saiigninaiy spirit, as maitdy 
led to his condemnation. Not regai-ding even this condemnation to be 
rigorous enough per se, the vindictive and remorseless procurer of it now- 
insisted, that an execution of the sentence, merely in the manner above, 
mentioned, was quite inadmissible, as amounting, in his opinion, to a 
mitigation of ])unishraent ; death, he ai'gued, being nothing, unless attended 
by every hornu- of an infamous apparatus at its infiiction! And such 
accompaniments of an execution, with extra forms of brutal insult to the 
dying, it was accordingly the special object of this revolting specimen of 
loathsome lawyerism to order — as if to present a sufficiently indignant 
conception to our minds of the immeasurable contrast between the hero 
wlio was to suffer, and the I'eptile to whom his suffering, and the dis- 
graceful aggravation of it, were to V)e owing, on this occasion — a lion, as 
it were, to Ije destroyed by the paltry poison of a contemptible adder, 
isnappea.sed at the idea of being merely able to effect that destruction, or 
spitefully fretting itself until satisfied that every drop of its vile venom 
should o]»erate most effectually, by agonizing its noble victim, with due 
intensity, to the very last. It was decided by this rancorous wretch, and 
his abominable associates, in the unmanly meanness of thus tramjiling 
upon the fallen, whose hours were numbered, — that, to render the execu- 

* That of the poor f'hevaher de la Barre, condemned, at Abbeville, altliough 
only aliout 17, to he put to death, by "la torture oidinaire et extraordiuaire, " and 
executed accordingly ! 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 577 

tion at once as pulilic and as mortifying as jmssilile to the sufferer, it 
slionld be hurried t'orvv;u-d by several houis, so as to take place in full day, 
instead of by night — that the prisoner, before quitting the jail where ho 
was for the scaftbld, should have liis incnith secured by a gag, which would 
prevent any passing denunciation from hiui of tlie injustice of his sentence, 
and to the proportionate piejudice of its authors — and that, instead of 
being conveyed, as previously intended, and as he expected, in his owa 
carriage, succeeded by those of his friends, he should be brought there in 
a miserable cai't, of the kind used for the lowest or worst criminals, in 
which he should be accomp;inied by the Confessor-, with no better escort 
than 2 hangmen — the ordinary waggon of the executioner to ije the only 
other vehicle allowed to follow. 

The feelings of Lally may be conceived, when, 6 hours sooner than he 
was led to anticipate, he was summoned to set out for the gallows by an 
executioner, with the brutal gag, and infamous cart, ifec. At the sight of 
the latter esjtecially, from which he. was to be exposed to the public gaze 
of Paris in full day, Lally looked at the Cure, exclaiming with a natural 
emotion of disajipointment — " I have suffered so much, as to expect any 
thing from mankind; but you. Monsieur, yoic to deceive me!" To whicli 
the honest Priest, with suitable energy, replied — " Monsieur le Comte, 
do not say that 1 have deceived you. Say that they have deceived both 
of us." Then, or about half-past 4, they set out, in the manner last 
prescribed, to the site for the execution, on the Place de Greve. The 
unseemly mud-vehicle, or scavenging-waggon, in which the Count wan 
conveyed, and the large gag which he had to wear, extending beyond his 
lips in such a way as to disfigure his noble countenance, presented a 
spectacle so shocking, that the authors of it were very generally censured, 
even by that consideral)le proportion of the bystanders, whose superiicial 
scntimentalism was indifferent to the more revolting circumstances of the 
sufferer's unjust condemnation and death. Among the crowd, naturally 
drawn together by this scene, were a number of Lally's enemies, who 
came tliere to triumph over him, with such an insensibility to all moral 
decorum, that they were not ashamed to exhibit their vile exultation, as 
he passed, by clap/Ang tJceir liauds! — conduct, to which the op])osite and 
indignant feelings of an English gentleman, Horace Walpole, has justly 
referred, as only worthy of so many Iroquois prisoner-tormentors, or 
barbarians. At 5, on the arrival of the vehicle in which Lally was at the 
gallows, he got out, and assisting the clergyman to mount the scaffold, 
ascended it with the firmness of a soldier, in the presence of an immense 
assemblage, not merely " of the mob, and of tnides-people, but of all the 
military men, and all the Court." Then, walking round the scafibld, to 
draw appai'ently the more attention to the gag which prevented his 
speaking, and raising his hand to Heaven, as taking it to witness hi,4 
innocence, the dying veteran submitted his neck to the executioner; 
by wht)m his head was severed from his body, with 2 strokes, in his 
6-3th year. 

Such was the sad and unmerited end of Lieutenant-General Count 
Thomas Arthur Lally, by the combined villiany of the peculator, the 
j)olitician, and the lawy«er, in an age, as regards France, of a putrid 
colonial and a ])utrefying national morality, too clearly sym])tomatic of 
the terrible Revolution, which, in less than oO years, was to lay the whole 
of the existing political and social system of that country in ruins. It i.s 
very gratifying to be able to state, that this scandalous sacrifice of Lally 

2 p 



078 HISTORY OF THE IRISH bhigades 

■was not vvitLout being resented, as it deserved to be, by a liigh-minded 
gentleman of the Irish Brigade. Mr. St. John, in his " Letters tVoui 
Fiance to a Genth^nan in the South of Irehiud," published in Dublin 
in 17<S8, relates the following anecdote, to that effect, of an Irish olHci^r 
of the corps, whose f iniily name and title, according to the letters 
«nd asterisks emj)loyed to indicate them, would correspond, in the 
Feerage of Ireland, with Butler and Caliir. " Colonel B * * * * *, 
who, on the demise of his brother, has since succeeded to the estate 
find title of Baron C * * * r, was so much affected at the in- 
justice to his gallant countryman, that, app;_'aring at the head of his 
ivgiment, he took the cockade from his iiat and spurned it ujton 
the earth; and solemnly swore, he never moie would serve a king and 
])eople, who, with such ingratitude, so ungenerously sacrificed his friend 
and countryman, the brave Count Lally. Although, at that time, tlie 
f imily-estate was enjoyed by his elder brother, yet, with a noljle and 
disinterested generosity of soul, he maintained his word, and withdievv 
from the service of France." 

We have seen what a good son the ill-fated Count was to his capricious 
father, Sir Gei-ard Lally, whose life he saved in battle; so far entitling 
himself to raidv,'for filial hei'oism, with 2 among the brightest names in 
the military annals of classic antiquity, with the Macedonian Alexander, 
and the Roman Scipio. the conqueror of Persia, and the victor of Hannibal. 
Nor was the Count without being rewarded in Ids tnrn, by having a son, 
if not to save his father's life, yet to succeed in vindicating that father's 
injuied honour; by causing every stain, proceeding from the inliiction of 
a capital, though unmerited, sentence, to be erased from his calumniated 
charactei'. As was observed of Agnmemnon, who, though so foidly 
murdered, left an Orestes to obtain satisfaction for his lamented parent's 
assassination, 

"Ev'n to th' imhappy, that unjustly Weed, 
Heav'n gives posterity, t' avenge the deed"— 

■while all who heard of that satisfaction could not but 

" admire, 
How well the son aj>peas'd the slaughter'd sire ! " 

(Pope's HomeiVs Odyssey, iii., 23S-241.) 

so, liliewise, was it, that the son of Lally acted with reference to Ids 
deceased father, although through the different course implied by the 
nature oi' his case. To that son, but a minor at college, as only born in 
March, 1751, his father, by the la.st words he wrote previous to his death, 
committed the vindication of his memory ; and this mournful injunction 
was accei)ted with such filial ])iety, and carried out with such a very 
creditable combination of zeal, perseverance, and ability, that, at length, 
or in May, 1778, the King (poor Louis XVI.!) in Council, by the 
nnaninums opinions of a large number of Magistrates, and for reasons 
equally demonsti'ating the injustice and illegality of the fatal sentence of 
the Parliament of Paris 12 years before, pronounced that sentence, and 
w hatever resulted from it, to l>e of no authority, and cancelled accordingly. 
By this cancelling decision, the memory of the unfortunate Count wa.s 
cleared from every aspersion cast upon it by law; the fact of his innocence, 
and of his consequent butchery, merely through the formation of a detest- 
able cal'al against him, having, ever since his death, been generally 



IN THR SERVICE OF FRAN'CE. 579 

fif^mUtPfl 1>y pnlilic opinion. On the promulgation of the royal <]ecre9, 
A'^oltaire, who, (whatever may liave been his errors.) in this and (tther 
inenioral)le instances, so lionourahly lent the aid of his keen and hrillianti 
pen, to defend tlie right against the wrong, or the weak against, the stroii!.'; 
and who, after the fullest consideration, had specially branded the e.xecii- 
tion of Laliy, as "a murder committed with the sword of justice;" from 
liis death-bed, May 2()th, or but 4 days previous to his decease, sent the 
following lines (the last he ever wrote) to the Count's son, to congratulate 
Lini on his success. " The dying man revives, on learning this great news. 
He embraces very tendei-ly M. de Lally. He sees that the Kingjs the 
defender of justice. He will die contented." Of the younger Lally, as 
not being an officer of the Irish Brigade, the subsequent distinguished 
political and literary career can only be referred to here. — by adding that^ 
at his death, in March, 1830, he included among his titles and dignities 
those of Count and Marquis of Lally Tolendal, Peer of France, Minister 
of State, Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour, Chevalier Comm.uuler 
and Grand Treasurer of the Order of St. Es[)rit or the Holy Ghost., 
^Member of the Royal Academy of France. He left by his marriage but 
1 daughter, Elizabeth Felicitc Claude de Lally Tolendal, through whom 
the family Peerage was conveyed to her husband, the Count d'Aux. 

While the Kegiment of Lally was engaged in Asia, the rest of the 
Irish Brigade had their share in Europe of the great contest between 
France, England, and so many of the Continental ]iovvers, from 1756 
to 1763, hence termed the Seven Years' War. But, owing to the 
extensive demoralization of society, from the palace to the camp, in 
Franfe * at this degenerate period, the day ff)r military achievements 
like the past was ovei-. Dui'ing this unpropitious era of the Seven 
Years' War, the Irish corps, employed on the Continent, were gener- 
ally attached to the French forces, appointed to serve in Germany. 
With the army, that, under the successive commands of the Marshals 
d'Etrees and Richelieu, peneti-ated into Hanover in the summer of 1757, 
and, aftei- dislodging the Duke of Cumberland, in July, from his best 
])osition at Hastenbeck. finally reduced him, and his 38,000 Hanoverians, 
<tc., in September, to cajjitulate at Closter-Seven, and take his departure 
for England, were the Regiments of Beiwick, Fitz-James, and other 
Irish corps; that of Berwick having been most noticed at Hastenbeck. f 
The hero of Culloden, of whom we here take leave, cuts but a sorry 
figure in this campaign, according to Frederick the Great of Prussia, who 
comjilains of it, as most injurious to /m' affairs. 

"At the beginning of April," writes the King, "the French took 
possession of the towns of Cleves and Wesel, without encountering oppo- 
sition. The Count de Gisors seized on Cologne, which the French 
designed to make a place of arms. Marshal d'Etrees, who was to take 
the command of the army, arrived there in the beginning of May, and 
advanced, on the 26th, with all his forces, and encamped at Munster. 
The Duke of Cumberland collected his troops at Bielefeld, whence he 
had sent a detachment to Paderborn, at the approach of d'Etrees, who.se 
army encamped at pLJieda. The Duke retired to Herford, on which the 
French sent a detachment into Hesse; which meeting with no opposi- 

* For sufficiently enrrobofcative details, on this point, compare the Private Life 
of Lewis XV., so often quoted, with "The Hisrory of the French Ar^ny," ia 
Colbm-u's New Monthly Magaziiie for December, 1SG2. 

•J- Fiet].e aud Toiice. 



580 HISTORY OP THE IRISH BRIGADES 

Hon, seizc'cl on the whole Landp^raviate. Caf^sel itself (the caynhal) 
Fnrren(leie<l, alter a feeblw i-esistaiice. The Duke of Ciimljevland, nob 
jntt'iidiiio; to maintain liis gvoiind till lie liad passed the Weser, accoi-ding 
to the ])laa of the Hanoverian Ministry, who believed the pa.ss*:ige of 
this river nioie dilficult than that of the Riiine, crossed (Jnly) with his 
troo])s, over bridges, that he had prepared in the villages of Khenmn and 
Vlotho. He gave orders, in the meantime, that the Tortifioations of the 
towns of Mnnden and Hamelii should be hastened. Tliis was thinkiaij 
tdrdily. The French inclined toward Corbie. One of their detachments, 
liaving passed the Weser, occasioned the Duke to chaiige his position; 
and he encamped, with his right at Hameln, and his left at Afferde. 
The Duke of Orleans, in the interim, threw bridges over the Weser, to 
cross at Mnnden. The Duke of Cumberland, who expected soon to be 
attacked, called in all his detachments, and assembled them at Hasten- 
l)eck, the position of which had been described to him as admirable. 
Tiie right of his army was there well supported, and the centre retreated 
elbowing. In his front w;is a wood, and, in this wood, a considerable 
lavine. The Fi-ench army aiiproached the Allies, who were reconnoitred 
\^y dEtrees on the 25th, while he was cannonaded by the Duke of Ctim- 
l>erland. On the morrow, the French attacked his left, by gliding 
through this I'avine at the bottom of the wood, and carried the centre 
battery of the Allies. This the Hereditary Prince of Brunswick 
i-ecovered, sword in hand; by which iirst essay, he showed Nature had 
destined him a hero Meantime, a Hanoverian Colonel, Breitenbach, 
took nj)on himself to collect the first battalions he met, entered the 
wood, fell upon the French in the rear, expelled them, and seized their 
cannon and colours. Everybody supposed the battle gained. D'Etrees, 
who saw his troo|%s routed, had given ordei's for retreat. These the 
Duke of Orleans opposed. At length, to the gre.at astonitshriient of thf, 
whole FrencJi, army, they learned that the Duke of C mnherland toas on tha 
Jull niarclb. retreating to Haindn. The Hereditary Prince was obliged to 
abandort, the battery^ he had, wdh so much glory, recovered; and the retreat 
tons made with such ^precipitation, that the brave Colonel Breitenbach even, 
whose merits were so conspicuous on that day, was forgotten. Tins v:orth.y 
ojficer Tem,ained singly the master of the field, and. departed by night tojoia 
the army, bringing his tro/jhies to the Duke, wJio wept in despair, to perceive 
he had been so hasty, to quit afield, vfrich was no longer disputed* Not 
all the remonstrances of the Duke of Brunswick (August) and the 
Generals of his army could dissuade him from continuing to retreat. 
He niarched first to Nienburg, and afterward to Verden ; whence, 
through Rotenburg, and Bremervorde, he took the road for Stade. //v/ 
this false miinoiuvre, he abandoned, t/i.e vjliole country to the discretion of 
thii French,. Hameln was immediately occupied by the Duke of Fitz- 
James."* Then mentioning the arrival of the Duke de Richelieu to 
Command the French, and stating, how the Duke "took Hanover, the 
Duke d'Ayen Brunswick, and M. le Voyer Wolfenbuttle," itc.,the King 
]»nicee(ls — " The Duke himself juirsued the Allies, ])assed the Aller, and 
encamped at Yerden. D'Armentieres nicaiitime seized on Bremen, on 
the 1st of September. The French army advanced toward Rotenburg, 
with an intent to attack the Duke of Cumberland, but did not lind hiui 

* What a general theme, for ridicule and invective, a scene like this, in the life 
of a Suiart Piince, wouid be, among ctrtaai writers! We shall hear of the brave 
Bitiieiibuch a^aiu. 



m THE SERVICE OP PRANCE. 581 

there. He had already retreated to Bromervorde; avfjiding, after the 
battle of HastenV)eck, all eiiga,s;(!ment with the enemy. No sooner did 
the Kins;" <.i Prusyia "perceive, hy the maiiofiuvi-es of the Duke of 
CiUTi^i'-i laud, that he confined himself to tlie defence of the Weser, than 
hn foresaw what would be the result, and recaUed tlte 6 batt-alions lie had hi 
that army, to throw them into Mac;debonrg; whrch lie did very season- 
ably." Of "the famous Cotivention, signed, by the Dnkes of Cumber- 
land and Eichelien, at Closter-Seven," soon after-, or early in September, 
the King observes — " It was sti[)ulated. that hostilities should cease; 
that the troops of Hesse, Brunswick, and Gotha, should be sent back 
into their respective countries; that those of Hanover .should remain 
quiet at Stade, on the other side of the Elbe, within a given di.strict. 
Nothing was regulated concerning the Electorate of Hanover, either respect- 
ing contribations or restitutions; so that this country ivas abandoned to tlia 
discretion of the French. Scarcely was the Convention concluded, before 
the Duke of Cumberland, without waiting for its ratification, returned 
to England. . . . This disgraceful Convention completely deranged 
the aft'aiis of the King" of Prussia. 

"The Duke of Cumbei-land," alleges another contemporary Continen- 
tal writer, " returned to London, discontented and disgraced, and wad 
turned into ridicule at Paris, where, in a grotesque caricature, he was 
represented on foot, with a white stick in his hand, going away with Ids 
back turned, and in the attitude of shame and despair." An English 
newspaper announcement, under October 12th, of the Duke's arrival 
from Hanover at Harwich, adds, "and, in the evening, his Highness 
pass'd over London Bridge for Kensington," his. father's residence, 
"in a very private manner! " The moi-c "private," indeed, the better] 
For, according to Lord Mahon, " when the Duke first appeared in the 
Toyal presence, the King never addi-essed a word to him, but said aloud, 
in the course of the evening — "• H(^re is my son, who has ruined nse, 
and disgraced himself!'" Soon after, "he resigned all his military 
employments!" A rather unsati.sfactory termination, or tail-piece, to 
the martial career of the vaunted victor of Culloden, and merciless devas- 
tator of the Highlands! — I'eminding us, amidst "grinning Lifamv and 
hi.ssing Scorn," of the ludicrous retirement of the baffled wolf in the 
poem, as away 

"lie flies. 
And cla^js liis quiv'ring tail between his thighs." " 

Drvdem's ViKGiL, iEneis, xi., 1185-118(3. 

On November 5th, 1757, was fought the battle of Bosbach, ia 
Thnringia, between the Prussians nnder Frederick the Great, and the 
Imperial forces, or those of Austria and the Circles, nnder the Prince of 
Hilderburghaiisen, and the French acting as auxiliaries, nnder the Prince 
of Soubise. The victory of Frederick there, and its I'esnlt-s, excited a 
great sensation at the time, and nowhere more than in England; the 

* "I shall not, I ■f^rusfc, be nccii'^ed of supe'stition," writes Gibbon, "but, I 
must remark, that, even in this word, the natural order of events will somi-thriPH 
afford the strdncj appenrances of m ral retribntio,)." And could anv glory (such as 
it vvas I) acquired, with tire surname of "the butcher," by the Duke in Scothmd, 
ciimpeusate for liis final nhame, in, .-ind after his return from, Hanover? He died. 
in October, 17()5. In our day, or IStlG, Hanover, under the line if another Cum- 
berland of unenviable notoriety, lias been swept by Prussia from the list ol uatioua. 
"And so farewell, Hanover!" as the Jacobite song says. 



682 HISTORY OF THE IRISH Br.TGADES 

effects of wLich were of correspondiug impovt.ince. from their inflr.enco 
on the measures of its governnieiit for carrying on the war with vigoni* 
in Grermany, nofcwitlistanding the Duke of Cumberland's recent wretched 
Lreak-down at Kastenbock and Ch)ster-Seven. Through disadvantages 
in jioint of Generalsliip, and other prejudicial circumstances, the Austro- 
Gallic forces, notwithstanding their having been 50,000 strong against 
some thousands less than half that n>iniber of Prussians, wore, in about 
an hour and a half so ontmanoenvred, and beaten, that tliey lost, iu 
every way, at least 10,000 men, with 63 ])ieces of cannon, 22 colours or 
standards, itc. ; the Prussians having had comparatively few, or, as tliei; 
Said, not 30(), killed or wounded! And it was only the shortness or" the 
days, or early setting in of darkuf^ss at that season of the year, which saved 
tlie vanquislied Confederates a diminution in prisoners of ])erha])s 20,000 
men ; such was theii- general dismay, and disarray, at the close of the 
action! Among t'.se French cavalry, "in that day of desolation," was 
the Irish Horse ReMjiment of Fitz-James; whose Colonel-Connnandant 
(for tiie Colonel-Proprietor of the Fitz-James family) was the Chevalier 
<le Betagh. giandson of the liead of the ancient house of Moynalty, 
County of Meath ; ])reviously related to have been so uefariou.sly divested, 
as a Catholic, of his ])roperty, after tlie Restomtion, bv sectai-ian ])er- 
jury.* " Le Regiment de Fitz-James, cavalerie Irlandoise, dans I'arnsC'i 
du Prince do Soubise," writes Abbe Mac Geoghegan, " s'est distingue ^ 
la bataille de Rosback. contre les Prnssiens" — leaving us, however, to 
collect the subjoined details of that distinction frfnu other sources, f 

General Seidlitz. with all the Prussian hoise as a vanguard, had orders 
to take .such advantage of the nunierons hollows of the country, as to 
turn, or outflank, the Allied right wing of cavalry, and fall upon it, 
liefore adequate formations could take ])!ace for resisting an attack of 
the kind, to be made with equal suddenness and vigouj*. Accordingly, 
that wing of t)ie Allies, already turned by Seidlitz without being aware 
of it, only perceived the Prussians for the first time as they came on 
im|)ctnously, or at full galloj?, to the charge in flank. The Prince of 
Hildei-burghausen thereupon endeavoured, as well as he could, to change 
Ids liaik into a front, iu order to receive the Prussians; having, in hi.s 
1st line, and leading )iim.se]f, Bretlack's and Tmutniansdorf's 2 Regi- 
ments of Ini])erial Cuirassiers; the Cavalry of the Em|)ire forming a 
2nci line. The shock of the l.st line of the Prussians, notwithstanding 
the advantage under which they attacked, was firmly I'eceived, and 
bravely i-epfdled, esjiecially by the Austiian cuirassier.s, who were sup- 
ported Viy 10 squadrons fiom the French reserve of horse, under the 
Prince of Soubi.se. The Prussians, being then strengthened by their 
2nd line, and with a suitable effect on the contest. Soubise brought up 8 
Bioie of his squadrons, including those of the Regiment of Fitz-James; 
■which 8 squadrons re-established the combat for some minutes, but only 
for some minutes, since the gallant Betagh, and his Irish corps alone, of 
Soubise's cavalry, did nut forsake Bretlack's and Trautmansdorl's stout 
cuirassiers. 

''Of France, the l^o sted valour's fled; 
The I'nissian comes, she s cliillM with dread; 
Ev'ii honour frghted units her breast. 
Her lov'il, hei ong f;^. miliar, guest! " — Voltaire. 

• Fee his ca'^e, in Eook I., tinder the Ee;jinieiit of O'Brien, or Clare, 
•fdfiioiu! accounts, and olifieers' ie ters, in periodicals of the time, and Frederick'* 
crvTii Hi.-^tory of the Seven Years' \\ ar. 



IN THE SERVICE OP FRANCE. 583 

The 2 Austrian regiments were, in consequence, nearly annihilateJ ; 
and, of the trusty 

"companions who stood, 
In the day of dutresi, by their side," 

as Moore would express it, the loss, also, was necessarily consider- 
able; the brave Betagh himself being wounded.* In the knavish and 
meagre epitome of tliis discreditable defeat, officially published for 
Parisian perusal, the circumstance of the Regiment of Fitz-James having 
been among the 8 squadrons, last bi-ought up to re-establish tlie combat, 
is admitted; while any acknowledgment of that regiment sold/j having 
acted like " true men" by their " brothers in arms, and [wrtneis of tha 
war,' the heroic cuirassiers, is meanly omitted; and. as an honourable 
enemy is better than a hollow friend, it is to the great Frederick, that tha 
Iiish regiment is excludvely indebted for justice, on this occasion. Aftei' 
observing, how his General " Seidlitz had turned the enemy's vight, 
miperceived by themselves, and fell with impetuosity on the cavalry " 
there, the King states — "The 2 Austrian regiments formed to face him, 
and sustained the shock; but, being aliandoued by tiie French, tlte Regi- 
ment of Fitz-James excepted, they were almost totally destroyed." Tha 
author of a poem published but 22 years after this battle, or in Walker's 
Hibernian Magazine for 1779, and who was acquainted with the BetagU 
family, adds — 

"What in Rosbach's bloody plain lyefel, 
Aml)itious FreiTrick's savage tioojis can tell, 
Whei e one stout legion <if Hibernian blood 
The fire of all t le Prussian arms withstood; 
Led by tlie Betagh twuis,+ bright twins in fame, 
Their goodness, valour, and their skill the same — 

And when, with half his men, one brother fell, 

Tlie next, (a tale incredible to bell!) 

With the sinad remnant of his slaughter'd baud. 

Their way cut thro' the Piu^sians, sword in hand. 

Chann'd with such feats, the King withheld his hre, 

And let these heroes nnassaii'd'retire; 

Had search made for their leader o'er the field, 

That he might to his corpse all honours yield; 

To ])ieces hew'd, his corpse v/as sought in vain. 

Amidst the bleeding heaps of mangled slain." 

On this engagement, Mi\ O'Conor notes — " At Rosbach, the great 
Frederick expres.sed the utmost admiration for the '■ vmU of red bricks^ 
meaning the Swiss and Irish regiunnits, dressed in scarlet, which neither 
cavalry, artillery, nor infantry could break, when the rest of the French 

* Fieffc, without entering into any details, merely refers to the Eegiment of 
Fitz-James, as suffering considerably here. Courcelles, in noticing Betagh as itsj 
Colonel-Commandant, adds, "avec lequel il se trouva a la bataille de Rosbach, 
Ou il regut une ble-sure," &c. 

t On this mention of "the Betagh twins," the author of the ))oem states in a 
note — " Betagh of Moynalta was only 9 years old, when outlawed immediately 

after the late Revolution I knew tlie man, at an advanced age ; he spoke, 

of this flagrant act of injustice, with great composure, and forgiveness of his ene- 
mies." The just i-e[)eal, by the national Parliament, under King James II., in 
1G89, of the unjust Acts of Settlement and Kxp anation, would restore, to tho 
Betagh, and other families, the pro])erties of which they had beeu so shamefully- 
ousted under those Acts; but could only effect such restorations for a time, or 
while the King Wi.s able to uiiiintai^ his ^vouud iu iiehuid against William. 



581- HISTORY OF THE lUISU BRIGADES 

army was in utter disorder." M. de la Ponce, likewise, generally refers 
to the Irish, as having " rendered gi-eat services " there. 

In 1758, the Irish, after being employed in Germany, are mentioned to 
have been in Bretagne in September, when part of a British invading 
ibrce wils cut otl', in endeavoiuing to escape, by the Duke d'A^ignillon, 
Govei'uor of the Province, at the Bay of St. Cas.s, with a serious jn-opor- 
tioriable loss to the conquered, in ])risoners, killed, wounded, and di-owned, 
includuig "several officers, men of large fortune and consideration." Early 
in 1759, the French G<^vernmeut, to conijien.sate itself for the too unsatis- 
factory aspect of its military affairs in other quarters, commenced prepara- .: 
tion.s, to be made on an extensive scale, at the ports, and along the coast, 
opposite England, from Dunkirk to Vannes and Nantes, for an invasion, 
as was announced, of the British Isles. From an enterprise Of such " au 
interesting and domestic nature" for the Irish Brigade, tltey, of course, 
would not be excluded; whose feelings, in reference to the undertaking 
corresjionded with the purport of Jupiter's gratifying prediction in Virgil, 
to tlie effect, that Troy, though ruined, should, through those sprung from 
her, be avenged on Greece, and tliat just satisfaction be succeeded by a 
happy era of uninterru})ted peace and piety. 

"An age is rii)'ning in revolving fate. 
When Troy shall overturn the Grecian state. 
And sweet revenge her conqii'iing sons sliall call 
To crush the people that conspir'd her fall. 

jj. ^ jj. jf. .y. -tt. jt. 

Then dire debate, and impious war, shall cease, 
And the stern age be soften'd into ])eace: 
Then baiiish'd Faith shall once again return, 
And Vestal tires in hallow'd teuiples burn " 

Dryden's Vikgil, ^neis, i., 3S6-9, 39G-9. 

At Dunkirk, a small squadron of 6 ships of war, furnished with a select 
body ot troops, under Brigadier de Flobert, was placed under the com- 
mand of the most entei'prising and successful seaman of his day in France, 
the celebrated Tlinrot; that, however, being his name only through the 
maternal line; his grandfather. having been a Captain O'Farreli * of King 
James II. 's army in Ireland, and subsequently in France. With this 
squadron, in s])ite of a snpei'ior English one appointed to block him \\\>, 
Thurot was to get out, and. sailing round Scotland, make such an attempt 
on some j)oint of the northern coast of Ireland, as would, in the way of a 
diversion, be serviceable to the main design in hand, or that of landing a 

* See the account of Thurot in the Annual Register for 17G0; ami liis "Irish 
extractiuu" is admitted in the Private Life of Lewis XV^. The O'Farrells, or 
O'Ferralls, "a very celebrated race in all ages," says Charles O'Conor of Bolanagare, 
and of Irian origin, through Fergus Mac iloy. King of Uladli, or Ulster, in the 
heroic times, were, for centuries, the ruling sept o; the territory of Anghaile, or 
Annaly, m the jx-esent County of Longfoid. This territory was imt reduced by 
the English into a County till the reign of Elizabeth. By the iniquitous plantation 
system at the expense of the old natives, from the time of James I., the O'Farrells 
were very great sufferers. During the War of the Revolution from liiSS to 1G91, 
2 gentlemen of the name sat for the C^ounty of Longford, a 3rd for that of Leitrim, 
and a 4th for Laneshorough. in the national Parliament at Dublin in 1GS9 ; more 
were officers in the army for the sn])]iort of King James against the invasion of the 
Prince of Orange; and, in that Priuc 's consequent attainders of O'Farrells, were 
included, with others, the 2 Members for the County of Longford. In France, 
several O'Farrells, or O Ferralls, were officers of the Brigade, iu the Re^iuieuts of 
FitzJames, Lally, .Dillon, Berwick, and Walsh. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 585 

large force from France in the southern part of tlie island. MeantirnH 
England, from Nornuindy, the country of her oLl Continental conqueror.s 
and contiscators, was generally menaced with tlie di.semhai'kation of a 
formidable army, at least 53,000 in number, containing some of the 
choicest corps in the French sei'vice; of which large force, the Prince de 
Conti was announced as Comninnder in-Chief, with the Prince de Soubise, 
and the veteran Charles O'Br-ien, Lord Viscount Clare and Eirl of 
Thomond, under him, as Field Marshal. Of the Iiisli and Scotch troops 
of King Louis, the battalions were stated as 9 ; those of the former 
Bi-igade being the Regiments of Berwick, Bulkeley, Clare, Dillon and 
Iloth. The field and siege artillei-y was to amount to nearly 90 pieces; 
and they were to be accompanied by several thousand extra stands of 
arms, and great stores of other military necessaries. 

The ))rincipal French fleet, or that of Brest, under M. de Conflans, 
was looked to tis specially intended to cover the menaced descent upon 
England. But the actu;il o' 'ect of the French was, a landing from 
Bretagne in Munster, to be pn-tected by Conflans in autumn, when the 
chief British blockading squadron, under Sir Edward Hawke, should be 
driven by the usual winds, at that season of the year, off the French, tf> 
the English, coast. Tiie lai'ge portion of the French army, and its 
supplies, designed to sail for li eland, with the Duke d'Aiguillon, and 
the Lord Marshal de Thomond, having been drawn towards Vannes, 
and Hawke's fleet being, as was foreseen, obliged, by the weather, to 
make for Torbay, Conflans sa'led, Noveml)er llth, frou) Brest, with his 
entire armament, in oixler that, after sweeping away a snuill squadron, 
under Captain Duff at Quiberon Bay, he might protect the conveyance 
of the Flench, Irish, and Scotch troops to Munster. And Duffs very 
inferior force could have been duly disposed of by Conflans, ami the rest 
of the French Admiral's mission, as regards Ireland, would have, most 
probably, been accomplished, were it not for one of those providential or 
casual, but, at any rate, most fortunate or op]joitune, interventions of 
the elements, by which England, in the course of her history, has been 
so frequently, or remarkably, befriended.* For, observes a London 
contem[)orary with reference to the English admiral at Torbay, ">'/ 
Ilawke had been vnnd-bound 48 hours longer than he was, tke troops froia 
Varines, under convoy of Conjians, had certainly sailed for the destined 
port;^' and, "therefore, it was a kind of accident that saced us, ■in the 
zenith of oar power" (or even when so sti'ong at sea !) "from the ruiscJdef 
of an embarkation." Conflans, meanvvhile, as apparently delivered by 
the wind from the only opponent of sufficient strength to cope with him, 
was, on the morning of the 20th, proceeding, with due confidence, to 
chase away or cut off Duff, when Hawke unexpectedly "ttn-ned up" 
fi'om Torbay, whence he, too, sailed on the 14th, thereby arriving in 
time to save Duff. The com[)arative strength of the opposing fleets was 
then as follows: — French, sail of the line 21, with 1486 guns; frigates 3, 
with 8G guns; total of vessels 24; of artillery 1572 ))ieces. English, 
sail of the line 23, with 1666 guns; frigates 9, with 352 guns; total of 

-See, on that point, this work, uniler the years 1G92, 1G96, 1719, 1744; and, 
with respect to invasion of Ireland from the Continent being frustrated by the 
weather more recently, it was observed by Tone, in August, 1797 — "Twice within 
9 months has England been saved by the wnul." As contrasted with England's 
very exjiensive foreign confederates, the wiuda were likewise termed iu Parliament^ 
" her only utisubskiiaed allies ! " 



586 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

vessels 32; of artillery 2018 ])ieces. The English thus hnrl 8 ships and 
44G camion more than the French; the former, nevertheless, having bnt 
15,G80 men. while the latter had 1(1,740, besides those iu anme of their 
vessels not enumerated.* On Hawke's reappearance. " Conflans had 2 
choices, either to fly, or to stand, and Jight it out. But he followed 
neither ]ierfectly." He "made the signal for a line of battle." Yet, 
having fewer sjiips, and being considei-ably inferior in weight of metal, he 
sought, he tells us, "to avoid hazarding a general engagement at that 
time, and rather to train on the enemy through the shoals and rocks in 
the entrance of the river Vilaine." Unable, however, to carry out this 
well iniMgined design for the destruction of the English, the Fienchman, 
Tinder circumstances of much discredit to French and much honour to 
English seamanship, was defeated by Hawke, with the loss of 7 ships of 
the line, and other unfortunate results, which rendered the ])rojecte(? 
disembarkation of the army from Bretagne in Munster no longer prac- 
ticable. In a "Loyal Song, viz., Admiral Hawke's Welcome to Old 
England, on his completing the Ruin of the French Navy, November 
20th, 1759 "j— to " the Tune — the Rocat Beef, &c.," the exultation of the 
English, at that event, is thus expressed — 

" With the thanks of the Kinc;, this irreat action was crown'd; 
With tlie thanks of the L'omaions, their H(aise difl resound; 
Aud the voice that pronoimc'd them will ily the woild round. 
.,,, J Welcome, brave Hawke ! to Old England — 

(To Old England welcome, brave Hawke I 

"All hail onr Ijright ajra, the fam'd tifty-iiiue! 
All hail Hawke s companions, how greatly they shine! 
All hail, George the Second, what glory is thine ! 

^,, \ Welcome, brave Hawke ! to Old England — 

cnorus. ^ rp^ ^^^ England welcome, brave Hawke! 

In Ireland, the English Viceroy, or Duke of Bedford, communicated 
October 29th, to the Dublin colonial and sectarian legislature, the danger 
that menaced the existing order of things there, which tliey were so 
interested in upholding. He announced, how, according to the special 
despatch of Mr. Secretary Pitt from England, " there was a strong 
jtrobability, in ca.se the body of troojis, c(msisting of 18,000 men. under 
the command of the Due d'Aiguillon, assembled at Vannes, where more 
than sulKcient transports for that number were actually prepared and 
ready to receive them on board, should, as the season of thi3 year was 
growing less favourable for cruising, be able to elude his Majesty's 
squadrons, Ireland would not fail to be one of their objects." The force, 
however, from France, designed to land in Munster, with the Duke 
d'Aiguillon, and the Lord Marshal of Clare and Thoinond. appears to 
have Ijeen considerably ■mure than 18,000. An English private letter, 
descriptive of the defeat of Conflans, &c., and written from on board the 
vessel of 1 of Hawke's Captains, Lord Howe, or the " Magnanime, 
Portsmouth, December 27th, 1759," note.s, in connexion with this 
matter. — "On the 28th, liis Lordship went on shore, in a fla^' of truce. 
to demand the officers and men of the ship that struck to ns. for whom 
he got ciedit, and to treat of an exchange of prisoners. He staid 2 days 

* These useful details respecting the 2 fleets are dcriveil from Sir Edward Hawke's 
dcs])atcl), dated " Uoyal George, oil' Peiins Poinc, iSovemher 2iLh," iloO, and the 
valuable libts oi' ships annexed. 



IN THE SKRVICE OF FRANCE. 5S7 

on shore, and diner! witli the Dtike d'Aignillon, 2 Princes of the Blood, 
and several other General OlKcers. On the 30th, his Lordship cauw. on 
l)f>iinl the barge, and brought with liim a French General. He is an 
Ji-islnnan, as I am informed, and wore a Blue llibbon of the Order of 
St. Louis,* and is Second-in-Command of the expediticm destined against 
Ireland. He had a great deal of respect paid to him. and was receive<l 
on boanl with all the honours due to his rank. He dined on boai-d, and, 
after seeing the Admiral, Lord Howe conducted him on shore again. 
There are 2->,0il0 men in camp at Quilieron Bay." Another "letter from 
an officer in Sir Edvvai'd Hawke's tieet to a person of distinction at 
Dublin, and dated at Quiberon Bay," says — "I take this opportunity to 
congratulate you, and your whole country, on the success of his Majesty's 
arms, on the 20th of November last; for, had M. Conflans reached this 
place, and escajted oui- squadron, the whole strengtli of tlie Duke 
d'Aignillon 's army, consisting in all, here and at Rochefort, of 25,000 
effective men, were to be landed on the western parts of Ireland, with 
at least 20,0i'0 stand of arms; there to be left, to try their skill." Then, 
alluding to the 5 Regiments. of the Irish Brigade previously named, and 
their Scotch conii)anions, the writer add.s, they, "it is said, had, among 
themselves, divided all the estites of the nobility and gentry of the 
Counties of Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Clare, and Galway, and such parts 
whei-e they expected to meet most friends. Contlaus was most assuredly 
ordered to leave them there, and the Duke, and those with him, were to 
make a conquest of the whole island, or lose their lives in the attempt; 
it is certainly true, that the Duke d'Aignillon has now in his ))ocket a 
commission from the French King, as Viceroy of Ireland. All this I 
had' from a Lieutenant-Colonel, seemingly a very modest, ])retty, well- 
behaved man, and who (for his behaviour) has been genteelly tre;ited by 
the Admirals, and all the Captains of tlie squariron. He cominan<led the 
Regiment of Saintonge, who .served as Marines on board the Formid- 
able" — the captured vessel of the brave French Rear- Admiral, St. Andre 
du Verger. 

How such a gi-eat force from France as 25,000 men, with arms for at 
least 20,(100 more, would have been received on the soutii and west of 
Ireland, where the old native and oppressed race, and th(\se sympathizing 
with them, might be called tlie ]>o|)ulation of the country, is pretry clear 
from the contemjxu-ary Gaelic song, referring to a "return of the wild 
geese," or the national Brigade, for emancipation from .Tohii Bull's 
oilious, or Penal-Code yoke, as that of Shawn Bui, i.e.. yellow oi- oramje 
Jack. After promising, how the Saxon chains should then be shivered 
for ever, how the natioij^ should be victorious, and from south to north 
wage a "war to the death" against Shawn Bui, the compo.ser of this 
Bpirited effusion exclaims — 

" The Wild Geese sh.T,ll return, and- we'll welcome them homo^ 
So active, so arin'd, and so Highly 
A flock was ne'er known to this i^hiiid to come, 
Since the years of Prince Fi,.ii ihe mighty - f 

* N'l't of the Oi'der of St. Louis, hut of St. Esprit, or the Holy flhost; to the 
latter of which, it has appeared, in Book b, that the L ird ALu-shal belonged. The 
Eibbou of the Order of St. Louis, as incntioiici in poor Lady's case, was fed, nob 
blue. 

t On the old hero, Fiou, or Fin, see Book VIL, under state of irelaail iu 1745-6, 



688 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

Thfv will waste, and flostroy, overturn, and o'erthrow-^ 

They'll accoin]ilish whate'er may in man he ; 
Just Heav'n ! tliey will brinj!; desolation and woe 
Ou the hosts of the tyrannous Shawn Bui." 

** And oil ! maj' tlie God, who hath kept evermox-e 

This isle in His holy protection, 
Bring bacli to His teinjiles His priests as before, 

And restore them to Erin's affection ! 
To end!— may I sooner be slauohter'd in war, 

Or lie sunk in the waves of the grand Lee, 
Than, with spirit for Freedom, e er cease to abhor 

The detestable statutes of Shawn Bui." * 

The leaders of this powerful army were, indeed, such as, after landing, 
■would have recruited it abundantly,! in pr<)))ortion to the confidence* 
which would be naturally in.spired by their established reputation; that 
of the Duke d'Aiguillon, as having so recently beaten the English 
invaders of his country at St. Cass; but that, still moi'e of the Second-in- 
Commaud, if not virtual General, for this expedition to the "land of 
Lis fathers," the veteran Charles O'Brien, Lord Marshal of Clare and 
Tlionioiid, who, as so distinguished against the Saxon at Fontenoy and 
Laffeldt, and undoubted descendant, and i-epresentative, of the royal hero 
of Munster tliat crushed the Danes at Clontarf, would embody the full 
;oo;w//ar conception of a true Liberator for Erin.;!; ^^ all events, the 
landed "ascendancy" of the Croinvvellian and Williamite revoluti(nis in 
Ireland had, as above hinted, but too good reason to congratulate itself, 
that so very formidable an invasion did not take place. And, what a 
vast shock to Eugii.sh power, at home and abroad, must snch an invasiou 
have been, amidst an unprecedentedly extensive and expensiv.e war from 
Germany to India and America ! Certain it is, that never before do we 
read of so large a force being designed to land from the Continent in 
Ireland as 25.(i00 regular.s, including a famous body of national veterans 
like tlie Brigade, compai-ed, by their admiring countrymen, to the 
Einian heroes of antiquity, designed to guard Erin against the Eoman 
legions. 

The secpu'l of those great arrangements in France for a landing in 
Ireland extended beyond 1759 into the following year, as connected 
with the fate of the lesser expedition, nnder the brave Thurot. Though 
his orders liad been signed, June 17th, 1759, he was so closely blockaded 
at Dunkirk by the su])erior stiength of the English, that he was unable 
to leave that ])ort till October ISth. He had acquired such previous 
celebrity by his privateering exploits in the Belleisle—haviu^, for ex- 
am))le, taken within 1 year above GO vessels from the English— that the 
intelligence of his departiu'e from Dunkirk, with his small squadron, 
occasitiiied much alaini to the enemy. Thus, "though several squadrons 

* O'Daly's Poets and Poetry of Munster. 

t A par;)giapii in Faulkner's Duldin Journal, No. 3416, mentions, on the author- 
ity of '• a young Irish lad," who left a French vessel in which he was a sailor, how 
that vessel "carried off great numbers of men from the north-weat of Ireland, this 
year, to Brest." 

. t " Je ne dissimulerai point," a Jew is made to observe, " que, dans nos temps de 
calamite, nous avons attendu un libe'rateur. C'est la consolation de toutes les 
nations malheureuses, et surtout des peuples esclaves " The Irish Catholics were 
among the latter, not, indeed, by conquest, but violation of treaty. Had they 
been simply conquered, thei'e would not have been any trtaty with them — lo 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 589 

were despatched in quest of him, such was the apprehension entertained 
of his being at sea, that we are told, "the magistrates of Liverpool 
assembled on the occasion, anil entered into an association for the defence 
of that opulent town," when " it was proposed to raise 20 companies of 
100 men each, to be armed and paid by the inhabitants, and to erect 
batteries to mount 50 pieces of cannon." Steering so tar to the north as 
to elude the English, j'et, at such an unfavourable period of the year in 
that latitude, and, in such a very tempestuous sesison, exposed to suffer 
propoi'tionably, Thurot had to put in tirst at Gottenberg in Sweden, 
next at Bergen in Norway; and, for some months, was obliged, V>y 
scarcity of food, to ply about among the northern islands of Scotland 
for such provisions as might be gotten there, before he could sail directly 
for the coast of Ulster. At last, or January 24th, 1760, being able to 
do so, in a few days he discovered land, or Toiy island,* off the coast of 
Donegal, and had ])repared to disembark the following day, when a most 
violent storm prevented him. He then steered for Derry, and had made 
the like arrangements for a descent, when, as he was doubling tiie point 
of the harbour, he was blown away by a shifting of the wind, turning to 
such a tempest, that all had like to be lost ! By this time, the 6 shi[)S 
he had at tirst were reduced to but 3. extremely shattered; and the men 
necessarily much diminished and dispirited, as so long subjected to the 
greatest hardships,' on very insufficient sustenance. The day after the 
storm, the Captains of 2 ot the vessels, and the Brigadier in command of 
the land-force, consequently pressed upon Tliurot, that, in consideration 
of all they had endured, tossed about, and at so short an allowance, 
he ought to return to France, lest they should ])erish by famine. 
Thurot, however, positively refused to return, until he should etfect 
something in reference to the immediate object of the expedition with 
which he was entrusted; yet, to refresh tlieni, he would steer, he added, 
for the island of Islay. A letter from that place, in mentioning hf)vsr 
200 soldiers of the French fleet were sent on shore to get provisions, 
observes — "We may judge of the situation of this squadron from the 
conduct of these poor creatures, who had no sooner touched dry land, 
than, with their bayonets, they fell to digging up hei'bs, and every green 
tiling they met with. At length, they came to a held of potatoes, which 
tiiey very eagerly dug; and, after shaking off" the earth, and %vi|)ing 
them a little on their waistcoats, eat them up, raw as they were, with the 
greatest keenness !" Here, Thurot met with the further discouragement 
of learning the defeat of Conffans V)y Hawke. Nevertheless, " he per- 
sisted in his resolution to sail for Ti-eland. Indeed, he had scarce]}'- any 
other choice; for he was so poorly victualled, that he could not hope, 
without some refreshment, to get back to France. And he was further 
urged on by his love of glory, no small share of which he was certain to 
add to his character, if he could strike a blow of never so little impor- 
tance on the coast of Ireland ; for, by this, he might make some ap])ear- 
ance, of having revenged the many insults which had been offered to the 
coast of France." After a stay at Islay sufficient to obtain so much, or 
rather, so little, food, as, at the rate of 6 ounces of oatmeal, with a pint 
of water, per day, to each man, would support existence to the Bay of 
Carricktergus, Thurot sailed thither. He anchored off that place, Feb- 

* "This island," says Dr. ODonovan, "is situated in the sea, about 9 miles 
from the nearest coast of the Bamiiy ot Kibnacrenan, iu the Couuty of J)onegal.'' 
It is, he adds, amoug the earliest places noticed m the Bardic history of Eriu. 



t)"jO niSTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADKS 

rnary 21st, and tlien, distribntinp; wliat Avine he had al»oard to enconrac^e 
liis extremely harassed and enfeel)led fbllowers, landed 600 soldiers — or 
all that I'emained of his original 1270! — which (300, with so many sailors 
as might form a body of abont lUOO, advanced to make tliemselves mas- 
ters of the town. 

The state of Carrickfergns, at this time, was too indicative of a goi-ern- 
went, anij fh'nig but duly attentive to the protection of its subjects / The 
■walls of the town wei'e rninous in many places; the Castle was untenable, 
having a broach from 50 to 60 feet in extent, and easily accessible; the 
gates wei'e so out of order, that they might be soon knocked open; the 
edifice, moreover, was neither provisi(med, nor ammunitioned, for a siege, 
nor had it a cannon fit for firing; in short, it was, in the words of a 
local contempoi-ary, "a Castle, wliich had only the name of one, having 
nothing therein to offend, or defend, everything being neglected for many* 
years." The oHicer in command there, Lieutenant-Colonel John Jennings 
of the 62nd Regiment of Foot, had, at his disposal, only 4 newly-raised 
companies of Ulster Protestants, mentioned as "all young Irish lads, wlio 
had not been iidisted moie than 3 or 4 months" — and furnishing, with 4 
artillery-men, but 201 officers and soldiers.* Hence, says a writer from 
Bnlfast to a coi'respondent in England — '' It is but fit, tliat the public, on 
l/nur side of the water, shonhl know, hniv little care has been taken to put 
the Jdngdom into a state of defence, not/withstanding our House of Commons 
have granted ever// thing that -was asked for that purpose ! '^ Under those 
disadvantageous circumstances. Lieutenant-Colonel Jennings had to retire 
through the town before the French ; making as good an opposition as he 
and his handful of young recruit.s, deficient of ammunition, could be 
exy)ected to make, till they got into the Castle. By that time, bullets 
fell short among them, " from which," says the official letter to the Lord- 
Lieutenant, " the enemy finding our fire so cool, attacked the gates, sword 
in hand," when, " from the battering of the shot on both sides, the bolts 
were knocked back, and the gates opened, and the enemy marched in. 
But Lieutenant-Colonel Jennings, Lord Wallingford, Captain Bland, 
Lieutenant Ellis, with some othe. f'entlemen, and about 50 men, repulsed 
the enemy, and beat them back." Here was seen "great resolution in a 
few Irish boys, who defended the gate, after it was opened, with their 
bayonets; and those from the half-moon, after their ammunition was 
gone, threw stones and bricks." This stout defence so checked the 
French as to lead to a parley, with respect to a surrender of the Castle 
as untenable, though a surrender u])on honourable terms; 1 of the 
lieads of agreement being, "tliat the Town and County of Carrickfergns, 
should not be plundered or burnt, on condition the Mayor and Corpora- 
ti(jn furnished the French troops with neces.sary provisions." And could 
"provisions" be more "necessary" than they then were to the long 
weather-beaten and .starving French? like the tempe.st-tossed followers 
of Ulysses, when, amidst " famine and meagre want," 1 of them ex- 
claimed, — 

"A thousand w.nvs frail mortals lead 



To the cold tomb, and Jreailful all to tread; 
Bub dreadful must, when, by a slow decay, 
Pale hunger wastes the manly strength away. 

* * * :J: * * * 

* The emrl amount of the garrison, as derived from the dt tails given in the 1st o* 
the "Articles of Capitulatiou." 



IN THE SERVICE OP FRAXCR. 591 

Better to nish at once to sh.ades below, 
Thau linger life away, and nourish woe ! " 

Pope's Homer, Odyssey, xii., 403-403, 415-416. 

But the civic functionaries of Carriekfergns, not complying with the 
Btipulatioti for the provisions which were so much required, and whicli it 
was in their power to fui'uish. the French, who, nntwifclistaiiding the 
very great ])rivations under which they were sutfeiing, had, since their 
landing, observed reguhir discipline, so that not 1 of the gentlemen's 
houses along the line of march was eritered or molested by tlie.m, now- 
very natui'ally plundered tiie town; justly alleging, that the Magistrates 
•were to blame for this, since the j)rovisions required were found in the 
place, and, hs found, should have been supplied, when demanded. Those 
unaccommodating corporators ought, indeed, to have reflected, that 
"hunger will, break through stone walls," — and to have coiiducted them- 
selves accordingly, when it was actually in arms within their walls. By 
the ])illaging that ensued, considerable damage would appear to have been 
inflicted u|)on the iiihabitants of Carrickfergus, to the amount, it was 
estimated, of above <£-)000; altliough, on complaints being made to the 
French ofHcers, redress was given, as far as, they alleged, it was practic- 
able, "by collecting j)art of the plunder from the men, and returning it 
to the inhabitants." Orders, too, were issued, "to restore everything to 
the townspeople;" in consequence of which " some people, who tied from 
thence, returned to claim what had been taken from them." 

Thi'ough this successful visit to Ireland at Carrickfergus, although with 
only Ji.fdf the vessels of the little armament that had been contided to 
him, Thurot, says an English account, "gained as much rei)utation aa 
couhl be expected from a fleet, which was no more than a sort of wreck 
of the grand enterprise," connected with the proposed landing in 
Mnnster; so, having victualled, and, by 4 in the nioi'iiing of February 
26th, embarked all his men, he set sail for France. Meantime, however, 
r? English ships of war, {not specially appmintel to guard thp. coast of 
Irehmd, but vdiich merely happened, froin stress of if.eather, to liave put in 
at Kinsale.) were des])atched to intercept him, by the English Viceroy at 
Dublin. Thurot's 3 vessels, the 1st under his immediate comuuind, were 
the Belleisle rated at 44 guns, the Blonde at 32. and the Terpsicore at 2^5. 
Those of the English otlicer opposed to him, Captain John Elliott, were 
the jEoIus of 32 guns, his own ship, the Pallas of 3G, and the Brilliant of 
36. "These frigate-s," states the Marquis de Bragelonne, Major to the 
land-force with Thurot, and who wi'ites of him in an unfa voui able spirit, 
" were incomparably stronger and better manned than ours. For, though 
the Belleisle had 44 guns, her strength was not equal to this; and the 
stormy weather, we had experienced at sea, had obliged ns to put some 
of them under the hatchway, jiarticularly our 18 pounders, and M. Thurot 
did not heave them up again for the action ; so that we had no moi-e thaa 
32 or 34. It was the same thing, in proportion, with our other frigates. 
Besides, the English had a great many good sailors on board, and we had 
rone, or scarcely any." The French, indeed, if able to avail themselves 
u*' all the gnrs on boaixl their 3 vessels, or 102, would have been about 
equal to tlie Ei'.glish, who had only 2 more in their 3 vessels, or 104; but 
the English had a great advantage in artilleiy, since they could enqdoy all 
theirs, while the French could not. If the French, on the other hand, 
had more men, they v/ei-e landsmen; whereas, ot seamen, the English 
had the hu-ger number, and iu a superioi- couditiou. The bad state, too, 



502 



HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 



of the French ships, since "on stormy seas nnnnmber'd toils they bore,** 
was a circunjstaiice much in lavonr of the English. 

Ou the i8th, at 4 in the morning, Captain Elliott, having got sight 
of the French, {)roceeded to give chase. Thurot, who, after fultilling tlio 
purport of his mission to Ireland, was naturally intent only on getting 
back to France, and who, besides, with a squadron "so much the worse 
for the wear '' as his, could have no motive for fighting one better ])re- 
pared for action, endeavoured, if possible, rather to outsail, or escape from, 
such an enemy; and, amidst his efibrts for that purpose, did not, it .seems, 
give the signal from the Belleisle ibr the Blonde and the Terpsicore to 
join him, till he w^as obliged to make the final dispositions for defending 
himfeelf in the Belkisle against the English, who came up with him off 
the I.sle of Man, after a pursuit of 5 hours, or at 9 o'clock. The engage- 
ment, in a few minutes, began, at first between Thurot's and ElliottVs 
immediate -vessels, the Belleide and the yEolvs, tlie latter, however, 
being joined by the Pallas and the Brilliant, and thus being 3 against 1 ; 
Thurot's 2 other ship.*!, the Blonde and tlie Terpsicore, whether from the 
distance at which they were when signalled, flora a want of zeal in their 
Caj)tains to assist their Commander, or from some other cause, not 
coining up in due time " to the re.seue ;" and, when they did come u[), 
making " but a j)Oor fight," or striking so soon, that their presence by no 
means compen.sated for their absence.* The Belleisle, in this combat 
■which lasted "about an hour and a half," suffering terribly by the 
enemy's extremely superior fire, lo.st her bowsprit, muscu-mast, and main- 
yard ; was otherwise so shattered as to be hardly kept from sinking; 
and had a ])roportionably large number of her men killed and wounded. 
l"et sucli an exceedingly unequal contest was maintained by Thurot 
under a still further disadvantage. It appear-s, that between him and his 
gunners there unfortunately existed such bad feeling, that " most " of 
tiiem, (m this occasion, alleges my French authority, " forsook their posts 

and hid themselves, without a possibility of bringing them back 

Tlie defection of his gunner's rendering the artillery useless, he endea- 
vouud to board; but, having neither grenades nor graj)pling-irons pre- 
pared, he failed in the attempt. The frigate then being in the most 
deplorable state, and the crew defenceless, exposed to the continual fire 
of the English, he was solicited to strike, but was determined to receive 
1 more broadside; that is to say, to give himself a chance for the last stroke 
of good foituue which he expected, that of being killed upon the spot, 
without being expo.sed to the re])roaches of the jMinistry, or to the deri- 
sion of the enemy ; and fortune at least granted him this last wish. Not- 
withstanding his disaster, Thurot," concludes this French writer, " was 
regretted by the Court; they were sensiblxj of the want they were in of 

* Captain John Elliott's letter, from " Earn say Bay, Isle of Man, February 
29th, 17(JU, " is not calculated to give a correct view of the circumstances of his 
engagement with Thurot. " On tlie 2Sth," he writes, "at 4 in the iin)rning, we 
got sight of them, ai.d trave chase. About 9, I got up along side their Commo- 
diire, (off the Isle of Man,) and, in a few minutes after, the action becarae 
general, and lasted about an hour and a half, when they all 3 struck their 
colours." Yes! — but without the aid of other intelligence on the writer's side, 
including tljat of his own ]»ilot, as well as information on the side of his oppo- 
nent, or from a French source, could we, by the above extract, know anything 
of Thurot's 1 vessel having ever had to contend against the Captain's 3 vessels! 
To such writing, the line of the song would be applicable — 

"Ton my toul 'tis true!- a,ni what will you say 'tis a /(«/" 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 593 

Biich men, for the safety and snjjply of their colonies." A London narra- 
tive of the event, although expressing its natural satisfaction at the 
occurrence as an Englisli success, yet adds — " The pul)lic, indeed, 
ianiented the death of the brave Thurot, who, even whilst he com- 
manded a privateer, fought less for plunder, than for honour ; whose 
behaviour was, on all occasions, full of humanity and generosity; and 
wdiose undaunted courage raised him to rank, and merited distinction. 
His death secured the glory he always sought; he did not live to V)o 
brought a prisoner into England; or to hear in France those malignant 
criticisms, which so often attend unfortunate bravery." Among those of 
his own profession in France, we are informed, that he was extremely 
regretted; they who knew him intimately being boundless in their 
eulogiums of him; affirming that, if he lived some years longer, he 
would have equalled, or even surpassed, the Barts and Gue-Trouins ; 
having, amidst such a distinguished career, been cut off so early, or when 
only about 33. His remains did not fall into the hands of the enemy, 
having been committed, by his own followers, to the waves; or ap|)ropri- 
ately consigned to that element, on which he acquired a renown that 
will not fade from the page of history. The successful landing of Thurot 
in Ireland, as indicative, it was hoped, of a visit from the French, 
in greater strength, at another time, was regarded with corresponding 
satisfaction among the mass of the oj)pi-essed Catholics there, who, to the 
close of the century, had a song, in which, alluding, with just pride, to Ids 
old natlA'^e or Milesian origin, it was said — 

"Blest be the day that O'Farrell came here!" * 

In 1760. the Irish resuming service with the French in Germany, 
'though \vitho\it having, it seems, any op])ortunity for special distinction 
there against the Allies, are merely referred to, as at the affairs of 
Corbach and Warbourg, with different results, in July, and the victory 
of Clostcrcamp, and consequent relief of Wesel, in October. They 
])assed the winter between 1760 and 1761 in quarters between Mar- 
bourg and Giessen. " At the commencement of 1761," writes Lieutenant- 
General Count Arthur Dillon, " 7 piquets were drawn from the Irish 
regiments, forming a detachment of 350 chosen men. Their destination 
was to proceed to relieve a portion of the isolated garrison of Gottingen; 
but, in passing by Fritzlar, M. de Nai-bonne, who commanded there, 
retained them, because he knew, that he was about to be attacked, and 
that he had with him oidy a battalion of the Royal Grenadiers. M. 
le Comte de Narbonne, who, after the manner of the ancients, since 
assumes the name of the locality of his triumph, has always rendered 
to the Irish detachment the justice which is due to them for the share 
which they had in this handsome defence, tiiat [)artly saved the French 
army. In the meantime General Bredenbach," or rather Breitenbach,+ 

* On the naval enterprises of Conflans anrl Thurot, I have availed myself of Bar- 
bier's Journal Historique et Anecdotiqne du Uegne de Louis XV., Mercure His- 
torique et Politique, Private Life of Lewis XV., Faulkner's Dulilin .Tounial, the 
Annual Registers, Exshaw's and Gentleman's Ma'jaziiie<, the article Thurot in the 
Biographie Universelle, and traditional family iiifoi-mation (lieie as elsewhere) from 
my dear mother, deceased March 2Sth, I8o9, in htr Sotli j'ear. 

+ The stout Hanoverian officer, already mentioned, so much to his credit, at 
Hastenheck, as contrasted with the wte//iii(j victor or CuUoden, who '-ieit liim lu 
the lurch!" 



594 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

"at the lipud of 10,000 men, attacked Marliourg, wbirTi was (Icfi^ndt'd 
by all the Irish Brigade. At the report of the march of the enemy, tlie 
Regiments of Clare, Rothe, and Berwick set ont from Giessen. and got 
bt'fore him to Marbourg, where, reunited with their countrymen, they 
opposed a re.sistance that was invincible to an attack of the most 
vigorous description. General Bredenbach was killed, and his troops 
retired in disorder; leaving behind them their dead, wounded, and 3 
pieces of cannon. The conduct and courage of the defenders of Mar- 
bourg and of Fritzlar secured the rallying of the French army." 

According to my special French notice of a lirave officer of verv 
noble Scotch origin, or the Conite Louis Drummond de Perth, who 
conunenced his military career in France i« the Irish Brigade, January 
2."5rd, 1734, as a reformed Cai)tain in the Regiment of Berwick, fought 
for "Prince Charlie" in 1745-6, was afterwards Lieutenant-Colonel ff 
the Regiment Royal-Ecossois, and finally a Lieutenant-General, thi.s 
defence of Marbourg — as distinguished from that of Frit/Jar — w;is iiimiIb 
by the Irish under his immediate or personal conduct tliere ; lie being 
then a Brigadier. "He," it is said, ".signalized himself particularly, 
Februar}' 14th, 17G1, at the defence of Marbourg. where he comuiandeil 
the 4 battalions of Bulkeley, Clare, Billon, and Roth. Attackeil 3 times 
in succession at the barrier of the town, he fought with the greatest valour ; 
repulsed all those hostile attacks; and completely overthrew the enemy in 
the 3rd. General Brc^ttemback, the commander in these attacks, was killed 
in the last, along with his Major, his Aide-de-Cam|), and 7 other ollicer.s 
of his Etat-Major ; the Comte de Drummond making himself master of 3 
pieces of cannon, which he presented to the Comte de Rouge, the officer 
in command there. This brilliant action," it is added, ''obliged the 
enemy to abandon the siege." In advancing to that enterprise, which-, 
unfortunately cost him his life, Lieutenant-General Breitenbach, whose 
death, lemarks an Allied account, "is extremely regretted," had reduced 
Rosenthal with a magazine of 40,000 rations. Soon after his defeat, 
however, or February 15th, the Allies i)roceeding more cautiously, and 
with such a train of heavy artillery against Fritzlar, as, in a ]io.st .so 
weak, and witliout a single serviceable piece of cannon, rendered the 
hojie of a successful resistance impossible, that place, with a good 
magazine, had to be surrendered. Yet it was only given up on hf)nourablp 
terms, the garrison consisting of the 7 piquets of the Irish Brigade, 9d5 
of the Grenadiers Royaux, with 105 sick and wounded, having permission 
to march awav, merely on condition of not serving against the Allies fcr 
the rest of that campaign. Subsequently, Lord Granby having estab- 
lished himself between Lahne and Omh, we read of his light troops 
capturing, at Amoeneburgh, " some pickets of the Irish Brigade." 

At the combats, July 15th -IGth, before Filingshausen and 
Scheidingen, between the Allies under Prince Ferdinand, Lord Granby, 
and the Hereditary Prince, under the French under the Marshals de 
Broglio and de Soubise, the Irish were with the lattei- Marshal in the 
direction of Scheidingen, and participated, on the 2nd day, in the early 
successful operations there, which would have been followed up, but for 
a despatch from Broglio announcing his repulse, with severe hjss, from 
Filingshausen, to SouVjise, and consequently directing a retreat to be 
jnade from Scheidingen ; which accordingly took jjlace, though in a verv 
different style from Broglio' s, or in such good order, that the enemy did 
not attempt to interfere with a movement so well executed. The Irish 



IN THE SEaVICE OF FRAVCE. 595 

are also alluded to, as at the affairs of Snest and Uiina, and as stat!ori(?cl 
in the autumn, or October, along the Eder.* 

The year 1762. the last of the Seven Years' War, was that of tlse 
decease of 2 veteran officers of the Irish Brigade — the 1st in r.iiik 
*' Mattliien de Coock," or Matthew Cooke, Mareclial de Camp, or M.ijnr- 
General. of Horse — a double namesake of, but I cannot say if rehit^'d to, 
the Lieuteuant-General who died in 1740 — the 2nd, Thomas Shortall, 
Lieutenant-Colonel of Foot. Matthew Cooke commenced his njilitary 
career July 18th, 1714, as a Mousquetaii'e ; was made, June 22nd, 1717, 
a reformed, or supernumerary Lieutenant in Nugent's Irish Regiment of 
Horse; was appointed, on September 3rd, 1727, a full Captain; com- 
manded his com])any, as such, at the siege of Kehl, in 173'5, in which war 
the I'cgiment became that of Fitz-James ; was at the passing of the lines 
of Etlingen, and the reduction of Philipsbm-gh, in 1734 ; and at the affair 
of Clausen, in 1735. Commissioned to hold rank, March 2Gth, 173G, as 
a Mestre-de-Camp-de-Ca Valerie, he acted, with his com|)any, from 1741 
to 1743, in Westphalia, Bohen)ia, and Bavaria. Thenceforward to 1743, 
he was employed between Flanders and Scotland; attaining the grade of 
Brigadier by brevet, May 1st, 1745; and Marechal de Camp by brevet. 
May 10th, 1748. He then quitted his company and the service; and 
died July 19th, 1762, aged 63 years. 

Thomas Shortall was the representative of a name, for centuries, of 
eminence in the County of Kilkenny; where the memory of the race in 
yet attested on the maj) at " Shortallstown," and the remains of sovenil 
of their castles ai-e still pointed out. In the middle ages, during wliich 
the colonial and native aristocracy (jf Ireland made war on one another, 
like the feudal nobility in the various kingdoms of the Continent. t the 
Shortalls were among the confederates of the very distinguished Anglo- 
Norman family of Grace ; descended from one of the most famous 
chevaliers who settled in the island under Heiny II., Raymond, sur- 
named le Gras, more generally written le Gros; from which surname of 
le Gras came the native Irish designation of GraKcicli,^ and the more 
modern one of Grace. The heads of the house of Grace were Palatine 
Barons of Courtstown, Avhere their castle stood ; their territory, known 
as ''Grace's country," included 80,000 acres; and their slogan, or war- 
ci-y, was " GuASACH-AEo !" or " /;//e Grace for ever 1 " The military 
connexion of the Shortalls with those powerful Barons is thus alludeJ 
to, in the old song on Courtstown : — 

" Courtstown ! thou home of the great and renown'd, 
Thy bnlwaiks, what heroes of battle surround, — 
The Shces. Kooths, and Slmrtalh, whose bosoms still glow 
To join in the couHict with Gkasach-abo ! " 

The chief of the Graces, at the breaking out of the War of the Revolu- 
tion in Ireland, was the accom[)lished and high-minded John Grace, as 
Baron of Courtstown. In the Parliamentarian or Cromwellian civil 
war, he had been one of the Council of the Catholic Confederates of 
Ireland; yet, during that most trying j)eriod. acted so unexceptionably, 
that he was restored to his estate of 32.870 acres in Kilkenny and 
Tipperary, even by Cromwell himself; or "as," it is said, "a token of 

* Dillon and Ponce French MSS., Courcelles under Drummond, and ]iub'ie,i« 
tions of the day previously cited. 

t See Note 55, to edition of Macariu:: Excidium for Irish Archifcolo^ica! Society. 



596 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGAD7:S 

fiersonal admiration for his manly and generous enemy, who never failed 
o ]ierforni the offices of hnmanity, even to the soldiers who were in 
«rnis against him." On the success of the Orange intrigues and invasion 
in Great Britain, to detiirone the reigning Sovereign there, and the 
preparations to do the same in Ireland, tlie old Baron of Courtstown, 
ticcording to the family historian, " raised and equip])ed a regiment of foot, 
Hud a troop of horse, at his own expense, for the service of King James; 
whom he farther assisted witli money and plate, amounting, it is said, to 
£14.000 sterling. Posses-^ing a high character, and great local inlluence, 
lie was early solicited, with splendid promises of favour, to join King 
William's ])ftrty ; but, yielding to the strong impulse of honourable 
feelings, he instantly, on perusing the proposal to this effect, from 1 
of tlie Duke of Schomberg's emissaries, seized a card, accidentally lying 
mar him, and returned thia indignant answer upon it — 'Go, tell yoiu* 
master I despise his offer; tell him that honour and conscience are 
dearer to a gentleman, than all the wealth and titles a Prince can bestow.' 
'fhis card, (the (5 of hearts,) which he sent uncovered by the beaver of 
the rejected offer, is, to this day. very generally known by the name of 
' Grace's cai'd,' in the city of Kilkenny." B iron John Grace, dying in 
1590, or wliile the war was going on in Ireland, left as his heir, and 
Colonel of the family Regiment of Foot, its pi-evious Lieutcniint-Cohmel, 
Baron Robert Grace ; in which corps, among the Captains and Lieuten- 
HTits, the name of .Shortall is to be tound ahnig with that of Grace, "as 
of old." Of the conduct of this regiment on the fatal day of Aughrim, 
where its gallant Colonel was so severely wounded that he died the 
fame year, when he would, under other circumstances, have been still 
"in the vigour of life," we are told, — '"The noble enthusiasm of Grace's 
re^iiment in this action, evinced a [>atriotic devotion, that might dignify 
ji .Spartan band. Of that fine body, selected from the flower of the 
youth of Grace's country, not 50 returned to their homes, where they 
were received with scorn and reproaches, till their chieftain's testimony 
confirmed their claim to the same heroic intrepidity which had distin- 
guished their falhm comrades. The plaintive strains excited by this 
event Avere the aspirations of a whole people. They are still preserved," 
concludes my authority, Mr. Sheffield Grace, in 1823, "and still elevate 
the peasant's breast, with sentiments of hereditary pride, and national 
feeling." Though thus almost annihilated at Aughrim, the Regiment 
of Grace was recruited so quickly as to serve against the Williamites 
Ht the 2nd siege of Limerick, where Thomas Shortall was Orptain of a 
company in it, stronger than usual, or of 100 men. He accompanied 
the remains of the Irish forces to France; at length, in his 8Sth year, or 
June 10th, 1745, attained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the Regi- 
ment of Clare; and did not leave the army till in his 9()th year, (»r 
January 31st, 1747. After quitting the service, he fixed his residetice, 
MS a "soldier tir'd of war's alarms," at Landi-ecy, in French Flanders, 
living above 14 years longer, apparently with as much happiness as was 
]ios.silile at his vei-y unco nmon ])erio(i of existence; since we are informed, 
tluit, " the day before his death, he eat and dr.mk with his friends as 
usual, and had no ailment but old age." His decease occurred Octol)er 
'Ji'ith, 17<)2, when he was 104 years, 10 months, and 4 days old ; having 
been born at Kilkenny December 21st, 1G57. He was believed to be 
the last sur\ivor of aliove 30 000 of his counti ymeu who went to France 
alter the Treaty of Limerick, as well as uf many tliousands who more 



IN THE SERA'ICE OF FRANCE, 537 

recently did po. There was found among the deceased veteran's pajjers 
— with reference to the day, when, in the words of tlie Scotch Jacohi^.i 
song, each " loyal bonny lad " might " cross the seas, and win his aiu" — 
a due "schedule of his estate, on which were ses'eral fine seats." 

In Germany, whence the Irish regiments of infantry wcn-e withdrawn 
at the clcse of 1761, the only occnn-ence of the campaign of 1762 requisite 
to be noticed, as connected with the fate of the national cavalry Regiment 
of Fitz-James, was the action which took place, June 24th, at Gi-aeben- 
stein, where the French, under the Marshals d'Etrees and de Soubise, 
were so ably surprised by the Allies, under Prince Ferdinand, Lord 
Gvanby, and Generals Luckner and Sporken, that they were very rougld)r 
handled, " The French army," says the contemporary British annalistj^ 
"was most advantageously [losted, both for command of the country, and 
for strength, near a place calU?d Graebenstein, in the fi-ontiers of Hesse; 
their centre occupied an advantageous eminence; their left wing was 
almost inaccessible by several deep ravines; and their right was covered 
by the village of Gi-aebenstein, by several rivulets, and a strong detached 
body, under one of the r best otficers. . . . In tliis situation, they 
imagined they had nothing to fear from the att:-mpts of Prince Ferdinand; 
■whose army, besides the inferiority of its numbers, was se])arated in such 
a manner, and in such distant places, that they judged it impossible it 
could unite in any attack. But, whilst they enjoyed themselves in full 
security, the storm was preparing to fall u[)()n then), from all quartern. 
A considerable cor[)S of tiie Allied army, under General Luckner, wivi 
posted to the eastward of the Weser." Skilfully deluding and eluding 
Prince Xavier of Saxiniy appointed to watch him, and "marching in the 
night, with the utmost speed, he crossed the Weser, turned the right of 
the French army, and, without being discovered, placed him.self upon their 
I'ear. General Sjjorken, at the same time, jdaced himself so, as to attack 
the saitie wing in flank. Prince Ferdinand cros.sed the Dymel, in order 
to fall upon their centre. The attack on the enemy's left was commanded 
by Lord Granby. These ])reparations were m ide with so much judgment, 
celerity, and good order, that the French had not perceived the a,pproac;!i 
of the Allies, when they found tliemselves atfacked, loith infinite intpebuotiiti/y 
in front, fianh, and rear!''' The consequence to the French of such a 
rousing early in the morning, '■'■before they hail the least appre'iension of 
being attacked," was a general scene of alarm and confusion, that would 
have occasioned a total rout, but for the interi)osing gallantry of 2 coi-ps, 
under M. de Castries and M, de Stainville, who made such a vigorous 
stand, though it cost them dear, that their army was enabled to retire 
under the cannon of Oassel, and over the Fulda; losing, however, exclusive 
of .slain, military ensigns, guns, and baggage, 2570 prisoners, of whom 162 
were otticer,s, while the Allies had not above 897 of all ranks, killed, 
wounded, or missing. 

The severe disadvantage, by which the French suffered so much on this 
occasion — a disadvantage causing the greatest |)art of the French otiicers 
made prisoners to express themselves so bitterly, "that the Allied army 
Avas much scandalized at the niHuner in which these gentlemen spoke of 
their Commanders-in-Chief" — proveil the ruin of the Regiment of Fit:4- 
James. " M. Reidesel," says an account of the surpri.se in the London 
Gazette, "attacked, beat, and totally overthrew the Regiment of Fitz- 
James, took 3(10 of their horses, and their 2 standards" — tlumgh but 1 
standard of that corps, amon^ other captured ensigns, is subseqvientlv' 



598 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

specitied as hroni::;lit to St. James's by Caftain Sloper, Aide-de-Carap to 
Ptiaco Ferdinand.* Those of tlie regiment made prisonev.s amounted to 
70. By another English narrative of this affair of Graebenstein. it wonld 
}i])pear, that the annihilated regunent acted, in thi.s last scene of its service, 
HO as to excite a respectful regret on the part of its opponents. " We." 
it is remarked, "cannot help, in this place, lamenting tlie fate of Fitz- 
Jaines's horse, tho' in the service of our enemies; thiiy proved fJiemselres 
our brethren, though misled. Is it not a great misfortune, that, throiigli 
a liilse ])rinciple of policy, we suffer so many gallant men to eidi.st in our 
tMiemies' service?" A contemporary English letter on this subject also 
observes — "I am soriy to say, that, our nation has found from sad, nay 
almost fatal, experience, the injury and prtjudice we have suffered by it, 
(if Inaiiig battles may be so termed) throiigli such unhap])y men beii^ 
employed in the armies of our enemies. . , . To me it is very odd, 
that Britain shf)nld, upon several occasions, hire Roman Catholic troops 
to figlit her battles, and yet neglect to employ her own subjects of the 
same religion, when it is admitted, on all hands, tliei/ are as good soldiers 
as (tnij in the toorld. . . . For my own part. I like a man much 
bett<M-, who openly professes the religi<m he is really of, than those who 
j.retend to be of the established religi(m of a country, only to answer 
Sinister ])urp')ses; when, in short, upon a close examination, they appear 
to hav(; none at all." The well-meaning writer consequently asks, whether 
it woidd not be the most eligible course for Government, "to publish a 
Proclamation, offering pardon to all Irish and other officers, soldiers, and 
seamen, who are suljects of Great Britain, let them be of what religion 
soover, in case they immediately quitted the Spanish and French services, 
and embraced that of their own lawful Sovereign and country; and, as an 
encouragement s() to do, ])i-omising, at the same time, to provide for them 
equal to what they enjoy in their present services'?" t 

The young King George III., too, who ascended the throne, in October, 
17'i(), had, as an advocate for relaxing several of the disabilities imposed 
upon the great majority of the peo[)le of Ireland, commissioned his repre- 
s<'ntative there, the Earl of Halifax, on opening the session of the Dublin 
"ascendancy" Parliament, in October, 1761, to allude to the adoption of 
an improved policy towards the Catholics; or one of such toleration, as 
might not be incompatible with security to the existing political and 
religious establishment. That "first paternal recommendation of his 
Majesty in fivuurof his Irish subjects" eliciting nothing more respectful, 
or libei-al, than "an utter silence" from the sulky Sanhedrim of Croin- 
wello-Williamite or "glorious-revolution" bigots and oppresscn's to whom 
it was addressed, the King's government in Irelajid, at the latter end of 
that year, and the beginning of the next, or 1762, (here under considera- 
tion) favoured a |)roposal for raising 6 regiments of Catholics by Lords 
Kenmare, Kingsland, Sir Patrick Bellew, and others of their religion, to 
Ve employed in Portugal, then invaded, as the ally of England, by Spain. 
This levy, (if it could be openl// legalized,) was intended to be the com- 

* The loss of its standard, (or standards,) on this occasion, by the Re::;iment of 
Fitz-James — and that merely under the disadvanta^fe of tlie force to which is was 
attached fiavins been so com])letely sur/)ri>:ed — is, it will l)e remarked, the oiili/ 
ascertained loss of the kind connected with the annals of the Irish Brigade. 

t l^inard, article (.'oock, Grace's Memoirs of Family of Gra-e, Gilherts Historic 
Literature of Ireland und'r liead of Grace's Annals, I)alt>v«'< Irish Army Lisfc 
<il' J.iiues II. at name of Shortnll, Irish. Eu^jlish, and Couuueiital coiiteia|,Ox-»»i.y 
jjciiui-Lcais and newspajiers for 1762. 



IN THE SERVICE OV J-R.'iNO«. J>99 

meiicement of a diffei'ent policy from the past Vf-^j'Tds' the r.ufferin"' 
Catholics; and, as regards the uriforcunate situation of so aiany of the 
jiTiiior members of the higher families of that faith, then debarred from a 
piofession, the raising of such regiments "would have alforded che means 
of a decent livelihood to many of the unemployed younger sons of tha 
Catholic nobility and gentry, whom it was the studij of the ascouJancy to 
let-el to plebeian obscurily" But the pernicious position occupied, Vietweeu 
tlie English cabinet and the enslaved people or Catholics of Ireland, by 
the ruling colonial and sectarian party there, was such, that, as far mora 
of wjiat was evil had been inflicted by England u{)on the country than 
ever was requisite except for their ends, so whatever was good, except for 
the same ends, was opposed; and this measure, among the rest, for levying 
the Catholic regiments, which accordingly fell to the ground. "The 
English government," notes Lord Charlemont's bit/grapher, Mr. Hardy, 
■with respect to the proposed organization of those regiments for Portugal, 
"was resolved to do something with regard to the Catholics, and the Irish 
legislatui-e, at this time, was resolved to do iio/hiny! " — which is explained 
by such a legislature, though termed " Ii-ish," being no better, with but 
too few exceptions, than the legislature of aii odious oligarchy of "Protes- 
tant Bashaws," that, in the exercise of their baleful supremacy "lent," 
it is added, "to a sanguinary code, new terrors of their own!" These 
"terrors" were connected with the rack-renting oppression, as well as the 
sectarian persecution, of the enslaved Catholics. " The Popery laws," 
writes Mr. O'Coiior, "had, in the course of half a century, consummated 
the ruin of the lower orders. Their habitations, visages, dress, and des- 
pondency, exhibited the deep distress of a people, ruled with the iron 
sceptre of conquest. The lot of the negro slave was happiness, compared 
with that of the then Irish helot; both were subject to the capricious 
cruelty of mercenary task-masters, and unfeeling proprietors; but tho 
negro alave was well fed, well cloathed, and comfortably lodged. The 
Irish peasant was half-starved, half-naked, and half-housed. . . . Th« 
fewness of negroes gave the West-Indian proprietor an interest in tho 
pi-eservation of his slaves. A supei-abundance of helots superseded all 
interest in the comforts or preservation of an Irish cottier; the Code had 
eradicated every feeling of humanity; and avarice sought to stitle every 
sense of justice. That avarice was generated by prodigality, the hei-editary 
vice of the Irish gentry, and manifested itself in exorbitant i-ackrenta 
■wrung from their tenantry, and in the lowest wages paid for their labour." 
Thus, in Ireland, as elsewhere, (or in Ithaca of old, with reference to the 
rapacious luxury of the intrusive suitors,) it might be observed — 

"Xo profit springs beneath usurping pow'rg; 
Want feeds not there, where hixiiry devours, 
Nor harbours charity where riot reigns : 
Proud are the lords, and wretched are the swains." 

Pope's Homek, Odyssey, xv., 404-407. 

The grinding injustice of such landed oppression, and the proportionable 
suffering amongst those affected by it, including some of the dominant 
faith, nattirally gave rise to those outbreaks of rural exasperation called 
the Whiteboy disturbances; for which no better remedies were adopted 
by "ascendancy" legislation, than enactments of the sanguinary school of 
Draco; while the outrages of distress and despair were attributed, by 
those whose exactions had provoked them, to the convenient raw-head 



coo IIISTOUY OF THE TllISII BKIGAnKS IN TIIK SERVICE OF FliANCE. 

tind-l)I()0(ly-l>oii('s of " I'opoiy," as tlio ;i!l-.sulllcient ;il;inu-ci_y Lo juslify 
pcrssccuLioii uiiil plunder. 

"Be to tlic poor like onic wlinnstnno, 
Aiul h;ui(l their no'-es to tlio gruiistane; 
Ply ev'ry art o' k\ij;al thigviiiii; ; 
No matter, stick to souikI believing!" — BuitNS. 

But tlie Gov(>fiin\(Mit in EiiLjland, c;ro\vti too intcUiLjcnt to 1)(> infliKHicod, 
on tills oc'C!isi( n, by :iny bunilioozliiig bawl of that buij^licai- of bigotry 
from tlio sectiuian and agrariiin oppressors of their country, justly t('sti- 
fied, with 1-eference to the unfortunate Whiteboys, in the London Uazetto 
of May, ITCilJ, "that the authors of those disturbances consisted of ])ersons 
oi dijj'ereiit ])ersuasions" — or the conunon suHei-ers by a common tyranny 
in tliis world, whatever might be their crecul about aitother. Goldsmith, 
•with his Jacobite sympathies, too clearly alludes, iti his '■ Ti'a\(dler," to 
this unnatural state of liis own country, under tht^ oligaichical yoke of her 
BO-calk'd "glorious-revolution" ascendancy, "wlu'ii," he says, 

" 1 behold a factions band agree, 
To call it fretMloin, wi en themselves are free; 
Each wanton judge new |ienal statntes (lia.\\-. 
Laws grind the poor, and rich men ndi; the law." * 

But, on the Continent, all the infantry corps of the Irish T"iiigade, 
already noticed as removeil from Gerniany, were marched to l''laiidi'rs, 
iihd encamped about Dunkirk, during this campaign of 17('j, as part 
of an army to menace Lngland with an iuvasiiui, till the prtliminaiies 
of j)eace were signed in November, which led to the tleliuitive Treaty of 
Paris, in February, 1763.t 

* At the close of the session of I'arliament ])revinna to his departure from 
Ireland, J^ord Halifax, it is observed, "in the mild language ot adviee, reproached 
the aristocracy witli their cruelty to the lower orders," by noting how "the mere 
oxecuiuiu of the laws, without the example of those who execute them, must alvvays 
be defecl,ive."' Of the Whitebojs, Arthur Young atiirms, that "acts were jiasscd 
for their pnnislinient, which seemed calculated for the meridian of Barbary ; " and, 
though soon after repealed, as too shameless, yet others remained " the law of the 
land, that Mould, if executed, tend more to raise, than quell, an insurrection;" so 
that, it was too manifest, the landed despots "never thought of a rail.cal cure, from 
overlooking the real cause of the disease, which, in fact, lay iu tUtmstiLoes^ and not; 
iu- the wretches they ddonicd to the gallows." 

t Dillou aud i.'oiice A18S., aud news^a^tera of the day. 



HISTOEY OF THE lEISII BRIGxiDES 

I* 

THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 



BOOK X. 

ALTnoUGH, from the different circumstances previously noticed, the 
reputation of the Iiish Brigade in the service of France could rK>t be 
compared, durinc^ this last war fiom 175G to 17G2, with what its celebrity 
had been down to the Peace of 1748, yet the still high character of the 
corps, as represented by its officers, comV>ined with the eminent distinc- 
tion of so many Irish in other Continental services, continued to reflect 
more and more discredit on the so-called " glorious-revolution " or 
"penal-code" system of administration in Ireland, based on tlie ruin of 
the proscribed mass of the population. " It is not," writes Dr. Charles 
O'Conor, "from the hunted remains of a conquered people, thus jterse- 
cuted, that we are to form an idea of its genius, or its manners. To 
have a fair view of the native Irish during tiie reigns of the 2 first 
Georges, we must follow tiieii- nf)bility and gentry in their exile to those 
countries, where they were allowed to exercise their abilities. Thei-e we 
find them, whether in an ecclesiastical, military, or mercantile cajjacity, 
triumphing over indigence, and rivalling the most illustrious g(MUUses of 
France, Spain, Italy, and Germany, without riches to command notice, 
or patronage to create esteem." * Thus, to the merit of those Irisii 
exiles in a military capacity, beyond which the subject of this work 
does not extend, we have this r'-markable testimony from the Emperor 
Francis I. of Germany, as found anioii<; Ids jKip'-rs after his deatii, 
August 18th, 1765. "The more Irish officers in the Austrian service 
the better; our troops will always be disciplined ; an Irish cowaril is an 
uncommon character j and what the natives of Ireland even di.slike from 

• In describiug the miserable condition to which the (Catholics in Irf-lanfl were 
reriuced by the i-esults of William's success there, Lord Macaulav, too, says — 
" There Avere, indeed, Irish Roman Catholics of great ability, eneri'y. and ;unl>i- 
tion: but they were to be found every where except in Ireland, at Vers ulles, and 
at St. lldefonso, in the armies of Frederic, and in the armies of Maria Tlie esa. 
One exile," Lord Clare, " became a Marshal of France. .Another," (General Wall. 
" became Prime Minister of Spain. If he had staid in liis nat ve land, he would 
have been regarded as an inferior, by all the ignorant and worthless squireens, 
who drank the glorious and immc^rtal memory. In his Palace at Madrid, he hid 
the pleasure of being assiduously courted by the Ambassaflor of Cenrge II., and 
of bidding defiance, in high terms, to the Ambassador of (George III. Scattered 
overall Euro] :e were to be found brave Irish Generals, dexterous Irish diploma- 
tists, Irish Counts, Irish Barons, Irish Knights of St. Lewis, and of St. Leo- 
pold, of the White Eagle, and of the Golden Fleece, who, if they had remained 
in the house of bondaire. could not have been ensigns of marching regiments, of 
freemen of ^jetty corporations." 



602 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

principle, tlipy generally perform thrnngh a desire of glory." Tlie 
eiilogiiini of the Emperor is well sustained by the following paragraph 
from a eontemporary I-ondon periodical in March, 170(i. "On the 17th 
of this month, his B^xcellency, Count Mahony,* Aml^assad or from Spaia 
to the Court of Vienna, gave a i;rand entertainuKint in honour of St. 
Patrick, to which were invited all persons of condition, that were of 
Irish descent; being himself a descendant of an illustrious family of that 
kingdom. Among many others, were present Count Lacy, President of 
the Council of War, the (>enerals O'Donnel, Mc Guire, O'Kelly, 
Browne, Plunki't, and i\Jc Eli^ot, 4 Chiefs of the Grand Cross, 2 
Governors, several Knights IMilitary, 6 Staff Officers, 4 Privy- Counsel- 
lors, with the princi|)al Officers of State; who, to shew their respect to 
the Irish nation, wor'e cro.sses in honour of the day, as did the viho^a 
Court." + In connexion, too, with a remarkable anecdote of an Irish 
officer in the service of Naples, Mr. Boswell, the biogra])her of Dr. 
Johnson, in his " Account of Corsica," refers, about the sann; ]:>eriod, or 
in 17()0, to the generally honourable o]»inion entertained of the Irish 
abroad. " Duiing the last war in Italy, at the siege of Tortona, the 
commander of the army which lay before the town ordered Carew, »u 
Irish officer in the service of Naples, to advance, with a detachment, to 
a particular ])ost. Plaving given his orders, he whispered to Carew — 
'Sir, I know you to be a gallant man. I have therefore put you upon 
this duty. I tell you, in confidence, it is certain death for you alh 1 
place 3'on there, to make the enemy spring a mine below you.' Carew 
uiade a bow to the General, and led (ni his men ir) silence to the 
dreadful ])ost. He there stood with an undaunted countenance, and 
having called to one of the soldiers for a dfaught of wine. ' Here,' said 
he, ' I di-ink to all those, who bravely fall in battle! ' j Fortunately, afc 
that instant, Tortona capitulated, and Carew escaped. But he had thus 
a full opi)orturjity of displaying a rare instance of intrepidity. It is 
with ])leasure,"' concludes Mr. Boswell, alluding to the prejudices of 
the English, and, in too many instances, of his own countrynu^n, the 
Scotch, against Ireland, "it is with ])leasure, that I record an anecdote 
so much to the honour of a gentleman of that nation, on which illiberal 
reflections are too ofren thrown, by those of whom it little deserves them. 
Whatever may be the rough jokes of wealthy in.solence, or the envious 

* Ah-eady noticed, in tlie account of his gallant father, at the affair of Cremona, 
ill 170-. The 2 quota' ions res])ectiiig the Irish iu Austria are from the Annual 
lle,y,isters of l7()5 and 17()(). 

f At the County of Dublin Meeting for Catholic Emancipation, hold at Kilman- 
hain, in .Septeniher, 1811, a veteran officer, Colonel '>'>>hea, after stating his 
having been recently in the Austrian army, at the battle of Wagrani, the "Colonel 
commanding a regiment of upwards of .i()i)0 men, ' furtlier alleged of the numbers, 
and hii^li character of his countrymen who had been in that service, and of the 
opi liou of tlie Austrian ('ommaiuler-iii-Chief, the Arch- Duke Charles, on the 
subject — " Such is our established rejjutation, that Ar>h-L)uke Charles said to 
me ■ that never was the House of Austria Ijetter olficered, than when possessing 
80 many Irish; of whom, at one time, upwards of .SO were (ienerals.' " Of Irish 
soldiers, as well as Irish officers, in the Austrian army, it may he mentioned here, 
that a similarly creditable character has been given. " It is worthy of remark," 
says Ferrar, the hixtoiian ot Limerick, " that nor, one Irishman deserted from the 
Emiieror's service on the frontiers of Holland, although large bribes were offered 
for recruits, to fill the Dutcli levies." 

:,': 1 his toast of ( 'arew, umler the circumstances iu which lie gave it, reminds us 
of the .illegcd reniaik of l,eonidas to his Spartans, before the last Struggle ab 
Theniio[)yhe, that their next repast was to be iu another world! 



IN THR SERVICK OF FRANCE. b 6 

sarcjisms of needy jealousy, the Irisli have ever been, and will continue to 
be, liiglily regarded upon tiie Continent." 

This opinion of the exiled Irish, with a proportionable regret at what 
a loss their services were to England, and an <i,dvantage to France, owing 
to the nnnntural order of things established in Ireland, continued to 
gain ground, amongst the more intelligent cdass in England, between tho 
last contest of France and England terminated by the Peace of Paris, 
and the ne.xt arising from the struggle for the independence of the 
United States of America. During that struggle^ the enlightened 
Arthur Young, arguing, from the bravery of the Protestant Irish in 
the service of the British Empire, the consequent impolicy of such 
sectarian legislation, as would not admit that Empire to have mIso the 
benetit of the services of their Catholic countrymen, remarks — " Our own 
service, both by sea and land, as well as that, (unfortunately for us,) of 
tilt! pi'incipal monarchies of Europe, speak their steady and determined 
couriige. . . . Think of the loss to Ireland of so many Catholics of 
kmall property resorting to the armies of France, Spain, Sardini;!, and 
Austria, lor employment! Can it be imagined that they would be so 
ready to leave their own country, if they co\)ld stay in it with any 
]irospect of promotion, successtid industry, or even liberal ])rotection ? 
It is known they would not; and that, under a different system, 
instead of adding strength to the enemies of the Empire, they would be 
among the foremost to enrich and defend it." Mr. Tliieknesse, likewise, 
an English gentleman, in his "Journey through France, and ])art of 
Spain," under the head of "Calais, November 4th, 177u," observes — "I 
found Berwick's regiment on duty in this town: it is conunanded by 
Mons. le Due de Fitz-James, and a number of Irish gentlenien, my 
counti'vmen, (for so I will call them.) You may easily imagine, thaC 
nien, who possess the natural hosjntality of their own omntry, with the 
j)oliteuess and good-breeding of this, must be very agreeable acquaintance 
in general : but I am bound to go farther, and to say, that I am endeared 
ti> them by marks of true friendship. The King of France, nor any Prince 
in Europe, cannot boast of troops better disciplined; nor is the King 
insensible of their merit, for I have lately eeen a letter, written by tho 
King's command, from (Jomte de St. Germain, addres.sed to the officers 
of one of these corps, whereby it ap|)ears, that the King is truly sensible 
o" their distinguished merit; for braver men there are not in any 
service. What an acquisition to France! what a loss to Britain!" 
When the unfortunate Trojan.s, from their "sweet homes and ancient 
realms expell'd," requested, according to the Roman poet, an asylum 
iiom Latiuus in Italy, their ambassador representetl to the King: 

*' Nor our admission shall your realm disgrace, 
Nor length of time our gratituile etl'ace — 
Besides, what endless he nour you shall gain. 
To save and shelter Troy's unhappy train! " 

Dkyden's Virgil, ^Eneis, vii., 317-320. 

And the asylum opened by Louis XIV. in France to the expatriated 
adherents of James II. from Ireland, and to their successors, was 
attended with no less honour and gratitude. The Duke of Fitz-James 
has noted of Louis, and his reception of the Irish, how "all France 
a|)plauded, and the greatest and most powerful Monarch crowned the 
eulogies of this brave and gallant nation, by his styling them, sea braves 



G04 HISTORY OP THE IRISH BRIGADES 

Ir/andois.'" And the Duke's contemporary, Lientenant-CJeneral Connt 
Artluir Dillon, statcil to tlie National Assembly of Franco — " It rnav l>e 
said, without partiality, that there is no example of any nation having 
done for another what the Irish Oatliolics have done for France. She 
had great claims upon their gj'atitnde ; but they have acquitttnl them- 
selves of their debt, in the most noble mannca-." 

On December 30th, 17G5, died at Rome, in his 7Sth year, a»t('r 3 years' 
conlincmient to his residence, during 2 of which he hardly left his bed- 
chamber, James Francis Edward Stuart, by hereditary right, as con- 
tr-asted with revolutionary regulation, James III., King of Great Britain 
and Ireland. He was interred in the Papal ca[)ital, J;uiuary, 17GG, with 
all the pomp and solemnity due to the royalty, of which he, and his sou 
Prince Cliarles Edward, not merely by the old or Catholic Irish, and 
especially the Brigade, hnt by numbers of British Protestants, were 
regarded as the legitimate representatives, in oj)j)osition to the intrusive 
House of Hanover. Even so far within the reign of George III. as 
the year 1777, in a conversation "as to the inclinations of the people of 
England, at that time, towards the Royal Family of Stuart," Dr. Johnson, 
although in receipt of a pension of =£300 a year from the reigning Monai-cli, 
observed — "If England were fairly polled, the present King would be 
sent away to-night, and his adherents hanged to-morrow." And the 
Doctor furtlier alleged — "Sir, the state of the country is this: the ])eople, 
knowing it to be agreed, on all hands, that this King has not the heredi- 
tary right to the Crown, and there being no hope tlnit he who has it can 
be restored, have grown cold and indifferent vipon the subject of loyalty, 
and have no warm attachment to any King. They would not, thenifore, 
risk any thing to I'estore the exiled family. The}' would not give 20 
shillings a-piece to bring it about. But, if a mere vote could do it, there 
woidd be 20 to 1 ; at least, ther-e would be a very great majority of voices 
for it. For, Sir, you are to consider, that all those who think, a 
King has a right to his Crown, as a man has to his estate, which is the 
just opinion, would be for restoring the King, who certaiidy has the 
hereditary right, could he be trusted with it; iu which there would be no 
danger now, when laws and everything else are so much advanced : and 
every King will govern by the laws. And you must also consider, Sir, 
that there is nothing, on the other side, to oppose this; for it is not 
alleged by any one, that the present family has any inherent right; so 
that the Whigs could not have a contest between 2 rights." The cere- 
monial of the interment of the deceased Prince was as follows. "Uu 
Saturday, the 15th of January, 17CG, his body, after having lain 5 days 
in state iti his own Palace, was removed, in gr.tnd cavalcade, to his parish 
church, the Church of the Holy Apostles, dressed in royal robes, a crowti 
upon his lu!ad, a sceptre in his hand, and, upon his breast, the arms of 
Great lUitain, in gold and jewels. The whole Court, and the members 
(if almost every Order and Fraternity at Rome, as well religious as secular, 
IG of them with colours flying, attended the cavalcade; lUUO wax-tapeis, 
besides those borne Viy other attendants, followed the body; 4 ginitlemen'i, 
]iarticularly distinguished by the deceased in his life-time, su])p()rted the 
pall. At this church, which was hung with black from one end to the 
other, and tilled with s'^eletons holding wax-tapers, a solemn rp.qmenh 
was performed by Cardind Albani in his pontificalia, assisted by 20 other 
Cardinals; the music by the musicians of the Apostolic Palace. The 
I'ojie intended to have assisted, but was prevented by the coldness of the 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. COS 

weatlior. The bed of state was illuminaterl with 1100 wax-tapers; and 
over it was this inscription, Jaoubas, Ma'/iue Britannice Rex, Anno 
AJ DCCLXVI .^ with diveivs mcduUions in front, representing the several 
Orders of Chivalry in (ireat Britain; the 3 Crowns of England, Scotlmd, 
aiid Ireland, to which were joined the royal insignia, viz., the purple robe 
lined witli ermine, the velvet tunic ornamented with gohl, the gh)be, tlio 
sceptre, the crown, and the crosses of St. Geoi'ge anci St. Andrew, ifec." 
After lying there during 3 days, the body, on the evening of the 3rd, was 
lenioved, in tlie same bed of .state, to St. Peter's; which being done in 
grand procession, and the obsequies again celebrated there, the corpse was 
conveyed to the vault appointed for it previous to final interment."' The 
exclusion of James III. from the sceptre of these islands, as attended with 
tlie enslavement of all those of his religion in Ii'eland, was popularly 
lamented in the beautifully wild and pathetic air or song of "The Black- 
bird," which, with Allisdrum's March, the Flowers of Edinburgh, the 
White Cockade, &c., was a favourite tune among the old Jacobite native.s, 
e.'jpecially in Munster; and ))layed, with corresponding enthusiasm, on 
the harj) and ])ipes, when there was no "dastard" by, to "say 'twas for- 
bidden." t After the true, though disinherited King, allegorically termed 
"the blackbii-d," being mentioned, in the words, as "all her heart's trea- 
sure, her joy, and her j)leasui-e," by "a fair lady" (needless to specify), and 
she accordingly resolving " in fair or foul weather, to seek out her black- 
bird wherever he be," she says — 

"In Scotland he's lov'd, and dearly approv'd ; 
In England a stranger he seemetb to lie ; 
But his name I'll advance, in Britain or Franco; 
.Good luck to my blackbird, wherever be be ! " 

And she concludes, by exclaiming of her favourite, though jiarted from 
her — 

" His right I'll proclaim, and who dares nie lilanie? 
Good luck to my bkickbu-d, wherever he be ! " :J: 

The absence, I may remark, of this fine air from Moore's Melodies is a 
crying "sin of omission," when some of such very inferior Uierit have 
obtained a place, and been "married to immortal verse," in that generally 
admirable collection. 

In 1708 and 1769, France added but too largely to her di.sgraces 
under Louis XV., or tlie Lewd, by her most unjust war to subjugate 
C<jrsica;§ a war, that, by a sort of retribution, commenced the connexion 

• Annual Eegister for 1765, Chronicle and Appendix, pj). 152-3, 205-6, Boswell's 
I.iie (if Johnson under 1777. 

t Fanuly ttaditional information. 

X I cite from the "Jacobite Minstrelsy," whose Scotch editor should not have 
omitted to acknowledge that "the Blackbird" is an Irhh air, "and uo mistake ' — 
a.-., on hearing it, will be manifest to a judge of national music. There were other 
words to that air in Ireland, in the last century, of which a very aged relative, my 
dear mother, has merely remembered the following lines — 

"Twas in old England this blackbird was nourish'd — 

And ladies of honour this blackbird did cherish. 
Because that lie was the true sou of a Kiu;^. 

:le * * :ii * * * * 

Tho' his fame shall rem lin in France ai d in Spjiu, 
iet 1 can't see my blacUbird wiieie.ver 1 go. 

§ See Boswell's and Gregoiovius's interesting works on Corsicr., Annual Bogister^ 
for 176o-y, 6.C. 



COG HISTORY OF THE IP.ISH BIUGADES 

lictween the 2 countries, tin nnn;h the results of whicli the Eonrbons were 
to be siipeiseded, on the Fierich throne, by a CJorsiciui iauiily; arid as if 
to verify the curious observation of Rousseau, it) writing of Corsica — " I 
Lave some presentiineid, that' one day tliat little island will astonish 
Ji'u7-ope ! ^^ The very {lowerful or ovei-whelniing force, desjjatched from 
France to effect this conquest, coni])rised some of the best regiments in 
her service. Among these corps, were tlie Regiments of Bulkeley and 
Roscommon. * The countrymen of Wellington em))loyed to conquer 
those of Najioleon, the destined Scijiio and Hannibal of a future contest 
greater than that between Rome and Oaithage, and both then infants, the 
one as born in Maj% the other in Augu.st, 17(i9! And the situation of 
the country of Wellington muler the English was unfortunately but too 
like that of the country of Napoleon under the Genoese; on a transfer 
from whom, when defeatcnl, of their ]>i-etended claims to Corsica, Franc© 
so infrimously assumed a right to attack and suVidue the Corsicans. "Their 
s^■stem," writes Mr. Boswell of those detested mercantile op])re.ssors, the 
Genoese, "was not to render the Corsicans hai)pier and better, but, 6y 
keepiiiy them in ignorance, and under the most abject submission, to prevent 
their endeavotiritig to yet free; ivldle Genoa drained, the island of all she 
could possibly (jet, chofsimj rntlier even to have less advantage by tyranny^ 
than to have a. much greater aiirantage, and. risque (he consequences 0/ per- 
mitting the iiduibitants io enjiy t/ie blessings 0/ freedom. . . . What 
shewed the Genoese policy in the worst light, and could not but be very galling 
to the Corsicans iii/io 'remained at home, was, that many of these islanders, 
vho had gone over to the Continent, made a distinguished figure inmost of 
the European states, both in learning, and in arms." The English Whig 
Hoj-ace Walpole, exclaims of the Genoese, in reference to their oppression 
of the Corsicans — "I hate the Genoese: they make a commonwealth the 
most devilish of all tyrannies!" But, what might not a Genoese have 
retorted Mg;iinst England, with respect to Ireland, in those days. 

In 1770, on apprehension of a rupture with England respecting the 
Falkland Islands, the Regiment of Clare was sent to India, where it was 
equally noted for its discipline and bravery. In this year, also, died a 
distinguished ofticei- of the Irish Brigade, whose entrance into military 
life dated from the age of Louis XIV. — the Marechal de Camp and 
(Chevalier Richard Edmond de Cusack. He was descended fi'om an 
ancient and illustrious family, originally of Guienne, whose progenitor 
passed into England with her great conqueror Duke William from Nor- 
mandy, in 100(5. In 1211, Geolfroy and Andre de Cusack came to Ireland 
with King John, and behaved tiieinselves so well, that John made theui 
large grants of property there. In tlu; reign of Elizabeth, Nicholas Cusack 
was beheaded for the zeal he evinced in defence of his country and religion. 
Patrick Cusack and his family having been eminent for bravery in the 
army of the Confedeiates of Ireland during the great civil wai-, or Parlia- 
nientarian and Cromwellian rebellion against Charles I. and II., Crom- 
well seized upon those gentlemen's estates, whicli, after "the Restoration," 
in.stead of being given back to their right owners who had lost them in 
defence of the Crown, were shamelessly granted, with those of other Iri-^li 
Catholic loyalists, to James, Duke of York, and other English lord.s.t 

• Coant Arthur Dillon's Memoire. 

f During the next war in Ireland, or that of the Eevohition, the name of Cusack 

continued to be one of note ; 4 of its representatives sittinti' as Members of the 
national Parliameut, under Iving James 11., iu l(ii>9, at Dublin; and several being 



IN THE SERVICE OF FllANCE. G07 

lliehard Oiisafk, after the l<<ss of his 2fnui(!fathei- fi^htinj:, apiin.st the 
Eijglish or Cromwelliaii rebels at the fatal battle of VVtuceHter, retired to 
the Continent, where he entered the service of Spain. He left 3 sons. 
1. Girard Alexandiv, or Geiuld Alexander, de Cusack, Cljevalier of St. 
Louis, Lientenant-Coh)nel of the Irish Ret^imenb of Roth, deceased in 
1743, after having served 53 years. 2. Charles de Cusack, who having 
been an officer in the Irish Regiment of Lee, passed into the service of 
Si)ain with the rank of Captain of the Walloon Guards, rose to be a 
Marechal de Camp, or Major-General, and a Commander of the Or(U'.r of 
St. Jago, and, at his death in 1748, in the service of I^ajiles, was Governor 
of jMelazzo in Sicily. 3. Richai'd Edmond de Cusack, the subject of this 
notice. B(irn in Flanders in 1687, he, in his Iflth year, or 1702, joined 
the Regiment of Dorrington, snl)sequently that of Roth, as a volnnt^'er 
Cadet. He was at the siege of Kehl, the combat of Munderkingen, ami 
the 1st battle, or victory, of Hochstedt, in 1703; and fought at the 2nd 
battle, or defeat, of Hochstedt, (otherwise Blenheim) in 170-1:; in which 
year, he was made a reformed Lieutenant. He served with the Army of 
the Ptliine in 1705, and for several ensuing campaigns. Nominated a 
reformed Captain in the same regiment by commission of Maj^ 21.st, 1709, 
lie was, September 11th, at the great battle of Malplaquet. He was 
employed in Flanders in 1710; fought at the attack of Arleux in 1711; 
and was present at the success of Denain, and the sieges of Douay, 
Quesnoy, and Bouchain in 1712. He was engaged at the reductions of 
Landau and Friburgh. and the captm-e of the retrenchments of General 
Vaubonne in 1713. He became Aide-Major to his regiment (then Roth's) 
by brevet of August 20th, 1720; had rank in it as a Captain e/t second 
from June 21st, 1721; and as a Captain e;i /ne/ from June 19th, 1729. 
He obtained, January 9th, 1731, a company, which he commanded at the 
siege of Kehl in 1733; at the attack of the lines of Etlingen and the 
.siege of Pliilipsburgh in 1734; and at the affair of Clausen in 1735. He 
Avas created a Chevalier of St. Louis in 1733. Attache<l to the Army of 
Flanders in 1742, he became Captain of Grenadiers on January 24th, 
1743; Lieutenant-Colonel on A])ril 4th following; and was ])resent. in 
that grade, at the battle of Dettingen, in J>ine. He served at the sieg(!S 
of Menin, Y[)res, Furnes, and Fort Knock in 1744, condVxcted under 
King Louis in person; and finished that campaign, at the Camp of Cour- 
tray. He behaved, at the victory of Fontenoy, May 11th, 1745, with 
such distinction, that he was granted a royal pension of 600 livres; and 
was at the ensuing reductions of the town and citadel of Tourna}', of 
Oudenarde, of Dendermonde, and Ath. Brigadier of the armies of the 
King, by brevet of March 20th, 1747, and stationed at the bridge of 
Walheim, a j)ost among the most important to be guarded during this 
cam])aign, he maintained himself there, for 6 weeks, with but 600 men. 
At the battle of Laffeldt, gained by the King on J\ily 2nd following, lie 
displayed such additional proofs of valour and good conduct, that his 
])revious royal j)ension of 600 livres was increased to 1600. He serv'ed 
at the ca])ture of Maestricht in 1748; at the Camp of Aimeries in 1754; 
at that of Calais iu 1756; and in Flanders in 1757 and 1758. He 

officers of infantry, horse, and dra2;oons, in the Irish army, or the Regiments of 
Dorrington, Mountcashel, Shine, Tyrconnell, Galmoy, Maxwell, OHlford; 1 of whoni, 
Colouel Nicholas Cusaok, of the branch of UsmuUen, was an executing party to the 
Civil Articles of the Treaty of Limerick. As defenders of their legitimate sovereign 
and native country in this contest, the Cusacks were also duly marked out for land- 
spohatiou, iu the Williauiite attainders of 1G91. 



608 HISTORY OP THE IRISH BRIGADES 

o))tainefl this last year, October 20tb, the government of the towns of 
Guerande, of Croi.sick, and Port-du-St.-Nazaire in Bretagne, and was 
sworn accoi-dingly, March, 18th, 1759. Created a Marechal de Camp by 
brevet of February lUth, 1759, he gave up his Lieutenant-Colonelcy of 
the Eegimcnt of Roth, and served no more. He was a Chevalier of the 
Order of St. Jago, or of the Red Sword, of Spain; and obtained, by a 
royal brevet of August 1st, 1758, the Commandery of the Hospital of 
Manceid, in Armagnac, a dependency of that Order. His death, as 
above-mentioned, in 1770, took place at Corbeil, in his 82nd year, after 
a life of uninterrupted military service for 56 years. By his 1st wife, 
Isabella Bridget Fitz-Gerald, he left an only daughter, married to the 
]\Iarq\iis rEspinasse-Langeac, Marechal de Camp.* 

As the quarrel of England and her North American Colonies, which 
commenced not long after the Peace of 17G3, progressed to an extent 
rendering it every day more evident, that, between the foimer deter- 
mined to tax, and the latter not to be taxed, a war should be the 
result, it was no less evident to the English Government, that the 
Irish Catholic element, *for supplying soldiers to the army, and sailors 
to the navy, of the Empire, shf)uld be more r'esorted to than ever, 
whatever might be the Penal-Code or No-Popery prejudice to the con- 
trary. Even in the preceding Seven Years' War, or so soon as tlie 
ruling povvers in England conceived, that, from tlie decisive defeat of the 
last attempt to restore the House of Stuart in 1745-G, and from a 
further la])se of several years, it might be possible to recruit, though as 
\ret "under the rose," among Irish Papists, without a prospect of such 
wholesale desertion, as, in the former days of Jacobite fervour, rendered 
levies of the kind no better than "ftiiry gifts fading away," it had been 
resolved, that trials should be made, of how far those Papists could be 
trusted, in tlie military and naval line. Thus, in 1757, "the English 
regiments enlisted Roman Catholic soldiers in Limerick for the 1st 
time since the Revolution," alleges the Protestant historian Ferrar, 
adding, " since that time, the nari'ow, impolitic system has l)een aban- 
doned of employing only English and Scots' soldiers. Ireland l:as 
furnished thousands of brave men to fight the battles of tlie British 
Empire, who, before this time, were a bulwark of strength, and a tower 
of defence, to our natural enemies, the French. Several regiments have 
been recruited and discijilined in Limerick." In equal ignoring of the 
existing "ascendancy" law in Ireland, by which no Papist was ])(n-- 
iriitted to bear arms, simultaneous levies were made for the English 
arinv from members of the proscribed creed, elsewhere in Munster, as 
we learn from leferences to the matter several years after, or in 1774 
and 1775, by 2 officers, as Irish Members of Pailiament. The former. 
Major Boyle Roche, said — "He must observe, in tlie late war, several 
recruits were raised in Cork and other parts of Munster in the year 
1757, vnllwut any scrupulous exandnafAon in respect to their relujtun: 
that a greater number of Papists were raised, and went to America; and 
lie called on every military gentleman in the House, who had been iu 
that service, to declare, whether any men had behaved better 1 And, 
though they fought against Papists, the French, yet their religion did 
not iniluence them to desert; but they did their duty, and were as 
amenable to discijiline, as any men in the army." The latter officer, 

• Courcelles, Ponce MSS., personal collections on Irish families. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. GOD 

Colonel Browne, affii-med — " In my opinion, Papists can be, and are, an 
loyal as any others; of which I will give an instance. In the time o< 
tiie late war, I recruited the regiment, in which I served, with above 200 
Pa])ists raised about Cork. They went to Canada, behaved br-avely, and 
when in garrison in a Popish town, and surrounded with Papists, whilst 
many Protestants deserted, not 1 of these Papists ran away." * Towards 
the conclusion of the same war, or in 1762, the liberal Protestant Lord 
Primate of Ireland, Dr. Stone, also spoke in the Parliament, at Dublin, 
of " the gallant conduct of the Irish Catholic sailors at Belle-Isle, aiid 
at the recent conquest of Martinique." + The ■necessity of having to 
resoi't to the same aid is subsequently, or in 1769, alluded to by Sir 
William Draper, as a military authority, in his 4th letter to Junius. 
" The troops in the Mediterranean, in the West Indies, in America," 
writes Sir William, "labour under great difficulties, from the scarcity of 
men, which is but too visible, all over these kingdoms," or England and 
Scotland. "Many of our forces are in climates unfavourable to British 
constitutions; their loss is in proportion. Britain," he concludes, " must 
recruit all these regiments fi'oin her own emaciated bosom, or, more 
jyy'ecariously. by Catholics from Ireland." And precarious, indeed, woidd 
England's situation be under such circumstances, or if the intolerant 
legislation to which the Irish Catholics had been so long subjected 
should be allowed to continue, while the existence of her empire was to 
dejiend more and more upon Irish Catholic soldiers and sailors! Hence, 
in 1774, the 1st move towards a breach in the ice of the Penal Code was 
made, even in the "ascendancy" Parliament at Dublin, through an 
admission of members of the persecuted faith to qualify themselves, in a 
recognized form, as subjects to the Crown, by a {^'articular Oath of Alle- 
giance for that purpose; dispensing, in their favour, with the merely 
exclusive, or Protectant terms, upon which alone, a jjledge of the kind 
had hitherto been admissible. JBy the oath in question, those taking it 
bound themselves to be loyal to King George III., and his heirs, as 
Sovei-eigns of Great Britain and Ireland, in opposition to any claim of 
tlie kind, on the part of "Charles 111.," (or Prince Charles Edward 
Stuart, tlius I'egidly designated since his father's death,) and the depon- 
ents, at the same time, abjured several obnoxious, or intolerant and 
anti social, doctrines attributed to their Church.;}: 

* In a ])ailiamentary debate of May, 1864, when, accordinc; to Mr. Macgnire, 
refeniiig to Ireland, "for every single Protestant, or Presbj'terian, who ejilisted in 
the Queen's army in that country, there enlisted 5 Catholics," Colonel North said^ 
" Diuino- the tune lie had served in the arnij', he had, for the most ]iart, been 
connected with regiments which were composed chiefly of Homan Catholics; one of 
the very last being the Pioyal Irish Fusihers," or S7th, " in which, out of 1000 
men, there were not more than 70 or 80 Protestants; aud he detied any man to 
point out an instance, in which the Poman Catholic soldier, in those regiments, 
had not done his duty most nobly, led by Protestant officers, in the service of a 
Protectant Queen." 

t Tiie extracts of the parliamentary speeches of Major Eoche, Colonel Browne, 
and Primate Stcne, are taken from Walker's Hibernian Magazine for 1775, and 
( "Conor's History of the Irish Catholics, under the year \1&2. On the large 
jii'oportion of Irish soldiers and sailors in the army and navy of (ireat Britain and 
Ireland, see the various authorities (suggestive of so njauy more) in my Creen 
Book, cha])ters ii.-iii. , 2nd edition, Dublin, 1844. 

X ]\lr. U'Df)noghue, in his learned " Historical Memoir of the O'Briens," having 
■jr- iiiised, hnw, until 1774, "no Poman Catholic could take the Oath of Allegiance, 
vithoiit disclaiming the spiritual sujiremacy of the Head of his Church," but that 
then "this auomalous and dangerous state of things was remedied," wntea as 



610 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

The next year, 177-5, when blf)0(l was first unfortunately slv^d hetwoeu 
tlie English and tlie AmericaTis, is otherwise remarkable for the birth of 
Daniel OConnell, l>y whose exertions the last links of the Penal Code 
■were to be broken; a reference to whose orioin, in some detail, is 
idlowal)le here, if only as that also of a distinguished officer of the name 
in the Irish Brigade and his relative, to be more particularly noticed 
fai-ther on. The sept of O'Conghaile, or O'Connell, is deduced in Gaelic 
genealogy from a very remote i-oyal source, or that of Conary I., Ard- 
Righ, or Monarch of Erin about the commencement of the Christian era. 
The OConnells, and their clan-territory in Kerry, primitively, or down 
to the 12th century, consisting of the Barony of Magunihy, are mentioned 
as follows, by the old bardic topographer O'Huidhrin, or O'Heerin — 

" O'Connell, of the slentler swords, 
/.s over the bushy-forted Magunihy; 
A hazel-tree of branching ringlets, 
In the Munster plain of horse -hosts." • 

In the disturbed niicrocosni, or "little world," of Erin, after the Anglo- 
Norman invasion, there was a similar state of things, in a minor sphere, 
to that in a gi-eater, upon the Continent, at the fall of the Roman 
empii'e; the Goths, who invaded the Romans, having done so, as com- 
j)elled to retreat from the Huns, who wei'e themselves obliged to retire 
irom other Tartar enemies farther eastwards, or towards China. " The 
wave V)ehind imjtels the wave before," as the poet says. Those attacked, 
and forced to abandon their country, by a stronger race, had to indem- 
nify themselves at the expense of another race, still less powerful. 
lli\der such circumstances, the O'Donoghues, driven by "the stranger" 
from their original territory in Magh-Feimhin, on the plain of Cashel, 
or the Baronies of Iffa and Offa East, in the County of Tipperary, and 
liaving consequently to seek a fresh establishment more to the soiith, did 
so in Kerry, where others of the name were previously located. + To tliia 

follows — "The oath, which Eonian Catholics were, by this Act, enabled to take 
before the Judges, or a Justice of the Peace in the country," was — "To liear true 
allegiance to the Sovereign, and defend him against all attempts and conspiracies 
against his .authority, to disclose all treasons which the i)arty may he informed of 
against his Majesty, his heirs, and successors, and to sup])ort the succession of the 
Crown in his Majesty's family, renouncing any allegiance, or obedience, to the 
person assuming the title of Charles IIL, t)r any other {lerson claiming a right to 
the Crown : that the sweai-er rejects the impious doctrine, that it was lawful to 
murder persons on ])retence of their being heretics, and the doctrine, (equally 
impious,) that no faith was to be kept with heretics : — renouncing the O|nnion, that 
Princes, excommunicated by tl>3 Pope, might be nnudered by their subjects; — 
declaring that neither the Pope, nor any other Prince, had, or ouuht to have, any 
trm po7riI or ciwi/ jurisdiction within this realm; and that the declaration, thus 
made and subscribed, was made without any equivccation, mental reservation, or 
dispensation already had from the Po])e, or any authority of the See of Rome. . . . 
In accordance with this Act, in the next year, (iO of the most einineut of the Eonian 
Catholic merchants and gentry of the city of Dublin, headed by Lord Triinlestou, 
took the Oath of Allegiance in the Coiu-t of Kind's Bench, iii presence of the Lord 
Chief Justice, Lord Annally, and their examjile was followed ;/ mrall)/ throughout 
the Kingdom." 

* For " UConchaile," and "Magh O'g Coinchinn," I substitute the modern 
equivalents, " 0'( 'onn-ell," and "Magunihy," in this qnatraiu. The O'Connel 3 
were more anciently located in Kerry, than they conimonlj' su]iposed their sept to 
Ijiive been. Truth makes the i-a,cejur older there tlian fiction. 

t The O'Donoghues were descended from Dul)h-da-blioire;m, King of Munster, 
killed in 9.^7. whose son, Dondmall, commanded the troojjs of Desmond, or Sonth 
Munster, at the famous battle of Cioutari, la lOi-1. In the War of the ivevoliuiou. 



I^' THE SERVICE OF F.'JANOE. C H. 

anq;mfnt;ition of O'Dono'jjhnos there, t1ie O'Coiitiells became victiras, 
li. ing attiicked, and ex|»ellecl tVoiii tlie. Barony of Magmiiliy ; atid t.liey, 
liaviiig to " make np tor tJieir V>»h,'' fell upon their neighlioiirs. the 
O'Seaghas, or O'Sheas, of the same Conariati origin, and stri|)|)ed tljeiii 
of tlieir ancient patrimony, tlie Barony of Iveragh, or Ui-Hathach, from 
■which the O'Seagha, or O'Shea, was, in better days, entithnl " King of 
IJi-lJathach." The chief seat of the O'Contiells, in this newly-acquired 
district, was at 13allycarbery, near Cahirciveen ; and. in the capacity of 
hereditary Castellans, or otherwise, they wei-e followers to Mac (-artliy 
More, till the 17th century. The head branch of the O'Connells was 
transplanted by Cromwell into the County of C!lare; which family, with 
those of the name in Kerry, supplied distinguished officers to King 
James II., during the War of the Revolution in Ireland; the principal 
of tlie latter being the stout Colonel and Brigadier, Maurice O'Connell 
of Iveragh, and of Ash-Tower, a i)rt)perty of £G()0 a year in the County 
of Dublin, who was killed at the battle of Aughrim.* Of O'Connells, 
sul)sequent to this war, several appear to have had good estates; and, 
among such as saved their property under the Articles of Limerick, was 
^'aptain John O'Connell, of Aghgore, and Derryt)ane, after serving 
throughout the contest, or from the campaign of Derry in 1680, to that 
ot Aughrim in 1691. This gentleman, by his son Daniel, and grandson 
Morgan, was the progenitor of the great Emancipator, born at Carhyn, 
near Cahiiciveen, August 6th, 177o. 

In the interval from the Treaty of Limerick to this period of the 1st 
move towards a relaxation ot the Penal Code in Ireland and the com- 
mencement of the war in America, the O'Connells, in Kerry, to what- 
ever remnant of the "good estates" they could contrive to retain, in 
ppite of the " Protestant discoverer," — or sectarian informer, privileged 
to rob Catholics by law of such landed property worth having, as he 
could prove them guiltii of possessing! — added the profits of a lucrative 
C(mtraband trade with France ; carried on, in jimt or natural elusion of 
the detestable policy of those days, to oppress Ireland commercially, as 
■well as to enslave her religiously. Of the circumstances of this trade, 
as connected with the " flights of the wild geese," or periodical emigra- 
ticms to join the Irish Brigaile from the different hai'boui's of Kerry, but 
eH|)ecially that of Valentia, our late learned Protestant countryman, Dr. 

there were only a few O'Doiio^hiies of the ranks of Captain, Lieutenant, and 
Eii.-ign, in tlie Irish army; and I also tind hut few to have been otHcers iu the 
Irish Brij/ade. The name was most eminent al>road, in tlie service of Spain. 

* This Maurice, sou of JelFery O'Connell, of Ibrahagh, or Iveragh, was nephew 
of John O'Connell, a lawyer, noted for his good sense, and agent to the Duke of 
Ormonde ; which John left, l>y will, his Dublin or Ash-Tower estate, of £6()(> 
a year, to Maurice as tenant for life, and to his legitimate mal,e heirs in succession. 
By his marriage with an English lady, Catherine, dnughter of Sir Edward Langtou, 
I^laurice lett, as his sole heir, Iticliard, a minor. Thronoh a VVilhamite outlawry 
Of Maurice post mortem — or when ho could nu longer forfeit, as having been but a 
tenant for life! — the estate of Ash-Tower was claimed a« forfeiteil to the Crown, 
Kpquestered accordingly, aud thus, for .several years, unjustly withheld from its 
Tindoubted heir, the minor. Tliat heir, Iiichard, was, in the meantime, reared up 
a Protestant with his English or mother's conne.xions ; liavuio;, by the seizure of 
liis [iripprty, been, sa^'s his printed case, "'left a destitute orphan, without support 
or fritnds; his relations' in Ireland, it is alleged of tlie O'Coiuiells, "who are 
lloiiiaii Cathol.cks, oi (/ovd estatf.% iu the aforesaid kingdom, nogiectiug him, as being 
bred up in the Protestant religion." 1'he pnqierty of Ash-Tower, liowe\er, se('i,.j 
t) have been restfired; the allegations, iu support of the Petition to that etiect, 
bei^g reported as true. • 



612 HISTORY OP THE IRISH BRIGADES 

William Cooke Taylor, in bis " RerniuisceTices of Daniel O'Connell " as 
" hy a Minister Fanner," writes — " In consequence of this form of inter- 
course, what the law called snin;£;iilin,ii, and what those engaged in it 
called /'/ei? trade, was very active between the French ports and this part, 
of Ireland. Morgan O'Connell's store, or shop, at Cahirciveen, received 
niany a cargo of French laces, wines, and silks, which were sold, at an 
immense ])rofit, in the south and west of Ireland, and enabled him 
rapidly to accnninlate a large foi'tnne. English crnisers avoided the 
iron-bonnd coast of Kerry, which then had a repntation even worse than 
its reality. It was said, that the men of the Kerry coast combined 
wrecking with smnggling; and that, for both pin-poses, they had organ- 
ized a very complete system of ])osts, and telegraphic signals, along the 
blutf headlands. When a susj)icious sail was annonnced, nice calcula- 
tions were made, to ascertain her probable position after nightfall. A. 
horse was then turned out to graze, on the tields near that jiart of the 
shore opposite to which she most probably -was, and a lantern was tied to 
the horse's head. Viewed from a distance, this light, rising and fallirig 
as the animal fed, jiroduced pi-ecisely the same effect as light in the 
cabin of a distant sliip. The crew of the stranger-vessel, thus led to 
believe that tlit^re w;is open water before them, steered boldly onwards, 
and could not discover their error, imtil they had dashed against the 
rocks.* There is no I'eason to believe, that tht^ O'Connells ever engaged 
in such treacherous transactions; but there is indisputable evidence, 
that they were largely practised in this ])art of the country, and that 
they afforded great protection to smuggling, by deterring the Engliili 
crui.sers fr(»m tlie coast. Daniel O'Conneirs infancy was thus jiassed 
amid scenes likely to impress his mind with stern hostility to the Pro- 
testant ascendancy, and the English government Ijy which it was snp- 
jiorted. In the name of that ascendancy, he was taught that his 
ancestors had been plundered ; in tlie name of that ascendancy, he saw 
his religion insulted, and his family opjiressed ; for the Penal Laws 
op]io.sed serious impediments to his father's investment of the profits of 
Lis trade in the acquisition of land.t All around him were engaged in 
a ffscal war with the English government, and, in the code of Kerry 
ethics, a seizure by the officers of the Oustom-House was regarded as a 
jobbery, and the defrauding of the revenue a simple act of justice to 
one's self and family." While such was the .situation of the O'Connells 
at home, abroad, in the Regiments of Clare, Berwick, and Walsh, 
belonging to the Irish Brigade, as well as in other corps of the French 
army, or the Regiments of Royal Suedois and Salm-Salm, the name was 
repi'esented, down to the French Revolution, by officers, from the grades 
of Sous-Lieutenant and Captain to those of Colonel and Marechal de 
Camp, including some Chevaliers of St. Louis.;}: 

* With such evil-doings in Ireland towards unfortimate vessels and their crews, 
conij'are, liowever, these likewise ])raetised ia EikjUhuI, as ah'eady noticed in Book 
11. , wliere treating of the exiled Earl of Claiicarty ; and see the account of the 
"wreckers" of Bretagne, ui Mii.-helet's }Iistor>- of t'lanre. 

+ Aitliur Youiig, alter alluciing to tlie discraira^enieiits, nudcr the Penal Laws, 
to Catholics engaging in ai:y legidar tiut'e, ic(iiiii-iri'j Ixitli mdnstry and cajiital, 
fxclaims — " ]f they .succeed and make a fortune, v liat are they to do with it? 
1 !iey' can neitl er buy land, nor take a luortgage, i;or even tine down the rent of 
a Icai-e. . Where is there a people in the world to be loui;d industrious under such 
circiiiiistances? " 

X Under this year, 1775, as the latest to which I have any knowledge of a 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 613 

It wns; liigli time, the year Itefore O'Oannell's birtli, or in 1774, tliafc 
the en-ilaved Catholics in Ireland shonkl have been athiiitted by .st;itnte 
to qualify themselves as subjects to the Crown, when, iti October, 177-1, 
it WHS acknowledged, in the Britisli House of .Lords, how imperative it 
was for England to avail herself openly of their assistance, if the great 
strength of the insurrection in North America were to be duly opposed. 
On seconding the Address to tlie Throne, fnmi that assend'>ly. Lord 
Townsend, in dwelling upon the projiriety of taking foreigners into the 
]my of England, added, " and Irish Pa]>ists into her .service. He said, 
Pa]nst.s might be as good soMiers as any others; that it was only by 
England, that any distinction was made; that France, however rigorous, 
bigotted. or despotic, made no diiference between Protestants anil 
Catholics; that the Hollanders acled in the same manner; that, so men 
were good soldiers, it was very little matter what might be their creeds." 
And -the recent move, in the right direction, by the English Government 
in Ireland, with regard to the Catholics, had a corresponding effect upon 
recruiting there for the service in America, even through such an unpre- 
cedented co-operation, as that of a Catholic nobleman, in the person of 
Lord Kenmare; respecting which, we have this contemporary announce- 
ment, under the date of Augu.st 20th, 1775. " Major Sir Boyle Roche, 
Baronet, attended by his Captain, and a grand ])rocession, beat up for 
rt^cruits in Limerick, and met with great success. This was the 1st 
man of rank, who, when the war broke out in America, with an honest 
zeal in his Majesty's service, beat up in person for recruits. Lord Ken- 
mare gave half-a-guinea additional bounty to every recruit." It elsewhei-e 
appears, that the Major, "in 1 week, raised 500 reci-uits, for the King's 
army." The increasing reasons, from 1775 to 1778, for a further or 
more substantial relaxation of the Popery Code, suggested by the con- 
tinued necessity of drawing away troops fi-om Ireland to America, led, 

very distinguished officer of the Irish Britrade, I insert the best account I have 
found of him; which, if extendint;- to the exact date of his decease, woulil he 
given in the text at that period, instead of in t'lia note. The Chevalier Pierre de 
!Nngent, or Sir Peter Nugent, Baronet, was tirst, or in 1717, a Lieutenant in 
Nu gent's Regiment of Irish Horse, suhse<|uently that of Fitz. lames ; was a 
reformed Captain a la suili', October 14th, 171S; and, having raised a coni}>auy l)y 
c.immissioa of Febriiary 2nd, 1727, he commauded it at the reductions oi Kehl 
and Philipsburgh, in 1733 and 173-t. He was empowered to rank, March 21st, 1731, 
fis a Mestre-de-Camp de Cavalerie. He serv^ed, luider the Marshal de Maille- 
bciis, with the Army of the Lower Pdiine, in !September, 1741; passed, with that 
army, into Westjihalia and Bavaria, in 1742; after being ac several actions there, 
reciuned to France, in July, 1743; and finished the campaign, with his regiment, 
under the Marshal de Noailles, in Lower Alsace. He did not serve in 174-1. 
Created Brigadier of Horse by brevet of May 1st, 1745, he signalized himself, 
t'ne 11th, at the battle of Fontcnoy; and obtained the same day letters of 
service to V)e employed in the rank of Brigadier. After being present at the 
reductions of Tournay and Oudeuarde, he was chosen, in December, to .act as 
Brigadier in the force designed to assist Prince Charles Stuart in Britain ; but, 
being among the select Irish detachment, that atcempteih early in March, 174(5, 
to reach Scotland from Ostend by sea, he was ca[)tured by Commodore Knowie.s. 
ll.iving been exchanged as a }irxsoner, and returning to France, he was at the 
rt'duccion of Mae.striclit in 1748. Marcchal de (."amp. or Major-(Jeueral, by Ijrevet 
of May 10th, that year, he became Lieutenant-Colonel of his regim.'ut, June 2.")t!i, 
foUownig. Employed with the Army of Germany, under the Prince de Soulnse, 
by letters of June 15th, 17.>7, ho fought valiantly at Rosbach. Engaged, by 
letters, of November 29th, for the winter, in Germany, he re-entered France 
with liis regiment, in April, 1758. He resigned the Lieutenant-Colonelcy of the 
Cdi-iK in 1759; and "was created Lieutenant-General of the Armies of the Kin^ 
(■3 power of July ".iSth, I7li2. 



014- HISTORY OF THE IIU.SH P.llTG ADKS 

towards the conclnsion of tliat periorl, to a motion in ParlianiPiit, hy a 
Mr. James Fitz-Uerald, that Oathulics mii^lit be permitted to take leases 
ot l.-mds for (il years; wliiclj j)roj)i)sal, however, though so fair aiil 
moderate, was negatived by the nsnal majority of intolerance in tha 
Dnlilin "ascendancy" legislature. But. soon after, iu 1778, when tlie 
ugly intelligence from America arrived, how 

" Buro;oyiie, opposing all the fates, 
At Saratoga fought witlj General Gates," 

Mild consequently had to surrender, with his entire force, to the mortify- 
ing accomi)aiiiment of " Yankee Doodle." * the same Parliament, under a 
I>i-essure from Government — the stronger, as aware that France wouhl 
join America — passed an act to enable Catholics to take leases for 99^ 
years ! The terms, too, in which this measure was expressed, as tending 
to excite still higher expectations with reference to the fature,t occa- 
sioned much satisfaction on the ])art of the Irish Catholics at home and 
abroad; a satisfaction, at the same time, with which the feelings of 
French policy could not sympathize, inasmuch as the military interest 
of France in Ireland should be injured, by whatever might be calculated 
to serve that of England there. A British contemporary writer, justi- 
fying " the conduct of the Government in mitigating the Penal Laws 
against the Papists," after remarking, that, to the harassing legal dis- 
abilities, under which the Catholics lal)oared at home, " France owed 
some of her bravest Brigades, and Austria her most distinguished 
Generals," so that the British " Government was not insensible of all 
this, and, therefore, prudently resolved to give them," the Catholics, 
" some indulgence," thus proceeds — " Perhaps there never was a period 
when a step of this kind was more solidly political, or better calculated 
to promote the common weal. After the surrender of Burgoyne's 
army, what an alarming prosfiect appeared to the eyes of the nation ! 
The distres.ses and dangers of the nation called aloud for the 
assistance of every source of power which is within us; whilst an appli- 
cation to foreign aids," or German mercenaries procured at an enorn)ous 
cost, "too forcibly proved a decay in our own vital princi|)le. Nothing, 
tliei-efore, could be better judged, under such circumstances, than to 

* Of the name of "Yankee," and the air of "Yankee Doodle," the Enghsh 
translator and anuotator of "Travels in North America in 1780, 1781, and f7S2, 
by the Marqnis de Chastcllux, Meniher of the French Academy, and Major- 
(ieneral in the French Army, under the (Jonat de liochanilieau,' says — "'I'liia 
is a name, given by way of derision, an I even simple ])leasantry, tn the inhabi- 
tants of the 4 eastern States. It is thought to come from a savage people, who 
lormerly occupied this country, and dwelt l)etween the Connecticut river, and the 
State of Massachusetts. . . . The English army serving in America, a:id Eng- 
land herself, will long have i-eason to reineralier the contemptuous use they 
made of this term in the late unhapjjy war, aud the severe retort they met with 
on the occasion. The hiif/li.sh army, at Banker's Hill, marched to the iustilting 
tune of ' Yankee Dooile;'' but, from that period, it became the air of triumpii, 
the lo Paean of America. It was curhio to the British ear. ' Our honest country- 
man, Serjeant Lamb, in his " Jottrnal of the Avnerican War," in wliich he served 
imder Burgoyne, accordingly, mentions how, when the Biitish troops were marching 
down, from the heights of Saratoga, to the vei'ge of tlie river, whore they were 
to give \\\i their arms and artillery, "the American drummers and tifers were 
ordered by General Gates, to play the tune of 'Yankci/ Domicile."' 

+ ( )n the rejection of Mr. Fitz-Gerald s motion, and the subsequent parlian)eii- 
truy L,rant of so much more than he had moved for, compare Parnell's Hi>tory (if 
tlio I'enal f^aws a^raiust the Irish Catholics, from the Treaty of Limerick to tha 
L'liiou, \\ ith i'iowden s Historical lieview. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 615 

ronnite to the state such a minierons bnrly of faithful subjects. 
But," coTitinnes this writer, "the more Britain rejoiced at this happy 
event, tlie nioi'e France was confouiwleil ! Political France! whose ey(?s 
are always open to her own interest, well saw the fital tendency of 
such a step to her. No sooner was it seen there, that tiie act was 
jiassed in favour of the Roman Catholics, than an universal damp was 
seen in every countenance; and the general cry was, ' Volla! deux cens 
wille hornmes amies contre nous!' — ' See 200,000 men armed against us! ' 
They lamented to think, that their Irish Brigades must now fall to the 
ground, and that they could no longer expect to be supported by a 
disaffected party among ourselves, in case they should invade us; and, to 
show to w])at length they carried their regret, the students of the 
English College at Douay wanted to give public thanks to God for the 
hapjjy event, but. they durst not do it! Of all this," he continues, " I 
am informed by gentlemen of the utmost veracity, who were in France 
at the time, and wdio were eye-witnesses and ear-witnesses of what 
]>assed." * And " these unquestionable facts," he concludes, " show, 

* The Emperor Napfileon, trio, alle'j;e(l to our countryman, Dr. O'Meara, at St. 
Helena --" When the Catholic (jnestion was hrst seriously auitateil, 1 would have 
given 50,000,000 to be assured, that it would uut, be granted; for it would have 
entirely ruined my projccU itpon Ireland." Napoleon likewise lamented to Las 
Cases at St. Helena, that, in 1798, he did not go to Ireland, instead of to Egypt ; as 
well he might, from the military strength subsequently derived from Ireland by 
England, to put him down. On this point, the Duke of Wellington, in 1829, 
addressing the House of Lords in favour of Catholic Eiriancipation, obsei'ved - 
"It is already well known to your Lordships, that, of the troops which our 
gracious Sovereign did me the honour to entru.st to my command at various periods 
during the war— a war undertaken expressly for the purpose of securing the hajjpy 
institutions and independence of the country— that at least onedialf were Roman 
Catholics. My Lords, when I call your recollection to this fact, I am sure all 
further eulogy is unnecessary. Your Lordships are well aware for what length 
of period, and under what difficult circumstances, they inaintaiued the empire 
buoyant u]>on the flood, which overwhelmed the thrones and wrecked the institu- 
tions of every other people; how they ke[)t alive the only spark of freeilom which 
was left unextinguished in Europe; and how, by unprecedented efforts, they at 
length placed us, not only far above danger-, but at an elevation of ])rosperity, 
for which we had hardly dared to hope. These, my Lords, are sacred and im- 
perative titles to a nation's gratitude. My Lords, it is become quite needless 
for me to assure you, that I have invariably found nij' Roman Catholic soldiers 
as patient ruader privations, as eager for the combat, and as brave and determined 
in the held, as any other jiortion of his Majesty's troops ; and, in pcnnt of loyalty 
and devotion to their King and country, I am quite certain they have never been 
surpassed. I claim no merit in admitting, that others might have guided the 
storm of battle as skilfully as myself. We have only to recur to the annals of 
our military achievements to be convinced, that few. indeed, of our commanders 
have not known how to direct the unconquerable sjiirit of their troops, and to 
shed fresh glories round the British name. But, my Lords, while we are free to 
acknowledge this, we must also confess that, without Catholic blood and Catholic 
valour, no victory could ever have been obtained, and the hrst militaiy talents in 
Euro[)e might have been exertsd in vain, at the head of an army. My Lords, if 
on the eve of any of those hard-fought days, on which I had the honour to com- 
mand them, I had thus addressed my Roman Catholic troops: — 'You well know 
that y(uir country either so suspects your loyalty, or so dislikes your religion, 
that she has not thought proper to admit yow amongst the ranks of her citizens; 
if on that account you deem it an act of injustice on her part to require you to 
shed your blood in her defence, you are at liberty to withdraw ' — I am quite sure, 
my Lords, that, however bitter the recollections which it awakened, they woidd 
have spurned the alternative with indignation; for the hour of danger and glory is 
the hour in which the gallaiit, the L:enerous-heaited Irishman best knows his duty, 
and IS most determined to perform it. But if, my Lords, it had been otherwise; 



616 HISTORY OF THE IIUSII lUUGADKS 

beyond reply, the y)ropriety of the repeal " in the Penal Laws, " and 
the advantages that may he expected fi-om it to this country." So much 
for those measures of English policy, calculated, along with the extinc- 
tion of any hope of a Stuart " restoration," to he more and more i)rein- 
dicial to the Irish Brigade from 17-")7 to 1778, or down to the ])erind 
which we now a])proach, when the 3 last corps known as Irish, out of 
the number tliat foi-merly existed in the service of France, were to act 
with her against England in the American Wai-. 

The Court of Versailles, having concluded at Paris a treaty of amity 
and commerce with the United States of America as an independent 
powei', early in February, 1778, the result was necessarily war between 
England and France. Like the gallant Lafayette, however, a number of 
the Irish military in France anticipated its Government, in taking ujj thQ 
cause of America. Among them, there were, so early as 1776, several of 
the supernumerary or reformed officers of the Brigade. "As this corps," 
says the announcement of the sailing of those gentlemen for America, "is 
known to contain some of the best-disciplined officers in Euro])e, there is 
no doubt, but that they will meet with all suitable encouragement." 
The next year, 1777, we find officers of higher rank, or Colonel Conway 
of the Brigade, and Colonel Roche de Fermoy, in commands of note; the 
former, after an English allusion to him, as "a Colonel of the Irish 
Brigade," being furtlier referred to, as "one of that numerous train of 
officers in the French service, who had taken an active part against Great 
Britain, in this unhappy civil war." When hostilities broke out between 
France aiid England, the Irish regiments in France, who considered 
themselves entitled to serve bffure other corps against the English — a 
claim more especially advanced, on this occasion, by the Regiment of 
Dillon — were not long left unemployed.* In 1779, the Regiment of 

if they had chosen to desert the cause in wliicli they were embarked, though the 
remainder of the troops would undoubtedly have maintained the honour of the 
British arms, yet, as I have just said, no ettoi-ts of theirs could ever have crowned 
us with victory. Yes, my Lords, it is mainly to the Irish Catholics that we all 
owe our proud pre-eminence in our military career ; and that I, jiersonally, am 
indebted for the laurels with which you have Vieeu pleased to decorate my brow 
— for the honours wl\ich you have so bountifully lavished on nie, and for the fau* 
fame (I prize it aliove all other rewards) whicli my country, in its generous kind- 
ness, has bestowed upon me. I canuot but feel, my Lords, that you yourselves 
have been chiefly instrumented in jjlacing this heavy debt of gratitude upon me — 
greater, perhaps, than has ever fallen to the lot of any individual; aud, however 
Batterdig the cu'cuinstance, it often places me in a very jiaiuful position. When- 
ever I meet (aud it is almost an everyday occurrence) with any of those brave 
men, who, in common with others, are the object of this bill aud w'.io have so oficn 
borne me on the tide of victory; when I see them still branded with the imputa- 
tion of a divided allegiiince, still degraded beneath the lowest menial, and still 
proclaimed unlit to enter withiu the ]tale of the constitution, I feel almost ashamed 
of the honours which have been lavished ujion me. I feel that, though the merit 
was theirs, what was so freely given to me was unjustly denied to tliem ; that I 
had reaped, though they had sown; that they had liorne the heat and burden of 
the day, but that the wages and repose vv^ere mine alone. My Lords, it is a gi'eat 
additional gi'atilication to me to advocate these ])rinciples in conjunction with a 
distinguished member of my family, so lately at the head of the G ivernment of 
his native country — a country ever dear to me from the recollections of my 
infancy, the memory of her wrongs, and the bravery of her people. I glory, my 
Lords, in the name of L'eland ; and it is the highest pleasure 1 can ambition, to be 
thus united wdtli the rest of my kindred, in the grateful task of (dosing the 
wcuiiids which seven centuries of misgovernment have inflicted u]ioa that luilor- 
tunatc liind." 

* Lieutenant-General Count Arthur Dillon thus commences his account of the 



IN THE SE[?V[CE OF FRANCE. 617 

Bprwiclc was attached to tho Rqnadmii of the Coutit fl'Orvilliers. Of the 
Eeginient of Walsh, a oonsidevalile portion was likewise appointed to act 
in detachments as marines ; of which detachments, a ))iqupt. with the 
squadron of the Marquis de Vaudreuil was present, early that year, at 
the captui-e, from the English, of Seiieg;il, in Africa, where it remained 
in garrison. April 5th, at Brest, in the squadron of M. de la Motte 
Piquet, the 1st battalion of the Regiment of Dillon, in number 1000 men, 
subsequently made HOO, embaiked for the West Indies under its 
('olonel-Proprietor, Count Arthur Dillon the younger, grandson and 
namesake of the 1st Colonel- Proprietor, who brought the regiment from 
Ir-eland to France in 1690, and nephew of the 2 other Colonels, slain in 
command of the corps, at the victories of Fontenoy in 1745, and Laffeldt 
ill 1747. The junction of this squadron from Brest with that of the 
Count d'Estaing at Martinique strengthening him sufficiently to nnder- 
take the long-meditated design of a conquest of the Isle of Grenada from 
the English, he set sail, June 30tli, from Martinique, and, by July 2nd, 
in the evening, anchoring off Grenada, " immediately landed," says my 
author, " 2300 men, for the most jiart Irish, in the service of France, 
under the conduct of Colonel Dillon." 

The Governor of this island for England was an Ulster nobleman, 
more recently of Scotch de.scent, but originally of Irish or Milesian 
blood, (ji'eorge Macai'tney, 1st Lord Macartney, born in 1737.* Ap- 
p<)inted Envoy Extraordinary from George III. to Catherine II., 
Emj)ress of Russia, in 1764, he, on taking leave at St. James's, was 
knighted by his Majesty. Thenceforward, to 1767, he acted so satisfac- 
torily in his noi'thern mission, that, besides receiving from Stanislas, 
King of Poland, the Order of the White Eagle, he was advanced to be 
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary from the British Coui-t 
to that of St. Petersburg. In 1768, he was elected a Member of Par- 
liament, both in Great Britain and Ireland; in 1769, was made Chief 
Secretary for, and Member of the Privy Council in, Ireland, under the 
adaiinistration of Lord Townseud; in 1772, was created a Knight of 
the Bath; in 1774, sat in the British Pailiament for several Scotch 
borovighs ; in 1775, was nominated Captain-General and Governor-in- 
Chief of the Islands of Grenada, the Grenadines, and Tobago; and, in 
1776, was ennobled as Lord Macartney, Baron of Lissanoure, in the 
County of Antrim. From his connexion with the Isle of Grenada, as 
attacked by the French, till his death in 1806, his Lordship is most 

services of liis own and the other Irish reciments in this war. " Guerre d'AinC>r- 
itjiie, ]779. On a vu que les r^girueus Irlandois ont e e constammeut employCs 
dans toutes les guen-es precedentes ; ils ont ton jours rechuiie le ]irivileje dc niar- 
cner les premiers contre les Anglois dans tons les cliniats oi'i la France leur I'eroit ia 
guerre. C'est d'aprbs ce principe que le Regiment de Dillon denianda et ol.tiut de 
l)asser en Ani€rique au coniniencenient de 1779." 

* Lord Macartney's origin has been traced from a son of Douogh Mnc (Jartliy, 
styled " Cairthanach," or the Friein/li/, King of Desmond, in the 14th century. 
I'his son, Prince Donal, after having joined the gallant Edward de Brus, or Bruce, 
as " King of Ireland," in order to drive the English out of Ireland as they had 
been driven out of Scotland, served Edward's brother, the great Ilobert, King of 
Scotland. From him, he received a grant of land in Argyleshire, whence his 
descendants branched into Galloway, and linally into Ulster, where the name 
became connected with the Peerage. On this point of his Lordsh'p's Milesian 
origin, compare M. Laine's Pedigree of the Mac Garthys in French with Mr. 1!. F. 
Gronnelly's Irish Genealogies, under tliat name. See likewise, Archdall's Lodge's 
Peerage of Ireland, and Ryan's Worthies of Ireland, under " Lord Macartney." 



618 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

linnnin'al)ly known as Governor of Madras, in the East Indies, wliere he 
iiiiijlit liHVL' been Governor- General of Ri'ngal, and for his interesting 
en)bassy to China; having displayed, throughout life, qualities ci-editable 
"to his talents as a statesman, and his feelings as a man." 

On the landing of D'Estaing's troojis, Lord Maeartney retired with 
what foi-ce he had. about 700 men — of whom not 200 were regulars, ami 
the rest militia, sailors, and volunteers— to the eminence entitled Morne 
de rH6])ital. This height, which commanded the town of St, George, 
the fort, and the harbour, besides being very steep by natui-e, was ren- 
dered more difhcult of access by rude walls of stone, raised at intervals 
for that purpose; and the passage ujiwards was further barred by a 
strong palisade, behind which were 3 in trench men ts, rising one above 
the other in due gradation. D'Estaing, the day after his landing, or oi^ 
the 3rd, having reconnoitred the hostile post, and made corresponding 
dispositions of his troops, summoned Lord Macartney to surrender; 
whose reply was, that he "was ignorant of the strength of the French, 
but knew his own, and would do his utmost to defend his island. The 
French' commander, anxious to ])roceed as ex])editi(uisly as ])ossible with 
liis enterprise, lest Admiral Byron might arrive with his squadron to 
relieve Lord Macartney, had 'brought no artillery with him; and, as to 
iinshiji and bring up any might take too much time, he could only carry 
his point by a antj) de inain. He accordingly arranged that the enemy's 
stronghold should be stormed that niglit (between the 3rd and 4th,) by 
3 columns; Count Dillon and other othet'r.s being connnissioned, ere it 
was dark, to examine, as nearly as possible, the ap])roaches by which 
each column might advance to the ]ialisade and intrenchments. About 
midnight, the troops vv'ere in motion, and, bt'fore 2 in the morning, they, 
at a quarter of a league from the ])osition to be assailed, were arrayed ia 
3 columns, at the respective directions they were to take. The column 
on the right, under the Vicomte de Noaiiles, having with him, among 
other officers. Lieutenant- Colonel O'Dunn* and Major Mac Donnell, 
consisted of 300 men of the Reginumts of Champagne, Auxerrois, Mar 
tinique, and the Artillery. The column in the centre, under the Count 
Eiiward Dillon, with a Lieutenant-Colonel, and Major O'Moran, con- 
sisted of 300 men of the Regiment of Dillon, and 10 of the Artillery. 
The column on the left, under Count Arthur Dillon, with M. Browne 
as Colonel-en-Second, consi-sted of the grenadiers of the Count's own 
reginient, the I'est of the same corps, and 10 of the Artillery. The 
direction for this column, in its ascent, exposed it to more danger than 
the others, fVom the fire of an English vessel, the York. At the head of 
the grenadiers marched the Count d'Estaing himself; knowing the 
Irish well, if it were only as having formerly served with poor Lally. 

* The O'Duinns, O'Dimns, or Dimnes, of Iregan, the present Barony of Tinna- 
hincli. Queens County, were descended from Cafhair the Great, Ard-Eigh or 
Monarch of Erin, in tlie 2nd century. From the reign of Louis XIV. to that of 
Louis XVI., there were 0' Dunns in the Irish Brigade, in the Eeaiments of 
O'Doniiell, Clare, and Walsh, from the rank of Lieutenant to that of Lieutenant- 
Colonel and Chevalier of St. Luuis. James Bernard ODunn, born in 1714, having 
bften P^nvoy from l^ouis XV. to the Court of Portugal, was pensioned for diplo- 
r*atic services in 17^9; and his son Humphrey, born in 1742, Lieutenant-Colonel 
of Infantry, and Connnandant at Grenada, in the West Indies, was likewise pen- 
sioned in 1780. The head of this ancient name in ISijii, with an estate from 
time immemorial in his race, was Major-General Frar.cis Plunkctt Dunne of Britta-s, 
in the Queen's ('ouuty, and its leiirescntative iu Parliament; whose great-graud- 
lather was killed at tlie IjaLlle of Au-lirmi. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 619 

r<) tliis liody Ihcre was, under tlie Count de Duras, ColoTicl-enScfond 
oi' the llegiinent of Cauil»i-esis, and another experienced otficci-, an 
advanced guard of 50 Volunteers, with 130 more men from the Kegi- 
nients <>f Hainanlt, Foix, and Martinique; and, to contribute to th« 
success of the 3 real attacks, by making a false one, anotlier party was 
assigned to the Count de Pondevaux, Lieutenant-Colonel of the Regi- 
ment of Auxerrois, a 2nd Lieutenant-Colonel, and 2 Majors, amounting 
to 200 men of various French cor|)s. At 2 in the morning, the false 
attack having commenced, and a vessel under the Marquis de Vaudreuil 
likewise making a useful diversion by its cannonade, as a set-off" against 
the fire of the York, the 3 columns marched to scale the Morne by the 
ascents ap])ointed. The cartridge-shot from, the York greatly incorti- 
nioded the colnmn under Count Art?hur Dillon. But neither this tire, 
nor that of the musketry and artillery from the intrenchments, the 
darkness of the night, nor the other im])ediments in the way of the 
assailants, ])revented the advanced-guard under the brave Duras, with 
the grenadiers under the Genei'al, from bursting through the ])alisade, 
and cairying the intrenchments; D'Estaing himself being among the 
first who entered them. Count Arthur Dillon is likewise jjarticularized, 
by the Count de 8egur, as greatly distinguished at the head of this 
column, and wounded; yet, as not withdrawing, on that account, till 
after the actic n. In tine, although the defendants claim to have repulsed 
the assailants at first, and may have done so, the post was mastered in 
less than an hour according to tht; French, or in about an hour and a 
half according to the English, by the arrival of all the attacking columns 
at the stimmit of the Morne, where they found 11 jneces of cannon and 
() mortars of various calibres. As soon' as it was day, a 24-po>mde)' was 
])layed from the top of the Morne against the Fort which it conunanded, 
and into which Lord Macartney retired, who had to surrender at discre- 
tion, having acted as well as he could, under the circumstances; so that, 
on his release, and reappearance at Com t, he was well received by King 
George. 

By this success, all the ])Iate and most valuable effects of his Lord- 
ship and ])rincipal officers, as well as those of the wealthy inhab'itants of 
the island, that had been conveyed to his |)ost as the safest depository, 
became a \nty to the French; and they gained a not less considerable 
booty in the harbour, where there were 30 vessels, of which 20 were 
nierchantiiien well-laden, and the remaining 10, ]irivateers. Tiie English 
prisoners were 700 (of whom 195 regulars of the 48th Regiuient and 
Boyal Artillery), the standards taken were 3, the artillery 102 cannon 
and 16 morfais. The French loss was returned as 106 men, or 35 
killed, and 71 wounded. Of Irish names among the officers slain or 
hurt were those of Mac Sheehy, Duggan, and Morgan ; the Isfc of these 
only, or Patrick Mac Sheehy, Lieutenant in the Regiment of Dillon, 
having been mortally wounded by a cannon-.shot ti^wards the close of the 
conffict. In this state, he could merely speak, with much jiuiu, a few 
Words, worthy of the great days of S]»irta and Athens. " Is the Morne 
taken?" he inquired. "Yes," they rejjlied. "Well, then," he rejoined, 
*' I die content! " and expired.* That, in a place thus conquered, there 

* The Mac SLeehys, a martial sept, that ap])ear to have been of Ulster oripin, 

and Claii-tJolla race, furnisbed ofticers to the Irish Brigade while it existed. For 

the rlaxsic death of the tiallant Patrick, 1 am indebted to M. de la Pimce. Patriclv's 

nei)hew, Beruaid Ma,c ISheehy, horn in 1774, was Adjutant-General, under the 



G20 HISTORY OF THE HUSH CRIGADKS 

shovild be some irrppulaiities, affdidirig grounds for coinplanit agamst 
the successful soldiery, niny lie admitted; though by no means to tlie 
degree, that English prejudice, or misinformation, would represent. 
"Nothing," says the coutemiiorary Annual Register, "couhl be more 
unfavourable to D'Estaing's character than the accounts of his conduct 
in his new acquisition, which were spread aboiit this time. His con- 
tinuance in the island of Grenada has been represented as a constant 
scene of severity and oppression. It was said, that his soldiers were 
indulged in the most unbridled licence ; and that, if it had not been for 
tlie humanity and tenderness sliovvn by the officers and private men of 
Dillon's Irish regiment to the inhabitants, their condition woidd have 
been too deplorable to be endured, or described." But Botta," who had 
more authorities before him than this London periodical, which he also^ 
consulted, alleges — " If the French, in this assault, displayed a valour 
deserving of eternal memory, the moderation and humanity which they 
manifested, after the victory, merit no inferior encomium. The capital 
was preserved from pillage, to which it was liable by the ordinary rules 
of war. The inhabitants were protected in their persons and pro])erty. 
Dillon, in ])artieular, distinguished himself by the generosity of his 
behaviour." Thus, the good-nature of the Irish is admitted on all 
hands, and, as to merit of another kind, about 2-3rds of it was theirs ; 
nearly the wliole of 2 out of the 3 storming columns having been formed 
from the Regiment of Dillon, including the column accompanied by 
D'Estaing, whicii first carried the intrenchments. The intelligence of 
the reduction of Grenada, with the standards taken there, was forwarded 
to France, in the Dili(/ente frigate, Ijy Captain Sheldon of that regiment, 
and a relative of the Count, its Colonel. 

It was well that D'Estaing had been so prompt in making himself 
master of Grenada. On the 6th, Admiral Byron, having IS sail of the 
line, and a frigate, with a number of transports conveying tioops under 
General Grant, a])proached the island, under the impression, that Lord 
Macartney still held out. D'Estaing, who had 25 sail of the line, 
accordingly gave battle, with a loss, indeed, of the larger amount of men, 
but counterbalanced by the greater injury done to the enemy's ships; 
1 of which, a transport, was taken. " The British Admiral, in conse- 
quence of the disabled condition of his fleet," we are told, '' foimd it 
necessary to take shelter at St. Christopher's, where he w;is decided to 
jemain, until the enemy should become weaker, or him.'^elf stronger. 
His retreat s])read consternation among the inhabitants of all the British 
isl.inds," in the West Indies, " who had not for a long time, nor, 
]itrliaps. ever before, seen the French masters at sea. A short time 
after the action, D'Estaing, having repaired his ships, set sail afresh, and 

Linperor Kapolcoii I., at the bloocby battle of Eylaii, in Febmary, ISO", when lie 
fell by a caiiuon-sliot, greatly rcL^retted, as uniting, with bravery, and iniiitury 
l..l('iit, of the lir«t order, a vast erudition, and capability of speaking and wriiin^ 
several languages. John Bernard Louis iMac Sheehy, born at Paris, in Decenibe'-, 
178.S, and attached when a bo3% as a gentleman Cadet, to the Regiment of iJillon, 
attained high Loiioui's in the same Imperial service, and subsequently. He served 
12 caiiifiaigns, received wounds, had 2 horses killed under him, and became a, 
Chevalier of several Military Orders. 

The leavii' d Ilcereu desigi ates the " History of the W.-ir of the Imlependouc ; 
of theUnited States of America, " by Carlo Botta, (the einiiient hist irian, also, of 
h:s ou'ii country. Italy,) as "a history of the revolution, compiled, fi'om the Lest 
uutiioriLies, witii care, and well written. " 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRAXCE. 621 

paracfed, with liis whole force, in sight of St. Cliristopher's. Byron hiy 
f<afely nujored in the harbour of Basse Tei're. Tlie French Admiral 
soiiglit in vain to draw him out to combat. Finding him obstinate in 
his immobility, he shaped liis course for St. Domingo, where he a.'^semliled 
the merchantmen of the different islands, and dis[)atched them ibr 
Europe, under convoy of 3 ships of the line, and 3 frigates. . . . Tiie 
n*^ws of the battle of Grenada was welcomed in France, with gi'eat 
demonstrations of joy. According to the usage observed on occasion of 
iuiportant victories, the King wrote to the Archbishop of Paris, direct- 
ing that a Te Deum, should be sung in the metropolitan Church," or 
that of Notre Dame. In this naval combat of July Gth, lialf of Dillon's 
corps served on board the Fi-ench fleet; and, among the officers wounded 
there, were the Count Edward Dillon, Colonel-en-Second, and M. Plun- 
kett of the Regiment of Walsh.* 

The next enterprise of D'Estaing was one to recover Savannah, tlie 
capital of Georgia, from the English, who had taken it froju the Ameri- 
cans. With 22 sail of the line, 8 frigates, and above 4n00 men, including 
the corj)s of Dillon, exce[)t a portion of it left in Grenada, the French 
commander reached the Georgian coast, eie the end of August; inter- 
ce[)ted 2 English ships of war, with 8 other vessels, containing a quantity 
of money, clothes, and provisions for the troops in Savannah ; and, during 
Se]>tember, and the earlier part of October, being joined by 3000 of the 
Americans, under General Lincoln, pushed on operations against the hos- 
tile gai-rison of 3000 men in that metropolis. By the close, however, of this 
])eriod, the season had become too dangerous for the French fleet to remain 
any longer off that coast ; the besieging works, meantime, were not advanced 
enough to promise success in a direct a.ssault upon the |)lace, and yet the 
Fi'ench and the Ameiicans should separate; so that, it ap])eared the only 
chance left them, (unpromising as that was,) to efi'ect anything, would be, 
through a vigorously-combined effort, before parting, to storm the town. 
Such an attempt was consequently made by D'Estaing and Lincoln in 
person, October 9th, before daybreak. The French and Americans thus 
headed, according to Seijeant Lamb in the English .service, " resolutely 
maiched up to the lines; but the tremendous and well-directed fire of 
the batteries, joined to that, in a cross direction, from the gallies, threw 
their whole columns into confusion; not before, however, they had planted 
2 standards on the British redoubts. . . . Meanwhile it was intended, 
that Count Dillon should secretly pass the edge of the swami).s, the 
redoiibts, and batteries, and attack the rear of the British lines. The 
troops were in motion before day-light ; but, a heavy fog arising with the 
morning, they lost their way in the swamp, and were finally exposed to 
the view of the garrison, and the fire of the batteries ; which was so hot 
and tremendous, that they in vain attempted to form, and their wdiole 
design was defeated." The French had about 700 slain or hurt, of whom 
above 40 were officers; and, among the latter, the intrepid D'Estaing, 
who, exposing himself so much here, as elsewhere, had a horse shot under 
him, and was injured in 3 ))laces. Of Dillon's corps, its Major, Browne, 
an excellent officer, fell that day; and, of its grenadiers, 63 suffered in 
life or limb, exclusive of the fusiliei-s. The Americans are alleged under 
both heads to have been 7iti/<-«6' '• about 400;" while "the loss on the 

* Besides the anthoiitics thnt have been mentioned on the conquest of (ivenada 
and deteat of Byrou, 1 ni.ike use of French a^joounos of the day, respecting those 
e\ eiiLb. 



622 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

Brit'.sh side, as they fought seonre, was inconsiderahle." Of other 
reports, or misstatements, from tlie same side, the accounts from Paris, 
after D'Estaing's return there, assert — " Malgre tout que ]es Generanx 
Anglois, ont mande a leur Cour du pen d'intelligence qui a regne entre 
les Francois et les Aniei'icains hjrs de I'expedition de Savannah, jusqu'au 
jtoint dSnventer que M. ()-Duiie se seroit servi dn mot de Idclie en nom- 
mant le General Lincoln, M. d'Estaing soutient le contraire." 

At tills siege, according to Ferrar, a "Colonel Browne was Aid-dn- 
Canip to the Count d'Estaing," as previously "in America;" and, on the 
Count's deciding to attack Savannah, contrary to the opinion of the 
Colonel and other officers, " the brave Colonel remarked to the Count, 
though he disapproved his opinion, he should have no cause to com- 
plain of his conduct. Accordingly, he marched his regiment imme- 
diately to the attack, planted the French colours twice on the walls oi 
Savannah, and in the 3rd attempt was killed." He was " of the family 
of Moyne," likewise highly represented in the Austrian service. Ou 
this occasion, too, the Count de Segur thus refers to his "friend Linch," 
a distinguished officer of the Brigade, as subsequently Colonel-en-Second 
of the Regiment of Walsli. " I will i-elate an anecdote of my friend 
Linch, that will give an idea of his singular bravery, and of the original 
ity of his disposition. Lincli, after being engaged in the campaigns of 
India, served, before he was employed in the army of Rochambeau, 
under the orders of the Count d'Estaing, and distinguished himself 
]>articularly at tlie too memorable siege of Savannah. M. d'Estaing, at 
the most critical moment of that sanguinaiy affiiir, being at the head of 
the right column, directed Linch to carry an urgent order to the 3rd 
column, which was on the left. These columns were then within grape- 
shot of the enemy's intrenchments; and, on both sides, a tremendous 
firing was kept up. Linch, instead of passing through the centre, or in 
the rear, of the columns, ])roceeded coolly through tlie shower of balls 
and grape-shot, which the French and En,^lish were discharging at each 
other. It was in vain that M. d'Estaing, and those who surrounded 
him, cried to Linch, to take another direction; he went on, executed his 
order, and returned by the same way; that is to say, under a vault of 
flying shot, and where every one expected to witness his instant destruc- 
tion. 'Zounds!' said the General, on seeing him i-eturn unhurt, 'the 
Devil must be in you, surely ! Why did you choose such a road as 
that, in which you might have expected to perish 1000 times over?' 
' Because it was the shortest,' answered Linch. Having uttered these 
few words, he went, with equal coolness, and joined the group that was 
most ardently engaged in storming the place. He was," adds Segur, 
''afterwards promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-General, and com- 
manded our infantry, in the 1st engagement we had with the Prussians, 
on the heights of Valmy," in 179^. 

The last event of note in the annals of the Brigade for 1779, was the 
death of the Count and Chevalier Patrick Darcy. Of the clan-territory 
of Partraighe, or Partry, in western Connaught, the ancient possessors 
were the O'Dorchaidhes, otherwise O'Dorcys; in reference to which, the 
Bard, early in the 15th century, writes — 

" Well has O'Dorchaidhe of tlie lofty iiiind 
Defended that laud of heroes, 
The country of Partraighe of Hne ha/.eltrecs, 
With a yellow-knotted spearshaft in tlie battle." * 

"On this old JVlilesiuu name, claii, and tcrntoiy, bee Dr. U'i'onovan's learned 



IN THE SE-RVICE OF FRANCE. C23 

From this sept came the founder of tlie race, subsequently Anghi- 
Normanized, oi- colonially rnetamoi-phosed. into D'Arcjjs, ov Darci/s, in 
Galway, where Patrick, born Se])teniber 27th, 1723, was the son of Jolin 
Darcy, by his marriage witli Jane Lyncli. Exchided at home from 
respectable modes of advancement in life, as of a Catholic family and 
attache<l to the Stuarts, he was consigned by his parents, for a due 
provision, to one of his uncles, settled in France. Having been fortun- 
ately placed thei-e under the tuition of the famous Clairaut, he gave 
j)roofs of such a progress in mathematics, that, while still but a youth, 
his reception by the Academic Royale des Sciences at Paris, was most 
creditable to the precocious ability he displayed, and indicative of tiie 
future eminence he was destitied to attain in those pursuits, which were 
to connect him so honoui-ably with that learned body. Unable, how- 
ever, to devote his life to those abstruse studies, for which nature 
appeared to have designed him, or obliged by circumstances to take a 
pi-ofession, he adopted that of ai'ms. As Captain by bi-evet in the 
Kegiment of Conde, he made 3 campaigns, 2 in Germany, and the 3rd 
in Flanders. Eml)aiked tiiere, in the spring of 1746, with a choice 
detachment intended to elude the British fleet by night, and join Prince 
Charles in Scotland, he (as elsewhere duly narrated) was cay)tured at sea 
by Commodore Knowles; but was released the same year; the winter of 
which he passed at Paris. Thenceforward, till 1749, notwithstanding 
the interruptions of a military life, he embodied in several memoirs the 
results of his application to problems in mechanics and electricity, and 
prepaied an essay, at much greater length, on artillery. Enrolled this 
year in the Academy of Sciences, he published the e.ssay, and subse- 
quently a memoir on hydraiilic machines. The Seven Years' War 
breaking out, he served as Colonel a la suife to the Irish Horse Kegiment 
of Fitz-James, at the battle of RosV)ach, in 1757, where it signalized itself 
so much; and, on its removal from Germany to Flanders, in consequence 
of having suffered proportionably, he accompanied it there. An invasion 
of England fi'om tiiat quarter being contem[ilated, he, as calculated to be 
so serviceable for such a design, was made a Brigadier. The peace of 
176-'}, however, restored him to his academical labours. In 1770, he wa.s 
appointed a Marechal de Cam[); and, by this time, having realized a 
suitaole income,* he decided on withdrawing from the uninteresting 
V)ustle of the world, into a system of life moi-e adapted to his mature 
years and elevated tastes. He died Octolier 18th, 1771). He was a 
good Irishman, and, to the last, a Jacobite loyalist. As the /or Jiier, my 
Fiench memoir of him, as "Monsieur le Comte Patrice d'Arcy, Marechal 
des Camps et Armees du Roi. Chevalier de I'Ordre de St. Louis, Comman- 
deur de lOixlre de St. Lazare, Pensionnaire Gionietre de I'Academie 

editions, for the Irish Arclifeological Society, of Mac Firbis's Genealogies, Tribes, 
and Customs of Hy-Fiachrach, and O'Dubhagain's and 0'Huidluin'.s Toj)ographical 
Poems. 

* " II jouissoit d'une fortune honnete," alleges my manuscript, " formee de la 
BucceFsion d"uu oncle etabli en France qui I'avoit fait son heritier, des pensions 
accordc'es a ses services, et celle de I'Academie, et dun interct qu'il avoit dans le 
produit de quelques mines. ... II aima niienx renoncer a une succession tr&s 
considerable qu'on lui ofiVoit en Irlande, que d'y vivre prive des droits de citoyen, 
ou force de Ics acheter par nn jiarjure, et par sa sounhssion aux conditions, sous 
lesquelles I'Aiigleterre permettoit a sa patrie de jouir de la lUierti'.'^ Were these 
words, which 1 ha.ve it"/ ici:.ed, written in irom/ / The "penal code" and " com- 
mercial restrictions ' of England iu Ireland were rather an odd kuid of libtHij for the 
latter to be said to cnjuy! 



624 HISTORY OP THE IRISH BRIGADES 

Eoyale des Sciences," states — "II aima tonjours ses enmpatriotes. Tons 
les Irlandois qui venoieiit a Paris s'adressoient a lui. II n'y en avoit 
aiiciin qui n'eu re^ut on des secours dans ses besoins, on des consolations 
dans ses ))eines." As to the latter, the same document adds — " En vain 
]a Couf (le France, a hiqnelle le Pi-etendaut tenoit par les liens du saiii^, 
en vain la Coiir de Rome, qui eut du soutenir le petit-fils d' un Martvr 
de la Religion Catiiolique, enibrasserent la cause du vainqueur, le fidele 
D'Aroy n'abandonrui jiunain celle du vaincu." * In combining the man 
of the sword with the man of science, the Count may be said to have 
iinited the characteristics of 2 classes of warriors, placed under the 
guidance of opposite divinities by the poet, when he notes — 

" These Mars incites, and those Minerva fires." 

Popes Homer, Iliad, iv., 499. 

The following piU'ticulars respecting the remains of this distinguished 
Irishman are given from the Ami de la lieliyion, as cited in the Dublin 
Freeiiians Journal of October 1st, 1845. " A mason, employed at the 
works at present going forward in the ancient Chapel of the Blessed 
Virgin, in the (Jhurch of St. Philip du Roule, lias discovered, at a dejith 
of about a yard and a half below the surface, a leaden coffin, of ancient 
foim. This cotHn, considerably damaged by the effects of time, was 
broken in some ])arts, so as to exjjose to view several bones within, 
particularly the head, in the upper jaw of which the teeth remained 
almost all ])erfect. A brass plate, which must have been affixed to the 
coffin, has been forced off, during the ])rocess of exhumation. It bears 
the following inscription. Here lieth Messire Patrick Count Darcy, Gom- 
inaniJant of the Order of St. Lazarus and of Mount CarTnel, Kniglit of tJie 
Royal and Military Order of St. Louis, and General commanding in the 
Camps and. Armies of the I{ing, aged 54 1 years; deceased in October., 1779. 
Requiescat in race. The Cure of St. Philip has given orders, to lower 
the coffin into the vaults of that Church, where it shall be de[)osited, and 
taken care of, for the disposal of the family. The date of 1779 gives 
reason to presume, very naturally, that members of that family are still 
iu existence." But the Count, though married for some years previor.s 
to his decease, is not recorded to have left any olfspring; and, since the 

* This feeling of loyalty to "Prince Chai'lie," as the representative of {jenulne 
royalty, was coinnioa to many, besides Count Darcy. Thus, in May, 177o, 
althouifh t!ie Court of Rome, after tlie death of the rriiice's father, had expressly 
ordered, that no |ieison sliuuUl give Charles the title of Ki"f/, yet, on his visiting 
Ivonie, the ecclesiastics of the Imglish, Scotch, and Irish colleges and convents, a /I, 
during 4 (hiys, received him with the ceremony used towards crowned heads. 
"When," it is added, "this i)rocediire became known at Monte Cavallo, (the 
Pope's palace) orders were issued immediately, for exiling the Superiors of the 
before-noticed colleges and convents fr(nn Rome." And here, it is not altogether 
irrelevant to meutidii, that, it was only the same year, a Catholic Bishop was 
allowed, l)y the British (^lovernment, to ]n-oceed to Canada, piu-saant to a "secret 
article" of the Peace of 17G.S; l)y which the Prench Court engaged "not to abet, 
or assist, in any shajie, the son of the Pretender." In Ireland, according to the 
contem]torary authority of the Rev. James White, Parisli Priest of St. Mary's, 
Limerick, with resjject to the Catholics, it was only "in January, 1768, they /lefjnti 
to i»ray ]iul)lickl}', in all their chapels, for King George III., Queen (Jharlotte, 
and nil the Royal Family." The renunciation of Charles, as "Charles III.,' 
exacted, on oath, from tlie Catholics in Ireland, still later, or in 1774, has been 
related, under that year. So loni; did the Stuarts render Hanoverianism uneasy! 

t An apparent mistake, or mispi'int; the (Jouut haviug entered upon the Ist 
mouth of a7. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 62') 

publication of the above paragraph concerning his " mortal remains," no 
further notice relating to him has appeared till the summary of his life 
in these pages, where, with reference to him, and so many others of 
honourable memory. History endeavours to win from Fame the too-long- 
dfcferred decision, that 

" These must not sleep in darkness and in death !" — Pope. 

In 1780, the Regiments of Dillon and Walsh were among those 
represented by detachments serving under the French Admiral, tiie 
Count de Guichen, in the West Indies, against the English Admiral, 
Sir George Rodney, particularly at the 3 engagements fought within 2 
months, or in April and May, where each of those 2 great masters 
of naval tactics found himself o])posed to a rival with whom the empire 
of the sea should be divided, since neither could conquer the othei'. In 
1781, at the combat of A_pril 29th, between the French Admiral, tlie 
Comte de Grasse, and the English Admiral, Sir Samuel Hood, before 
Martinique, 700 of the Regiment of Dillon were present with the 
former. They afterwards landed in the Isle of Tobago, where the 
Regiment of Walsh had some days previously arrived; and the 2 coryis 
contributed to the final conquest of the island from the English, by the 
Marquis de Bouille, in June. Tliis gallant and high-minded nobleman, 
who was Governor-General of Martinique, in order to turn to account 
the absence of the English fleet in November, next res<dv'ed upon an 
attempt to recover the Itsle of St. Eustache from the enemy. 

That island, the preceding February, when no attack was expected, 
and no resistance could be made, had been suddenly wrested from Hol- 
land, by a considerable English sea and land force, oi-, so far, with no 
honour attendant upon tiie achievement; though subsequently with such 
dishonour, through the shameless conduct of Admiral Rodney, General 
Vaughan, and other ofiicers, as regarded the property of aVxjve 3,000,000 
found there, that the rapacity and irjhumanity displayed by them tended 
to draw upon England, as was said, "the odium of all Euro])e." * Since 
their acquisiti(/n of the island, the English had appointed for its defence 
a select garrison of 723 men and officers, fiom the 13th and 15th regi- 
ments of foot, under Lieuteiiant-Colonel Cockburne, as Governor; 
several batteries, also, were raised, mounting 68 j)ieces of cannon; and, 
as there was only 1 place, at which it was thought any landing could be 

* On this disreputable behaviour at St. Eustache after its bloodless surrender, 
the opixinents of the Goveriiiiieiit in England were very severe iu their censures, 
as well as on the bad or oft'eiisive system of administration, which, they main- 
tained, had added Holland, to America, Erance, and Spain, as a beilitrerenfc 
enemy to England, while other powers evinced their ill-will to her, in the men- 
acing shape of an armed neutrality. In Parliament, states my London coutcm- 
S)rary respecting the opjiosition, "they denied the necessity of the war with 
olland. ' We lost Holland,' said they, ' by our arrogance ; by that diimineering, 
insolent spirit, through which we lost America, and which has united half Europe 
against us, in an armed neutrality. . . . When France,' they continued, 
' was considered as the most formidable power in Europe, the nations, on all 
sides, confederated against her. We ourselves took the lead in that confederacy. 
We should have derived wisdom from that example, in which we had so great a 
Bhare; and, when this country rose to an envied and alarming pitch of greatness, a 
just apprehension of a similar confederacy should have taught us justice, modera- 
tion, and wisdom. But, so far were we from adopting such a prudential mode 
of conduct, that the ])ride and arrogance of our councils disgusted or alarmed all man- 
kind, and disposed them to any combination, whether for the lessening of our power, 
or the ]>uuishing of our insolence.' '' 

2.S 



G26 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

effocted, there was no apprelionsion entertained of a hostile disembarka' 
lion. But a French refugee, who, having been settU>d in the island 
Avhen possessed by the Dutch, Was well acquainted with the conntiy, 
itifirmed the Marqnis de Bouille, that at Jenkiu's Bay, in the back of 
the island, notwithstanding the great api)arent obstacles there by sea to 
boats safely reaching the shore, and by land to men getting over the 
I'ocks, a descent was practicable, if attempted in the absence of any 
military opposition, or by sni'}H"ise; especiall}^ since the English engineers, 
recently directed by the Governor to ])rovide against the possible danger of 
a hostile disembarkation in that quarter, had prononnced it to be unneces- 
sary, on account of the obstacles referred to, either that any defensive work 
should be constructed, or that even any guard shonld be statioiH d there ! 
.Under these circumstances, and the absence of the Count de Grass^'s 
fleet in America, the sense of security on the part of the Govemior and 
garrison of St. Enstache was as complete as could be desired for effect- 
ing their downfall. The Marqnis de Bouillo, whom his countr3'man, the 
j)lundered refugee, in addition to the useful intelligence he had given, 
offered to serve as a guide in surprising the English, sailed from St. 
Pierre's, in Martinique, on November ir)th, with 3 frigat(\s, 4 corvettes, 
and 3 armed boats, accompanied by 300 men of each of the following 
regiments, Auxerrois. Royal Comtois, Dillon, and Walsh, or 1200 so far, 
besides 300 grenadiers and chasseurs of different corps, making in all 
1500. Lest any alarm should be given to the " stupid peace " of the 
English at St. Eustache, he caused it to'be reported, that he was sailing 
in a different direction, or going to join the fleet of the Count de 
Grasse. 

From the contrarieties of the winds and currents, the Marquis was 
not able to sight St. Eustache till the 25tli, and that night issued orders 
to land. But, through a mistake of the pilots, in the 1st place they 
assigned for the descent, the cMitire enterprise might have been frus- 
trated. With great difhculty. Count Arthur Dillon, and 30 chasseurs of 
liis regiment, contrived to reach land, in the 1st boat which attempted 
to do so. Tlie Marquis de Bouille, and the men he had with him in the 
2nd, were as successful, though their boat was lost. This loss, and that 
of others, made it necessary to look for a less difficult landing-place, at 
■which, in the course of the night, the troops continued to effect their 
object, by aiding one another with ladders and ropes to ascend a 
rock. But, about an hour before daybreak, the winds and currents had 
become so hostile on this perilous coast, that the larger vessels were 
driven from the shore, and the I'oats which remained were unserviceable; 
80 that, when but 400 were disemliarked, they had to shift for them- 
selves, where they were, as well as they could, since no more could join 
them. They might then exclaim with the ancient warrior, 

"See on what fnot we stand ! a scanty .shore — 
Tiie Sea behind, our enemies before!" 

Duyoen's Virgil, .rEneis, x., 527-S. 

Cut off from any retreat, having no artillery, and with only 400 men, 
out of his 1500, to assail a bixly of regular troops so considerably 
superior in number, and provided with artillery and a fort as the English 
were, the Marquis de Bouille had no possibility of exti'icating himself 
from the j)redicament in which he was involved, but by advancing, 
attacking, and vanquishing his opponents; a resi;lutiou to which lie 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANX'E. G27 

was the more encnnraged, from the excellent spirit he observed in his 
Boldiers. 

It was now about half-past 4 in the morning; the distance from the 
English fort and bai-racks being al)out 2 leagues, or 6 miles; and " tiio 
way not only extremely difficult, but intersected by a defile in the hill-<, 
where a handful of men could have stopped the approach of an army." 
Count Arthur Dillon was ordered, with the Irish, to j)roceed directly to 
the barracks, and to seize the Governor. The Chevalier de Fresne, 
Major of Royal Comtois, with 100 chasseurs of his regiment and that of 
Auxerrois. was to rush for the fort, and, if he could not ent(;r by the; 
gate, he was to attempt it by escalade. Tlie Vicomte de Damas, with 
the rest of the troops, was to suppoi-t that attack. Dillon's Iri.sh, 
marching in silence, and with lowered arms, were met by several inhabi- 
tants of the island, who took them, by tJK'ir red uniform, for some of the 
English. They reached the barracks by 6 o'clock, where a portion of the 
garrison, " nothing fearing," were on parade, going through their exercise. 
Dillon and his men, under tlie advantage of the red uniform, were 
allowed to approach, when a hmd shout, a point-blank volley bringing 
several to the ground, and a close, with fixed bayonets, had naturally 
Buch an effect on men so assailed, as rendered resistance impossible.* 
The Goveia:ior, Lieutenant-Colonel Cockburne, coming up after an early 
ride, was made prisoner on horseback, V)y the Chevalier O'Connor, Cap- 
tain of Ciiasseurs in tne Regiment of Walsh. "I can never forget the 
day," writes the learned Dr. Charles O'Conor, in 1796, " when Monsieur 
de Mombre, who travelled in 17S7 with Mr. O'Naghton of Lisle, hear- 
ing my name mentioned in a long company, went to his port-feuille, 
and, after exhibiting to every person present a beautiful engraving, in 
which the Chevalier O'Conoi-, Ca])tain of Chasseurs in Welch's regi- 
ment, is represented in the attitude of making Governor Cockburne 
prisoner, he politely presented it to me, .saying — ' Sir, you see the 
French delight in paying compliments to every Vjrave and faithful 
nation.' " t The remainder of the enemy were rapidly disposed of, by 
the Chevalier de Fresne of Royal Comtois reaching the fort as an 
attempt was marie to I'aise the draw-bridge, which was arrested by M. 
de la Motte, Captain of Ciiasseurs in the Regiment of Auxerrois, with 
a well-timed di.schai-ge of musketiy ; upon which, the entrance being 
forced, and the bridge drawn up, the consideraide portion of the garri- 
son inclosed there laid down their arms, and those dispersed in quarters 

* "The troops landed M'ere," notes the contemporary Annual Register, "among 
the best in France, being ])rincipally composed of Count Dillon's regiment, a part 
of that Iri.sh Brigade, which lias Vieeu .so long and so highly distinguished for its 
vaLiur, and the excellency of the. troops, and which the ill ]iolicy l)oth of England 
and Irehmd has driven into the French service. The red uniform of these troops, 
being the same as the English, contributed greatly to facilitate, and give effect to, 
the enterprise." 

■f This capture of Governor Cockburne by O'Connor, and that of Marshal Villeroy 
by Mac Donnell, would be 2 good subjects for pictures V)y Irish artists. Of poor 
O'Connor, a French M.S., given to me !<•/ the late John (Joimell. adds — " Le 
Major O'Connor, du Regiment de la Ouadeloupe, an commencement de la Revolu- 
tion, fftt fait prisonnier par les Republicains, sur un batimeut marc'iand, oil il 
cherclioit a passer dans une ile tranquille des .•\ntille.s. II fdc iuhumaiuemcnt 
fusille avec des circonstances atroces. II etoit p^re de 10 jenues enfants, et aveit 
servi avec beaucoup de distinction da'is le Regiment de Walsh, oO. il avoit des 
frferes, je crois. Ce fut lui qui se signala lors de la ]>nse cheva'ere que de I'Ue de 
St. Eustache par le Marquis de Boudh?. II est fait mention de lui dans les Voya^ua 
du Ca]-.itaiue Landolphe, et dans la llevue Maritime de Jules Lecoute." 



628 niSTouY op the irisii brigadhs 

dsowhere came in, and surrendered. The Frencli are said to have lost 
\>nt 10 men at most, and these by di-owning; tiie English to have liad a 
i)nnd)er killed, besides (J77 made prisoneis. 

One of my English narratives, after ol)s(M'ving how a garrison so 
numerous constituted " a I'oree, which, in less unfortunate times, coiiiil 
not have been safely a])])roaolied by an equal, much less an inferior, 
enemy," alleges, " it iias not often happened that Eiiylitilt, troops have, 
met so signal a disgrace." The truth, however, seems to be, that aiiif 
w\e.x\ in the world, if surprised, or taken so com])letely ofFthei-r guard, a.'* 
th(!se troojis were, wouhl have been equally disgraced; if such a misfor- 
tune, as left no room for a regular display of valour, can he termed "a 
disgrace." Moreover, a great propoition of these so-called " English 
troo])s" consisted of " Irish Catholics," according to Count Arthi^r 
Dillon; who, having ])remised what an advantage it was for France to 
liave Irish regiments, since, th(! nunnent such i-egiraents were opposed to 
the English, the Irish Catliolics in the English service would desert in 
crowds to join their fellow-countrymen in the French army, remarks — 
" We have seen this in all our wars, and again, of late, in that of 
America, in which, on a single occasion, above 350 Irish Catholics, 
made ])risoners at St. Eustaciie in ti)e 13th ar)d 15th English regiments, 
enlisted themselves into those of D.Uon and VValsh, in which the greatest 
jiart of them exist still " — that is, at the commencement of the French 
IJevolution. " Eacii snidier thus gained for France," continues the 
(Jount, " is worth 3 men to her ; she has an enemy the less, a defender 
the more, and the blood of a citizen saved." 

Yet, while making every fair allowance for the defeat and capture of 
the gai-rison of St. Eustaclie under the above-mentioned circumstances, 
the reduction of the island, in sucji a dashing and oti'-hand manner, by 
the French, was very creditabh^ to the Marquis de Bouille and his little 
band of 400 men ; nor was the Marqui.s's subsequent behaviour there 
less worthy of liis noble character. The sum of 1,000,000 in cash, 
sequestered by the Court of London, and lodged in the Governor's 
house, was restored to the ])lundered Dutch, as the Allies of Fi-ance, 
on their proving it to lie their ))roperty ; and, to the Governor (Jock- 
burne himself, 264,000 livres, claimed by him as his own money, were, 
Avith similar liberality, awarded. The remaining sum of 1,600,000 
livres, belonging to Admiral Rodney, General Vaugiian, &c., as the 
produce of their unconscionable seizures, and the contents of 6 or 7 
hostile vessels in the road, making fi-oin 1,800,000 to 2,000,000, was 
reserved as a fair prize for the, conqueror-s. Of tliis, the Marquis de 
Bouille had 180,000 livres, his cousin the Count de Bouille, (to both 
of wdio.se accounts I am indebted in this narrative,) had 30,000 ; and, 
80 on, in proportion, down to the soldiery; all of whoui got 100 
crowns; having consequently no reason to envy their jolly represea- 
taLive in the song — 

"How h.ip])y the soldier, who lives on his pay, 
And sjieiids half-a-crowu out of si.xueace a day ! " 

Thus, between 24 English vessels, laden with the spoils of this island to 
the value of above £700,000, which were intercepted in the spring at 
sea by the French, and what the Mai-quis de Bouille recovered with the 
island itself in autumn, Messieurs Rodney, Vaughan, ife Co. wei'e much 
inoie uisgraced than enriched by tlieir acquisition of St. Eustache. .Nor 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 629 

was that acquisition, to which no o])position could be off Ted by the Dutcli, 
and the temporary retention of it tVoiii February to November, a source 
of any credit to the English arms, to compensate for a hiss, which was 
looked upon as having occurred in a way but too much to their discredit. 
The Marquis de Bouille. in stating liis inability to do justice to the 
very good conduct, and mi'st exact .discif)line, of his troops, on this occa- 
sion, alleges of Count Artliur Dillon, " le Comte de Dillon a donne de 
nouvelles preuves de son z^le et de son activice extremes." The adjacent 
little islantls of Saba and St. Martin, with another English detachment 
of 03 men and officer.s,* immediately submitted to the conquerors of >>t. 
Enstache; and the Count de Bouilie, Colonel of Infantry, was despatched 
to France, in the Aiy/e cutter, with the gratilying news, and 4 flags of 
the 2 English regiments. 

Early in 1782, in an ex])edition to wrest the Tsle of St. Christopher 
from the English, the Regiment of Dillon was employed. It acted there, 
under the Marquis de Bdiiille, at the siege of Brimstone Hill, styled tlie 
"Gibraltar of the Antilles;" the capture of which, with 173 pieces of 
artillery, in Febriuii y, after 31 days of open trendies, rendered the 
French masters of the island. Count Arthur Dillon being made it.s 
Governor,! his regiment renuiined there to garrison it in great part, or 
■with the exception of a detapliment of 600 men, sent to St. Domingo. 
Towards the end of the year, the 2nd battalion of the Regiment of 
Berwick ai-rived at Martinique; when, however, the prospect of a termi- 
nation of hostilities caused jireparations for furtlier military or naval 
enterprises to be laid aside. The preliminaries of tlie ex|)ected peace, ;i3 
regards America, were signed in November, by which England was to 
ackriowledge Amei-ican inde[)etidence. In 1783, peace was deHnitively 
signed between England and F'rance, as well as Ameiica; the English 
troops altogether evacuated the American teri-itory; and the French 
forces, having accomplished their honourable mission in America, bade 
adieu to their liberated allies. 

With this war, terminated the strictly military career of the Irish 
Brigade in the service of France, although the break-up of what 
remained of a national element in that corps, to such an extent as to 
disconnect it with the jiast, was not to occur until the French Revolu- 
tion. The vast change for the better eiiected in the condition of 
Ireland, by the acquisition of Free Trade, and Legislative Independence, 
thiough the eloqneiice of Grattan and the arms of the Volunteers, from 
1778 to 1782, attended by further relaxations of the Penal Laws against 
the Catholics, ^n the latter year, contributed so much to keep the Irish 
at home, (instead of reducing them, like the previous system of mis- 

• The numbers of this, and tlie larger English garrison, are given, as specified 
by Major-General Christie, in his letter from Barbadoes, Decenil>er loth, 1781, 
to Lord Oeorge Gerinaine, sent, by the Raiujer sloop, with intelligence of the 
Marquis de Bouille's success. 

t When, after the peace, and restitution of -St. Christo|)her's to the English, 
Dillon ai)ijeared at a levee cf George lit., the Lord Chancellor, crossing the circle 
to where the Count was, said to him--" Count DiUou, we knew you to be a brave 
aud able soldier, but we were not aware that you were so good a lawyer. W's 
have investigated, and have continued, all your judgments, cimt all your decrees, 
delivered during your go\eriuueat." In connexion with Dillou having been 
(iovernor of the Isle of St (.'hristopher, it may be reninrked, that Lienteuanfc- 
Colunel Thomas Fitz-Maurice, of the Briuade, was Governor of the Isle of St. 
Enstache, and Lieutenaiit-Colouei Hiiiiiplirey O Dunn was Commandant in the 
Isle of G renada. 



630 ni.STOUY OF tiik irish crigadks 

govorament, to oinic^vate, from want, in large numbers, every vear,) that 
but too few of the .suldieri/ of tlie Brigade wei'e, hy this time, Irish; as 
distinguished from tlie officers, already noted to have been so, either by 
birth, or origin, to tlie last. Of the great domestic revolution referred 
to, and the extensive ]>rosperity resulting from it, the illustrious orator 
\vho did so much to elfect that revnlution. gives this picture. "The 
power of the British Parliament, to make law for Iieland, was relin- 
quished. The power of the Irish Pai-lianient, who before could only 
originate Petitions, not Bills, was i-estoi-ed, in full, complete, and exclu- 
sive authority. Nor were these acquisitions a barren liberty. The 
exports of Ireland increased above one half; her population near a third ; 
and her agricultui'e, that was not before able to feed a smaller number 
of inhabitants, (for we were fed by corn fi-om England,) supplied a* 
increased population of 1.000.000, and sent a i-edundancy to Great 
Britain. The courtier was astonished. He had contemplated such 
prosj)ects as the fi-enzy of the enthusiast. He read that frenzy regis- 
tered in the public accounts. Nor was all this wealth slow in coming. 
The nation started into manhood at once. Youno; Ireland came forth, 
like a giant, rejoicing in her strengtli. In less than 10 years, was 
this increase accomplished. In ll&l. we exported »£ 3,300,000 ; in 
1702, what would now be valued at near £11,000,000; in 1784-, 
24,0..0,0()0 of yards of linen; and, in 1792, 45,000,000 of yards of 
linen. Public prosjierity so crowded on the heel of the statute, that the 
jiowers of Nature seemed to stand at the right hand of Parliament. The 
leading cau.ses of this were as evident as the fact. The country became 
cultivated, because the laws tliat depi-ived the Catholic of an interest in 
the soil wei-e repealed, and an opportunity was given to the operation of 
lier corn laws ; her trade increased, because the prohibitions on her 
trade were removed; and the jirohibitions were removed, because she 
asserted her liberty." Within the period affected by these influential 
circumstances, or in 1785, we tind the 3 Regiments of Dillon, Berwick, 
and Walsh, to have been each of 2 battalions and 1552 men, or, in all, 
465r) strong. The soldiers then, and down to the Revolution, were 
nio.stly French, who, having been de.serters, but wishing to get back to 
tlie.i- own country, represented themselves as strangers, or foreigners, 
tlirough the languages they had acquired, and attained their olyect, by 
engaging to enlist in the Irish regiments; which, as thus comprising so 
many reformed and experienced men, under excellent officers, ranked 
h'gh in the army to which they belonged. Of those oflicers, on the 
contrai-y, it a))pears, that, down to the Revolution, their nationality 
was unimpaired; tlie military service in Great Britain and Ireland being 
Btill unopened to Irish Catholic gentlemen; and applications for commis- 
sions in the 3 regiments of the Brigade having accorduigly been much 
beyond the number required to be lilled.* 

The years 1787 and 1789 — the latter ever memorable as that, in 
which the great Revolution, destined to be fatal to so many, commenced 
■ — wei-e marked by the deaths of 2 brothers of a name, thus distinguislied, 
in the service of France, from the earlv to the closing days of the liistory 
of the Ii'ish Brigade. Jacques-Hyacinthe, tirst Chevalier, and afterwards 
Vicomte, de Sarstield, was descended from a branch of the Sarshehls 
eitttled at Limerick, the line running thus: James Saislield of Limerick, 

* MS. on French Army in 17S5. in llnyal Irja'i AcaJeiuy, Couui Arthur Dillon, 
as iilieady cited, Etais 2dilitiiires du France. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRAXCE. C31 

father of Panl, father of James, who married, in Febrnary, 171G, Marie- 
Jane Loz de Beaubun. Of this marriage Jacques-Hvaciuthe was the 
eklest son, and began his military career as Gentilhomnie a Drapeau iu 
the Eegiment of the Gardes Fi-an(;aises, A])ril 10th, 1740. He raised, 
and was commissioned as Captain-Proprietor of, a company in the Regi- 
ment of Andlan, (subsequently l5oui-bon-Busset,) January 1st. 1743. 
He commanded it in Alsace, and vvith the Army of the Lower Rhine, in 
1744; at the camp of Cliievres, and the siege of Ath, in 1745; at the 
siege of Bruxelles, and the battle of Rocoux, in 1746; at the battle of 
Laffeldt, and the siege of Bergen-op-Zoom, in 1747; at the siege of 
Maestricht, in 1748; and at the camp of Sarre-Louis, in 17;j4. Having 
parted with his company in October, 17oG, he was attached, the 23rd of 
that month, as a reformed Captain to Fitz-James's Irish Regiment of 
Horse. He was made Mestre-cle-Camp-de-Cavalerie October ilst, 1757, 
and fought, No\ember otli, at the battle of Rosbacli. Appointed, May 
1st, 1760, Aide-Maiechal-Oeneral-des-Logis of the Army of Germany, he 
was present, that year, at tiie victories of Corback, of Warburgh, and of 
Ciostercam)). He was created Brigailier of Cavalry, February 20th, 
1761 ; Marechal-General-des-Loi;is-de-Cavalerie to the army of the 
Prince ot Soubise, April 15th following; and took part that campaign at 
the combacs of Soest, of Unna, and of Feliiighausen. He was continued 
in the same post with the Army of Germany by order of April loth, 
1762, and was at the afl'airs of Graebensteiu and Johannesberg. He was 
declared in Ma}', 17G3, Marechal de Camp, with rank from July 25th, 
1762, the date of his brevet. He was nominated Inspector-General of 
Horse and Dragoons and Lieiitenant-General, December 5th, 1781. At 
his death, in 1787. he was Governor of the Citadel of Lille, and Com- 
mander for the King in the province of Hainault and the Cambresis. 
By his marriage with Marie de Levis, March 26th, 1766, he had an only 
daughter, jNIarie Gabrielle, who became the wife of Charles, Baron de 
Danias. The brother of this Lieutenant-General, Yicomte de Sarsfield, 
or Guy-Claude, Count de Sarsfield, born in 1718, became Colonel of the 
Regiment of Provence, and died, without issue, in 1789. I may add 
here, of the Sarsfields of Cork, that Edmund Sarsfield, born there in 1736, 
and a gentleman Cadet in the Regiment of Roth in 1752, in 1791, or 
after the cor|is had become that of Walsh, and, finally, the 92nd of the 
Line, was its Lieutenant-Colonel, and a Chevalier of St. Louis. 

As if every circuujotance tended about the same time to the com- 
mencement of a "new order of things" in the political world, on the 
eve of the great event by which the Irish Brigade in France was to be 
broken up, the representative of the exiled dynasty, to which they were 
so loyal, was likewise destined to pass away. In January, 1788, the year 
pi-evious to that in which the French Revolution began, and about a ceu- 
tiiry from the dethronement of James II. in England by the Pi'ince of 
Orange, the grandson of James, Prince Charles Edward Stuart, or, as he 
claimed to be, " Charles III. of Great Britain and Ireland," died in Italy, 
in his 68th year, the victim of ruined hoi)es and a mined constitution — 
in too great a degree through intemperance, at first brought on by 
the necessity of resorting to diams, amiilst the terrible hardships he had 
to endure alter the battle of Culloden in the Highlands and Western 
I.slands of Scotland — and subsequently welcomed, in order to alleviate 
tiie mental misery ai-ising fVom the (lis;!])y>ointnient of all the "longings 
suLLuje, and as[)iratioiis hi^h," which he Lad bceii bred up to entertain, 



G32 HISTOHY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

as those of his jnst or n;\tni-al position.* After the p^rfniMTsanoe of the 
fiiiiera] rites by his brother, Prince Henry. CKnlinal of York, at Fi-ascati, 
tlie coffin was conveyed to i^t Peter's at Rome, where Geoi<je TV., when 
Prince Regent, or in 1819, had a stately nionnment, from the chisel of 
Canova, erected under the dome; the bas-relief representing, in white 
marble, the likenesses of the banished Stuart Princes, with this ia- 
Bcription, — 

Jacobo III., Jacobi II., Maon. Brit. Eegis Filio 

Carolo Editardo et Henrico, Decano 

Patrum Cardinalium, Jacobi III. Filiis, 

Eegiae Stirpis Stcjardiae Postremis. 

Anno mdcccxix. 

Beati Mortui qui in Domino Moriuntur. 

XT pen the death of Charles, the Cardinal of York, "according to the 
principles of legitimacy, undoubtedly the rightful King of Great Britain 
and Ireland," caused a document to be drawn up asserting his claims to 
that royalty, and a medal to be struck with *' Henricus IX., Magn. Brit. 
Franciae et Hihprn. Rex. Fid. Def. Card. Ep. Tufic." on one side ; and, 
on the other, '■'■ Non desideriis hominum, sed, voluntate Dei." That medal 
is dated 1788. "In his own house," we are likewise informed, "the 
Cai'dinal insisted upon a strict observance of all the etiquette usual in the 
residence of a reigning Sovereign — a rule, with which even a son of 
George III. Avas obliged to comply, when curiosity indn'^cd him to seek 
an interview." The royal Cardinal's income having been much dimin- 
ished by the earlier results of the French Revolution, was annihilated, 
in 1798, by the republicans in Italy; so that, after being obliged, by the 
"infidels in religion," and "zealots in anarchy," (as they are styled) to 
fly from Rome, he would have been reduced, in old age and ill health, 
to poverty, but for a pension of ■£4,000 a year granted him by George 
III.,t till his decease, aged above 82, at Frascati, in 1807. He was an 
amiable and pious Prince, and, while his means permitted, generous or 
charitable; and his taste for literatui-e and the fine arts was evinced l')y 
the valuable library and collection of antiquities, of which, in 1798, he 
was so uiifortunately plundered. " By his will," he " expressly required, 
that his kingly title should be graven on his tomb; and his rights to the 

* Dr. Charles O'Conor gives, in connexion with Prince Charles's decease, this 
affecting anecdote of one of the last of the Protestant Jacobite loyalists, of whom 
our coniitryniau, the Duke of Ormonde, was the head. " Lord Nairne, with 
whom I have been acquainted iu Rome, adhered to Prince Charles Stuart to the 
day of his death. He was by principle a rigid JacoV)ite ; he considered the here- 
ditary right of Kings of divine institution ; but, at the same time, detested the 
lionian Catholic religion.'' He "was in the Palace the day Prince Charles died. 
I ha])i)ened to be there also, and, as I knew, that he had forfeited many of the 
comforts of life, in his native country, for the Stuart cause, and liad been the 
Prince's inseparable com])aniou for a series of years, I watched him witii peculiar 
attention. When he was informed of the Prince's death, he observed deep silence; 
his countenance spoke the emotions of an honest and faithful, but disappointed 
and ill-treated, man. He knew, that he was not even mentioned in the Prince's 
will; liut still he advanced to the bed-side, and there, unable any longer to con- 
tain himself, on seeing the lifeless remains of him, with whom he had encountered 
Ko many dangers, and for whom he had suffered so many calamities, he burst into 
a fidod of tears. Then, lifting up the hand of the deceased, he kisseil it, and saying 
— ' Noiv, I have done my duty,'' he turned off hastily, and quitted the Palace, never 
to return. " A true blue ! 

t This act of George HI. " does equal honour to the King and to the man." 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 633 

British tlirone he solennily bequeathed to Victor Emanuel, King <>f 
f^ai'dinia." * 

Tlie diy.solution of the Irish Brigade in Fi-ance dates fi-nm 1791. By 
a decree of the National Assembly, July 2Lst, all regiments, excepting 
the Swiss, which had hitherto been named, clad, and paid, as foreign 
corjts were no longer to be distinguished from, but placed in every 
respect on the footing of French regiments. In this decree concerning 
the " troupes etrangeres au service de France," the Irish regiments were 
included ; amongst whom, however, such a division of opinions and feel- 
ings had already arisen from the turn which the Revolution had taken, 
tliat the consequence was a secession of numbers from the service of the 
new regime. Thus, we have, from the dissident refugees of the Regi- 
ment of Berwick, assembled at Coblentz, the following address to Louis 
XVI. 's brother, then Count de Provence, and afterwards Louis XVIIL, 
who, " from the wrath to come," under " madden'd crowds, with fiends 
to lead them," had retired to that city. " The otlicers, non-commissioned 
ofhcers, and soldiers of the Irish Regiment of Berwick, tilled with the 
sentiments of honour and of fidelity, which are hereditary among them, 
entreat Monseigneur to jjlace at the disposal of the King the devotion 
■which they make of their lives in order to support the royal cause, and 
to employ their arms with confidence on the most perilous occasions." 
To which the Count de Provence replied :— " I have received, Gentle- 
men, with a genuine sensibility, the letter which you have written to nie, 
1 will cause to be forwarded to the King, as soon as possible, the expres- 
sion of your sentiments towards him. I answer you, by anticipation, 
that it will alleviate his troubles, and that he will receive with pleasure 
from you the testimony of fidelity, which James II. received 100 yeai's 
ago from your forefathers. This double ejioch should for ever form 
the device that shall be seen on your colours, and all who shall be 
faithful suVyects will read theii- duty there, and recognize thence the 
model they should imitate. As for myself. Gentlemen, be well con- 
vinced, that your last act will remain for ever engraven on my 
soul, and that I shall reck(ni myself happy, as often as I shall be 
able to give you proofs of the feelings with which it inspires me 
towards you." t While one jxn'tion of the officers of the Brigade had. 
decided on emigrating, rather than continue to serve under a power so 
hostile to the throne and the altar as France had become, the other 
j'ortion preferrei to remain in France as tlteir country, notwithstanding 
the change which had occuned in her government. t)f the officers, 
who, on this occasion, shared the exile of the emigrant Bourbon Princes, 
in order to aid more effectively, as was hoped, the royal cause from 
aliroad, than circumstances would admit of its being aided in France, a 
modern writer on the subject observes — " The fidelity ofthe.se nol)le courti- 
aaus du malheur was pui'e and cliivalrous, and they are worthy of our 
respect and admiration. On the other hand," he adds, " it would be 
e(pially unju.st and blameable to condemn the brave men, who, consider- 
ing themselves as the soldiers of France, remained faithful to her des- 
tinies, and offered their swords to the service of the Republic and the 
Empire." Those emigrant officers were taken into her service by 

* On the 2 last Stuarts, see Lord Malion and Klose ; and, on the family in 
general, some good remarks iu tlie letter of honest llobert Burns, No. Lxiii., or 
November 8th, 1788. 

t Fielie. 



C34 HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

England, as also desirous to restore the Bourbon dynasty in France; and 
were consequently ])rovided for in a new Irish Brigade, consisting of 6 
regiments of infantry.* • 

After the fall of Napoleon in 1814-15, and the restoration of the 
Bourbons, in the person of Louis XVIII., that Monai'ch, as so much 
attached to the old recollections of his dynasty, was not unmindful of the 
Irish Brigade. Above all, he could nofe forijet how, in 1792, he himself 
conveyed the final expression of the gratiti;de of his family to the 
representatives of the 3 last regiments of the Brigade, or those of 
Dillon, Walsh, and Berwick, with a " drapeau d'adieu," or farewell 
banner, emblematic of their national deserts, and accompanied by these 
words — 

"Gentlemen, — We acknowledge the iiia]ipreciable services that France has . 
received from the Irish Brigade, iu the course of the last 100 years ; services that 
we shall never forget, though under an imjKJSsibility of reijuiting them. Eeceive 
this standard, as a pledge of our remembrance, a monument of our admiration, 
and of our respect ; and, in future, generous Irislimen, this shall be the motto 
of your spotless dag — 

' 1G92 — 1792,' 

'Semper et ubique fidelis.'" 

The banner for the Brigade represented an Irish harp, and was em- 
broidei'ed with nhanirocks and fleurs de lis, or lilies. In 1814, the 
officers of the old Irish Brigade in France requested the Duke of Fitz- 
James to present them to the King; which rtquesfc, the Duke, after 
thanking them for the honour thei-eby done him, complied with, in these 
few words, "which are a summary of the Irish character, in all its 
chivalrous sublimity," says my French authority — 

"Sire, — I have the honour of presenting to yoixr Majesty the survivors of the 
old Irish Brigade. These gentlemen only ask for a sword, and the privilege of 
dying at the foot of the throne."t 

Louis, however, was too deeply indebted to England for the recovery of 
his Crown, to do anything directly 02)posed to the wishes of her Govern- 
ment, and it particularly pressed upon him, through Lord Castlereagh, 
that there should be no restoration of an Ii'ish Brigade in France. 
"This fact is certain," alleges a contemporary in 1814, "and very 
Tincommon exertions must have been used to procure this concession 
from Louis ; because, independent of the general claims of this body on 
the gratitude of the French monarchy, 1 of these regiments had i-eceived 
a promise fi-om the present King— that, in the event of his restoration, 
the regiment, for its fidelity, should be promoted to the rank of the 
Guards of the King.'''' 

I have now only to conclude with notices of 2 venerable survivors, for 
many years, of the gallant corps to which they belonged — the one, an 
officer of equally high rank and merit — the other, the last who died on 
the Continent. 1. Of the former suivivor of the old Brigade, who was 
uncle to the celebrated Daniel O'Connell, this memoir, from a member 
of the family, is given, with some slight alterations and compression. 
"General Daniel Count O'Connell, Knight Grand Cross of the Order of 

* The 6 were those of Dillon, Fitz-James, the 2 WalshSerrants, Conway, and 
O'Connell. 

t These 2 last incidents respecting Louis and the Brigade, in 1792 and 1814^ 
are taken from 1 of tlie French AISS., given to me by the late John O'Connell. 



IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. G.3.5 

tuip Holy dinst, and Colonel of the late 6th Regiment of the Irish 
Lfigaile in the British service, entered the French army at the age of 
14, in the year 1757, as 2nd Lieutenant m the Regiment of the Irish 
Brigade, commanded by, and called after, the Earl of Clare. He was 
the yonngest of 22 children, of 1 marriage, and was born in August, 
1743, at Dan-inane, in the County of Kerry, the residence of his father, 
Daniel O'Connell. His education had, at that early pei'iod, been con- 
fined to a thorough knowledge of the Greek and Latin languages — a 
knowledge which he pi-eserved to the latest period of his life — and to a 
familiar acquaintance with the elements of the mathematics. He served 
liis tirst campaign during the Seven Yeai's' War in Germany, aud became 
res])ected by his superior officers, from his strict attention to all his 
military duties, and beloved by all his companions, from the unaffected 
grace, gaiety, and generosity of his disposition. At the conclusion of the 
war, instead of devoting the hours of ])eace to idleness or })leasure, he 
dedicated th(tn, witii the closest attention, to the study of literature 
generall}'', but especially to that of the blanches of military engineering. 
He was attached to the Corps du Genie in its early formation, and soon 
became known to be one of the most scientific of the military engineers 
of France. He distinguished himself at the siege and capture of Port 
Mahon, in Minorca, from the English, in the year 1779, being at that 
time Major in the Regiment of Royal Swedes. He received ])ublic 
thanks for his services on that occasion, and a recommendation, from 
the Commandei'-in-Chief to the Minister of War, for promotion. That; 
jiromotion he immediately obtained, and served at the siege of Gibraltar 
in the year 1782, as Lieutenant-Colonel of his Regiment, the Royal 
Swedes, but attached to the corj^s of engineers. Everybody remembers 
tiie attack made by the floating batteries on Gibraltar on tlie 13th 
September, 1782, and the gloiious and trinm])hant resistance of the 
English garrison, under Genei'al Elliott. Lieutenant-Colonel O'Cininell 
was 1 of the 3 engineers to whose judgment the plan of attack was 
submitted, a few days before it was carried into effect. He gave it, as 
his decided opinion, that the plan would not be successful. The other 3 
engineers were of a contrary opinion, and the attack took place accord- 
injily. The event justified his judgment. Upon a point of honour, 
i-('Cognized in the French army, he claimed a right to share the perils of 
an attack, which was resolved upi-n against his opinion. When the 
attempt to storm Gibraltar was resolved on, it becanie nece.ssary to 
])rocure a considerable number of marines, to act on board the floating 
batteries. For this purpose, the French infantry was drawn up, and 
being informed of the urgency of the occasion, a call was made for vohin- 
leer-s, amongst the rest, of course, from the Royal Swedes. Lieutenant- 
Colonel O'C/onnell's regiment was paraded, and the men having been 
infoi'nied that /<e was to be emjiloyed on the service, the battalion stepped 
fiirward to one man, declaring their intention to follow their Lieutenant- 
(Jolonel. It so happened that the senior Lieutenant-Colonel, the Count 
De Ferzen, then well known as " le beau Ferzen." and towards whom it 
was more than suspected that Marie Antoinette entertained feelings of 
])ec\diar preference,* had arrived from Paris, but a short time before, to 

* In the "Livre Rouge," I find, among the pensions of this Comte de Ferzen of 
the K(iy;il Swedish Eegiment, 1 for " 100,000 livres (£4375) upon the recommenda- 
tion of the Queen, Marie Antoinette." The Count is alluded to by Fieife, as 
jiniporticnatttly grateful, or devoted, to the lloyal Family, at the sad period of the 
Levolutiou. 



G3G HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES 

join the regiment, which, since his appointment, he had scarcely seen. 
Attributing the enthusiasm of the men to his appearance, he rode up, 
and assured them, that he woidd be proud to lead tliem. A murmur of 
d sappointment passed along the Hue; and, at length, some of the older 
soldiers ventured to declare, tliat it was 7i(>t with him they volunteered, 
but with the other Lieutenant-Colonel, who had always commanded, and 
always protected them. With a genero*;ity which does him honour, 
Ferzen immediately declared, that he would not attempt to deprive 
Colonel O'Connell of the honour he so well deserved ; but that, in making 
way for him, he would say, that he hoped, when tlie regiment knew .so 
'much of hiiti. they would be equally ready to follow him. Colonel 
O'Connell was named 2nd in command of 1 of the floating batteries, and 
this battery was among tlie first to come into action. He had, in the 
(larly part of the tight, a portion of his ear taken off by a ball; about the 
pei'iod when the batteries began to take fire, a shell from the English 
mortars burst close to his feet, and severely wounded him in no less 
than 9 places. Although almost covered with wounds, his recovery was 
not slow, and, being placed high on the list of those recommended for 
promotion, he was, in the ensuing year, appointed Colonel commandant 
of a German regiment of 2 battalions of lOOU men each, then in the 
French service, but belonging to the Piince of Salm-Salm. The regi- 
ment, when Colonel O'Connell got the command, was in the most 
lamentable state of disorganization and indisci])line; and it was announced 
to him, by the French Minister of War, that one reason for giving him 
tliat regiment was the expectation, that he would remedy all its disor- 
der.s. Nor was that expectation disa})pointed. There was, in 1787, a 
grand review of upwards of 50,000 French infantiy in Alsace, and it was 
admitted, that the Regiment of Salm-Salra was the regiment in the 
highest state of discipline in the whole camp, and its Colonel received 
■|iublic thanks, on that account. He was soon after appointed to the 
high and resf)onsible office of Insi)ector-General of all the French 
Infantry, and he attained also the rank of General Officer. In this 
capacity he was intrusted with the organization of the general code of 
militaiy discipline, especially as relating to the interior regimental 
arrangements; and as his suggestions and book of regulations were 
ado]ited into the French armies after the Revolution, and imitated by 
other nations, the advantages derived from them are still felt by every 
army in Europe. We have thus traced his career from his enti-ance in 
tiie French service as a 2nd Lieutenant. From that rank, unaided by 
:inv interest, without a patron, or a friend, save those he attached to 
himself by his virtues, he rose to the command of a splendid regiment, 
and to a rank but little below the highest in the service of France; and 
he attained that station, at a time when the bigotry of the Penal Code 
j'lvcluded him from holding the most insignificant commission in the 
Ri-itish army. Still more brilliant prospects lay before him; but tlie 
French Revolution, overturning thrones and altars, oV)literated from 
T-eoollection tlie fate of private individuals, in the absorbing nature of 
national interests which that mighty movement involved. He was, it 
may be well said, stripped of his lame and fortunes by that Revolution; 
but he miglit have retained both if he could sacrifice his principles, 
because both Dumourier and Carnot pressed him, more than once, to 
accept the command of 1 of the revolutionary armies. He totally 
declined any such command, feeling it a duty to remain near the perc>on 



IN THE SERVrCE OF FUAXCE, G37 

of Louis XVT., and to share, as lie did, some of his f^i-eatest perils in 
the days of tumult and anarchy, until that ill-fated, but well-nieanini,'; 
Monarch was hurled from his throne, and cast into prison. Unable any 
hmfjer to serve the Bourbon cause in France, General O'Connell joined 
the French Princes at Coblentz, and made the disastrous campaign of 
1792, under the l)uke of Brimswick, as Colonel of the Hussars de 
Berchiny. In 1TP3. General O'Connell was, on his return to his family, 
in Ken-y, detained in London, with other Fi-ench officers, by the British 
G(jvernment, to lay and digest plans for the j-estoration of the Bourbon 
fumily. Upon this occasion, he sent in a i>lan for the cam])aign of 1794:, 
which attracted so much attention, that Mr. Pitt desired an interview, 
HTid received with thanks many elucidations of the plan." Soon alter, 
the Ministry, having detei-mined to form an Irish Brigade of 6 i-egiments 
in the British service, " this determination was carried into effect, and 1 
of those regiments was yilaced under the command of Genei-al O'Connell. 
It was stipulated that the Cohmt-ls should not be raised to the rank of 
Generals in the British service, but should receive full pay for life." 
General O'Connell, during the peace of 1802 returiu'd to France, to 
look after a large property, to which his lady was entitled; he became a 
victim of the seizure of British subjects by the then First Consul; and 
remained a prisoner in France until the downfall of Napoleon, and the 
restoiation of the Boui-bon.s. That event restored him to his military 
lank in France; and he enjoyed, in the decline of life, amidst the affec- 
tionate respect of his relations and friend.s, the advantage of full pay, as 
General in the service of France, and Colonel in the .service of Great 
Britain — an advantage which circumstances can, perhaps, never again 
]»rodnce for any man; but which he enjoyed with the full knowledge 
and a|)probation of both powers. During the peace of 1S14, Genei'al 
O'Connell met Marshal Ney at dinner, at the house of one of the then 
Ministry. A good deal of conversation passed between them, and at 
length Ney stated, that he had known General O'Connell before the 
Bevolution, and mentioned in jiarticular having frequently seen him in 
the year 1787. "My memoiy," replied the General, "is particularly 
good; I have seen few officers whom I do not recollect, and I do not 
think I could have seen a person so likely to be remarkable as Marshal 
Ney, without recollecting him." "General," returned Ney, "you could 
not have remarked me; you then commanded the Regiment of Salm- 
Salm; I was a corporal of hussars; our Colonel and you were fast 
friends, and frequently exchanged guards; and 1 have often, as corporal, 
jHisted and relieved the hussar sentinel on your tent, while one of your 
corporals was going through the same duty at my Cohmel'.s." The 
Revolution of 1830 deprived him, however, of his ])ay as French 
General. He refused to take the oath of fidelity to Louis Philippe, 
and was, of course, destituted. He retired to the country seat of hi.s 
son-in-law, at Madon, near Blois — a beautet)us sy)ot on the Loire, which 
he had himself ornamented in the mo.st exquisite style of Engli.sh plant- 
ing — and there, in his declining health, he waited with resignation the 
cull of his God, which occurred on the 9th of July, 1833, he having then 
nearly completed his 90th year, and being the oldest Colonel in the 
English service. " He had never, in the season of his jirosjierity, for- 
gotten his country, or his God. Loving that country, with the sti-ongesb 
allection, he retained, to the last, the full use of her native language; 
and, although mabter of the l^.[a ish, Italian, German, Greek, and Latin, 



C.3S 



HISTORY OF THE IRISH BRIGADES IN THE SERVICE OF FRANCE. 



fis well as French and English languages, it was, to him, a source of the 
j,'reate.st delight, to find any person, citable of conversing with him in 
the pure Gaelic of his native mountains, There never lived a more 
sincere friend — a more generous man. His charities were multiplied 
and continuous; and it was the surpi-ise of all who knew him, how he 
couM afford to do all the good he did to his kind. He was, all his life, 
a practical Catholic, and had the comfort of dying, without a pang, 
amidst all the sacred and sweet consolations of that religion, which he 
had not forgotten in his youth, and which did not abandon him in the 
days of darkness and death. — Requ/'e-foat in pace.'" 2. Of the latter 
survivor of the old Brigade, the family announcement of his death to 
nie — exclusive of an additional memorandum as to the deceased having 
been descended from " Richard Nugent, -Sth Baron of Delvin, and the 
last officer of .the Irish Bi-igade in the French service" — is as follows: — 



^/ 



La C™'"''=- de Nugent, le C™- et la C^-^''^- Charles de 
Nugent, M^li-e. Marie de Nugent, le C'^'=- et la C^'^^he. j,e 
Lenzbueg, M"^- Eichard, Pierre et Patrice de Nugent, 
Melles. Jane et Henrtette de Nugent, M^u-e- Marie- 
Antoinette DE Lenzburg, ont l'honneur de vous faire 
part de la perte douloueeuse qu'ils viennent de faire 

EN LA PERSONNE DE MONSIEUR |l'0UiS, JVilUCOiS, 'glll.'^ik, 

^ntoinc, ^imc, 6*=^ U lupnt, Ancien Officier de la 

Brigade Irlandaise au service de France, ancien Pre- 
fet et ancien Maitre des Requetes, Chevalier des 
Ordres de la Legion d'Honneur et de St. Maurice et 
St Lazare de Sardaigne. leur epoux, pere, beau pere, 

AIEUL ET BISAIEUL, DECEDE LE 8 JuiLLET 1859, DANS SA 
SP ANNEE, AUX MeSNULS, MUNI DES SACREMENTS DE L'EgLISE. 

ChAteau de ISIesnuls pres Montfort l'Amaury. 



"^Vjth the disappearance of this noble veteran from the stage, the curtain 
falls on the history of the Irish Brigades in the service of France — not, it 
is hoped, without some honour to the industry, which has raised such a 
iijunumeut to their memory, that 

' ' long as valour shineth, 



Or mercy's soul at war repineth, 

So long shall Erin's pride 

Tell how tkey liv'd aud died." — Moorb. 



INDEX. 



Abi>tcatto.v, 80 called, of Jamea IT., 2. 

Aberdeen, Irish detachment, for Prince Charles, lands at, 435. 

Alijuration, oath of, refused by Irish Cathohcs, 259. 

A bow, Swedish army cut otf from, oldiged by Marshal Lacy to surrender, 49o. 
Peace of, 498. 

Acts of Settlement and Explanation justly repealed by Irish Parliament under 
James II., 4, 45, 157, 158, 58'2, 58:J. 

Aire, Irish officers distinguished there, 274. 

Aix-la-Chapelle, I'eace of, an exjiensive and inglorious war for England terminated 
by, and decline of Irish Brigade from, 477-479. 

Albani, Hippnlito, Prince of the Senate? at Eome, eulogizes Irish liberators of 
Princess Sul)ieski, 314. Cardinal, celebrates requiem for James III. there, 
604. (See, also, Pope Clement XI.) 

Albemarle, Henry Fitz-James, Lord (jrand Prior. Duke of, and Irish regiment of, 
107, 108, 142. Under its Lieutenant-Colonel, distinguished at battle of 
Lnzzara, 218. (See, also, Keppel. ) 

Alberoni, Cardinal, measures of, from Spain, to restore Stuart dynasty, 316-320. 

Albeville, son of Sir Ignatius White, Baronet, and Marquis of, falls nobly at 
Villaviciosa, 89, 279. 

Alcoy, Count O'Mahony baffled before, 250. Finally takes it, 261. 

Alcyra, reduced by Count O'Mahony, 249. 

Alicant, honourable defence and capitulation of, under Count O'Mahony, 242. 
Alcoy and Muchemiel relieved from, 250, 251. Recovered from Allies, 262. 

Alison, refutation of, respecting Irish Brigade at Blenheim, 228, 229. 

Allegiance, oath of, Irish Catholics, in violation of Treaty of Limerick, excluded 
till 1774 from taking, 159, 609, 610. 

Allen, Luke, Aide-Major-Ceneral of French in India, distinguished there, 557. 
Enters service of Hyder Ali, 560. 

Allies, force of, under 'William III., in Ireland, for War of Eevolution, 6, 7, 8, 
17.3, 189. 

Almanza, battle of, and distinction of Irish at, 245-249. 

Altenheim, Irish and English at combat of, 34. 

America, England's want of recruits against, leads to Lst relaxation of Penal Code 
in Ireland, 60S 609, 613-615. Officers from Irish Brigade early join America, 
616. Count Dillon's cori)s with Americans at siege of Savannah, 621, 622. 

Anne, Princess, afterwards Queen, joins William of Orange against her father, 2. 
Her servants rejoice for William's defeat at Steiukirk, 167, 168. Communi- 
cates with Sir Patrick Lawless, deputed, by her brother, to arrange for his 
succession, as James III., 286, 287. Her dying expression respecting .James, 
294. Her decease, before a due remodelliug of the army, alone prevents 
James's accession, 296, 297. 

Arabat, Tai'tars dislodged from, by a bold enterprise of Marshal Lacy, 486, 487. 

Arcos, Duke of, dishonourably outmanreuvred by Lord Peterborough, 241, 242. 

Arcot occui)ied by Count Lally, 516. Surrendered by Captain Hussey, 549. 

Ariza, rout of Austro-Carlist party thei'e by Irish, 249. 

Army, Irish, of James II. in France, 61, 141, 142. British, under George II., very 
demoralized and brutal, 315, 434, 462. 

Arnall, pensioned English newspaper liar, and libeller of the Irish, 229, 309, 335. 

Athlone, infantry regiment of, 135-139, 142. 

Atterbury, Bi.shop of Rochester, proj)oses to proclaim James III., 297. Plots 
dethronement of George I., 369, 370. 

Aughrim, battle of, how lost, 137, 138. Number of Williamite or Allied regi- 
ments there, 173, 189. 

Augsbnrtr, League of, against Louis XIV., 1, 5, 6, 54, 165, 181, 185. Dissolved 
by Peace of Rjswick, 18S. 



C40 



INDEX 



AuiiUBtns of , Saxony estalilished as Kins; of Poland by Marshal Lacy, 4S3, 484. 
ustiia, liisli ottiecrs of lii^'h repute iii service of, 601, 602, 6J4. 
/o[»h, sie-e and capture of, from Turks, by Marshal Lacy, 485. 

Baoxasco. Marqims DE, his hrave defence and honourable surrender of citadel of 
iSIo. tmelian, besieged by French and Irish, 56-57. 

Barbets, hostilities between, and L-ish, 182-18.3. (See, also, Vandois.) 

Barcelona, reductio i of, by Duke of Veudonie, and h s creditable notice of the 
Irish there, 187-188. Ueduction of, by Marshal Duke of Berwick, 291-292. 

BAniwf'lls, of French oriv;in, amongst the conquerors of Ku^dand, ennobled in 
lieiand, and represented by officers in War of llevolntion and Dish Briaade, 
77, 169, 22i), 397, 44.3, 4.54,' 469-471 

Barrett, family of Norman race, settled in County Cork. Its he id. Colonel John, 
of Castlemore, after serving in Ireland, falls gloriously at Landen, 172-174. 

Bart, Jean, ce'ebrated French naval officer, escapes from Plymouth, as Lord Mount- 
cas'iel from Erniiskillen, 23-24. 

Bay, Marquis de, General of Philip V. of Spain,- defeats, with little loss and inferior 
numbers, English and Portuguese, at battle of Guadinna, or Gudina, and 
supjiorts his army at expense of Portugal, 2 1-272. Beaten, by superior force 
of Allies, at l>attle of Sai-agossa, 275. Decis^^ely repulsed by Major-General 
Hogan, in Portuguese service, at siege of Cauqjo-Mayor, 288-289. 

Bellew, family of Norman blood, among the conquerors of England, of eminence 
in Ireland, ennobled under James LL, and of note in War of Pevolutiou, &c., 
79-81. 

Bergen-op-Zoom, remarkable siege and capture of by French, at which Count Lally 
distinguished, 474-i76. 

Bernex, Count de, routed in Savoy by St. Pvuth with the Irish, 54-58. 

Berwick, 1st Duke of, and Marshal. His parentage, titles, and military posts, 105- 
106. Memoir and regiment of, 142-149. Capture of, at Landen, 174-175. Secret 
Jacobite mission of, to England, 183- 184. His son, 2nd Duke of Berwick and 
Liria, &c., previously Manpiis of Tnimouth, 148, 152, 291 292, 303, 339-.34(). 
Eegiment of Berwick, address from, to Count de Provence, afterwards Louis 
XVIII., at Coblentz, and his re|ily, He, 633-634. 

Betagh, ancient family of Moynalty, County Meath, robbed of their estate by 
Anglo-sectarian perjury, and gallantly represented in Irish Brigade, 45-46, 436, 
582-583. 

Bethune, excellent defence of, against Allies, by Lieutenant-General Vauban and 
Major-General Michael PotlC 274. 

Blakency, Lieutenant-C^eneral William Lord, of Mount Blakeney, County Limerick, 
defender of Stirling Castle against Prince Charles, and of Fort St. Philip against 
Duke de Richelieu. 423-424," 429 -4. i2, 505. 

Blenheim, battle of, Irish, especially Kegiment of Clare, conspiciious there, 224- 
229. 

Boisselot, Major-General, defender of Limerick against Prince of Orange, and 
Governor of Charleroy, 11-12, 176. 

Bolingbroke, Lord, as Minister of Queen Anne, favours succession of James III., 
instead of George I., 74-75, 296-297. 

Bouille, Marquis de. conquers Island of Tobago, in West Indies, aided byEegiments 
of Ddlon and Walsh, 62,5. Recovers Island of St. Eustache, accompanied by 
Eegiment of Dillon, and shames the English rapacity there by his honourable 
conduct, 625-629. Also reduces Island of St. (Jhristo]iher, 629. 

Bourke, otherwise Burke, du Bourg, or de Burgo, family of Norman origin, ennobled, 
and very powerful in Connaught and Ulster, 136-137. Colonel Walter, granted 
a 2nd regiment (see Athlone) in France ; finally dies a Major-General in Spain ; 
and reference to other officers of the name in Irish Brigade, 151. 

Breitenbach, Colonel, discreditaV)ly abandoned at Hastenbeck by Duke of Cumber- 
land, 580. As Lieutenant-General, repulsed and slain by Irish, at Marbourg, 
593-594. 

Briai^on, intrenched camp at, for defence of Dauphiii§, well maintained against 
Allies by Lieutenant General Arthur Dillon, 272-274. 

Brigades, Irish, in France, commenced under Lord Mountcashel, 7-9. Nund)er of 
Irish corj'.s there, why so long kept up, and how recruited, 157-164. Decline 
of Brigade, from about 1748, 479. Dissolution of, by results of Is"- French 
Eevolution, 633. Services of, to France, during a century, ]ironounced invalu 
able by Count I'e Provence, subsequently Louis XVIII. ; old officers of, presented 



ivni?x. ^ nil 

to him after his Restoration ; and English opposition to re-esta1)lishment of such 
a farce there, 633-()34. 

r>rilinega, Lientenant-(Jeneral Stanhope oblined to s-mrreuder there, 277. 

brisaoli. takeu by Fiench, and preserved by au [risluiiau from buin" retaken by 
stratagem, 221, 229-231. 

Browne, Colonel, en suite to Regiment of Lally, w ith Prince Charles's rear <:uard, 
saves it on march for Penrith, 403-4IM. K.sca]je.s from (Jarlisle, 442443. .As 
distinguished at, sent with account of, battle of Palkii-k, to Louis XV., and 
made a Chevalier of St. Louis, 427. With a detacluneut, conveying momy 
from France for Prince Charles, intercepted by Mac Kays, (fee, 4:(:i)-i43. 
Colouel Browne of Moyne, and Major Browne of Regiment of Dillon, at 
reduction of Grenada, and slain at Savannah, 617, (518, 621-t)22. 

Bulkeley, ennobled British family of, 35. Francis and Francis Henry, Lieutenants- 
General in France, and regiment of, there, 3(5-38. That corps most distingnished 
against British at Fonteno^ and Lafl'eldt, 359, 470. 

Bullock, recruits for Irish Brigade sail from, at niuht, 160-16L 

Bully, Captain of the S/ieerness, takes a party of the Irish Brigade, &c., at sea to 
join Prince Charles, 39G. 

Burgoyne, Liexiteuaut-General, his surrender m America beneiicial to Catholics in 
Ireland, 614. 

Bussy, the enemy of Coiint Lally in India, and subsequently in France, 517-518, 
520-521, 52S-520, 538-639, 513 544, 568-570. 

Butler, family of Nonnan origin in Ireland, ennobled, and otherwise eminent, in 
several branches, 149. Statement of Laf lyetto respecting that name, 150. 

Byron, Atlmiral, beaten at sea by French in \Vest Indies, 62J-G21. 

Calcinato, defeat of Imperialists at, by Duk« of Vendome, where Irish present, 

240. 
Oanierons, among earliest supporters of Prince Charleys, 3'iO. So(mest in Edtn- 

bixrgh, after routing of Cope, with captured flags of his dragoons, ',i'J2. Their 

chief, Lochiel, undeceives English, as to Highlanders being camd-'aU, 392. 

Jenny Cameron, mistress of Prince Charles, 401. Canierons, in front of 

Prince's left M'ing at Falftirk, roiheved by piquets of Irish Brigade, fcc, 425.. 

At Culloden, break the Regime. .t of Barrell, and take its colours, and 2 pieces 

of cannon, 448, 450. 
Camisai'ds, or Huguenots of the Cevennes, religious ]>ersecution oP, and war 

a::ainst, l)y French government, 2!9-22i.). 
Campbell, General John, of Mamore, 4th Dulie of Argyle, disgraceful charge 

against, by Captain O'Neill, 462. 
Oantiiion, Norman family of, settled at Ballyheigh, Co. Kerry, and highly con- 
nected in Ireland, till exiled for loyalty to Stuarts ; interniarr.evl with 

Bulkeley family in France, and bear title of Baron of Ballybeigh there, 37 38. 

Gkn-ious death of Captain James Cantillon at Malpiaquet, 2,58-2JJ. Braveiy 

of his son, Chevalier Thomas de Cantillon, at Lnfi'eldt, 4" >. 
Carabiniers, distinguished French cori)s of, savcil at Luzz;' a by Irish Regiment 

of Albemarle, 218. Kill some of Irish Brigade, by misti...e, at Fontenoy, 3.JS- 

350. 
Caran-^oly, good defence of, by an Irish officer, O'KenncHy, of Regiment of Lally, 

5.38. 
Carleton, Captain George, his Memoirs cited, as undoubtedly authentic, 242, 246, 

250. 
Carlisle, cowardly surrender of, by English militia, to Prince Charles, 388, 389, 

414, 419. 
Carrickfergus, captured by Thurot, 589-591. 

Carthagena, Count O'Mahony made Governor of, by Philip V., 243. 
Cassano, battle of, where Irish under Duke of Vendome very distinguished, and 

jiroportionably eulogized by him, 233, 234. 
Custalla, battle of, gallant act of Captain ^Valdron of 27th or Enniskillen Foot 

there, 358. 
Casteiar, brigade of Irish infantry of, in Spanish service, praised at Saragossa and 

Villaviciosa, 275, 278. 
Castiglione, victory of, gi'eatly owing to General Arthur Dillon, 240. 
Catholics of Ireland, well governed bv, and corresponding suppm'ters of, -Tames TL, 

agninst the Itevolntion, 3-7. P'ublic iaith broken with them, under Kev .hi- 

tiou, by substitution of a persecuting, impoveiishing, and ensluviu^ i'eual 

2 i' 



C ^ 2 # INDEX. 

Code, for a fulfilment of the Treaty of Limerick, 158-160, 216, 217, 220, 246. 
257, 258; 308, 'A4\, 344, 355, 367, 368, 375, 376, 412, 413, 478, 502-505. .58^S, 
598-601, 611, 612. A Stuart restoration thus loner the o;</y hope fir Catholic 
liberation, 157, 158, 161, 163, 164, 193, 194, 216, 258, 2.59,' 281, 282, 294-296, 
318-320, 322, 414-418. Their obligations to France great, but fully repaid by 
their services to her, 608. The gradual relaxation and final removal of the yoke 
of Anglo-sectarian oi)pi'ession imposed uy>on them, chiefly connected with the 
iifcctoHii for England's recruitiuir in Ireland against America and France, 608, 

609, 613-616. 

Catinat, Lieutenant-General, and afterwards Marshal cle, appointed by Louis XIV. 
to command against Luke of Savoy, 54. Highly extols inti'e[)iditj' of Irish 
under him at victory of Marsaglia, 177. Despatches 8 battalions of, against 
Vaudois, with great efi'ect, 180. Eewards a ]>arty of, for its conduct against 
one of Barbets, 182. In reducing Ath, has the Regiment of Lee of 3 bat- 
talions, 186. 

Cavalier, the gallant Camisard, or Huguenot, leader in the Cevennes, &c., 248. 

Clialandreu, M. de, courage of Irish with, at (4uillestre, 171. 

(_'harlemont, infanti-y regiment of, 120, 131, 132, 142. 

Charles of Austria, Archduke, claimant to Crown of Spain, set up by Allies, as 
Charles III., 145, 234, 2.35. Gets possession of Catalonia, &c., 240. And, 
through English naval aid, of Sardinia aud Minorca, 262. His army gaining 
battleof Saragossa, he enters Madrid, but is badly received there, and has to 
quit it, 2', 5 277. As (.'harles VI. of Aiistria, unnecessarily continues war 
against France, till beaten, and forced to make peace at Rastadt, 289-291. 
Unjustly imprisons his near relatives, the Piincesses Sobieski, to o'otain naval 
protection of George I. against S])ain ; exhibiting further meanness and 
tyranny, on the frustration of that impri-sonment policy hj success of Sir 
Charles Wogan's enterprise to Inspruck, and its result, in marriage of James 
III., 308-313. By combining with Russia to force a foreign or Saxon King on 
Poland, i)rovokes war with France, 327, 328. Death of, occasions War of 
Austrian Succes.sion, 332. 

Charles Edward Stuart, Prince, birth and description of, 31.3, 339, 340. His Isfc 
design of landing in Great Britain, with Frencli aid, under Count, afterwards 
MarsJial, Saxe, and with best prosjiects of support there, frustrated by the 
weather, 341-344. His 2nd enteri)rise, from his landing in Scotland till his 
return there from England, 368, 379-406. Sequel tif that enterjirise to his 
escape to France, 419-465. Additional allusions to him on the Continent, or 
in British Isles, 72, 370-374, 376-378, 414-417, 469, 47.3, 475, 505-507, 609, 

610, (524. His death, &c., 631, 632. 

Chesterfield, Lord, his review and praise, as Viceroy, of the Georgeite militia in 
Dublin, 413, 414. His complimentary verses at the Castle to "the dangerous 
Papist," of due political sigrtilicance, 4l8. 

Cliiari, Irish, at re})ulse of French there, described as acting most bravely, 
195, 196. 

Clan or patriarchal system of society, traits of, in Ireland, 127-128, and among 
Highlanders of Scotland, 390, 449. 

^.■lancarty, Donough Mac Carthy, Earl of, his extensive property, loyalty to Jamea 
II., capture, Iniin-isonmeut, and spoliation by VVilliamites, escape to France, 
appointment there by James to command of 1 of his Tioops of Irish Horse- 
Guards, return to England, exile thenc", on a WiUiamite i)ension of £.'J00 
a year, and death abroad, 10, 11, 64-70. His son and successor. Earl Robert, 
in British navy, assisted by Duchess of Mai-lborough to recover his family 
property, but, illegally prevented doing so by the " ascendancy" legislature in 
Dublin, joins the Stuart cause in France, 70-72. Curious account of his mode 
of life and opinions there, 72-75. Remarkable interview with his friend 
Count Daily, en route for Paris, 509. Clancarty, infantry regiment of, 
139-142. 

Clan-Colla, conquerors of greater portion of ITladh, or Ulster, in 4th century; of 
whom Mac Donalds of Scotland a leading branch, 330-331, 449. 

Clare, O'Briens, Viscounts of Clare and Karls of Thomond, connected with 
Jacobite cause in Ireland, or Irish Brigade in France, and infantry Regiment 
of Clare or 0' Brien, 26, 27, 38-46. 

Clement XL, Pope, (John Francis Albani) sends presents, by Duke of Berwick, for 
James II., his Queen, and the young Pi^ince of Wales, (or James III.) at St. 
Germain, as well as a subscription for the exiled Irish Jacobites, 144. God- 



INDEX. 643 

fitlier of Princess SoT)ieski, sul)seqneritly Queen of James III. • honours iT^r 
Irisli lilierators from her Austro-Hanoveriau captivity; and, to the last, a 
zealous friend and supporter of James, 313, 314. 

Clifton, skirmish at, between English and Hitfhlanders, 404, 405. 

(Jlive, Lord, dishonourahle, or untruthful, and, as an officer, unworthy to be com- 
pared with his Iiish contemporary, Sir Eyre (Joote, 53t), 537, 545, 5G7. 

Oockltnrne, Lieutenant-Colonel, English Governor of Isle of St. Eustache, or 
EustMcia, taken prisoner by the Chevalier O'Connor, of the Regiment of 
Walsh. Treated with noble liberality by the Marquis de Bouille. That cap- 
ture, liy the Irish officer, the subject of a fine engraving in France, 6'.i5-G27. 

Comerford family, of note in Ireland from reign of King John, and subsequently 
in French and Spanish services, 275, 427. 

Conilans, M. de, French Admiral, through a shifting of the wind, intercepted and 
defeated by English Admiral Hawke, whereby the landing from France, iu 
Munster, of 25,000 men, including Irish Brigade, prevented, 585-587. 

Cooke, Matthew, Lieutenant-General, and Matthew, Major-Ceueral, iu service of 
France, memoirs of, 332 and 595. 

Coote, Lieutenant-Colonel, afterwards Lieutenant-General, Sir Eyre Coote, son of 
Eev. Dr. Chidley Coote of Ash-Hill, County Limerick; appointed to command 
against French in Carnatic, 530, 535. His honourable career, from memorable 
Council of War before affair of Plassey, to surrender of Poudicherry, with 
otlier ]iarticulars res])ecting him, 5315-5157. 

Cope, Lieutenant-Ceneral Sir John, Georgeite Commander-in-Chief in Scotland, 
»)ut-manneuvred, and utterly routed by Jacobites at Preston-Pans, or Glads- 
muir, 380-385. 

Corsica, Irish serve with French there; most unjust or disgraceful subjugation of, 
by French; opjjression of, by Genoa, like that of Ireland by England, «&c., 
375-376, G05-6l)u. 

Cox, Sir lUchard, Judge, and author of Tliliernia Ain/'lcana, endeavours to subject 
all the Irish Catholics, or Jacobites, with estates, to conliscation, after battle 
of the Boyne ; succeeds in procuring the landed proscription of Earl of Clan- 
cart}-, of whose property and that of King James, he yets a portion; illegally 
imprisons for a year an Irish writer, Mac Curtin, for exposing his misrepresen- 
tations respecting the old Irish, previous to the Anglo-Norman intrusion ; 
active in trying and hanging Irish engaged as recruits for Irish Brigade; and 
thus duly interested in Hanoverian succession, (57, 295, 2i)G. 

Creagh, family, respectable in Limerick for centuries, a branch of O'Neills of 
TVadry, Count}' Clare; Sir Michael Creagh and his regiment of infantry iu 
War of Itevolntion, afterwards that of Dublin, in France, &c., 132-135, 142. 
Captain (linally Major-General) James Creagh of Irish Brigade, at Fontenoy, 
3G5. 

Cremona,, famous surprise of, by Pi'ince Eugene, and his exi)ulsion, afier a contest 
of about 11 hours, most- honourable to Iri.'^h there, 197-217. 

C'riniea, cam [taigns of Marshal Lacy in, 48u-490. 

Crofton, Henry, Colonel of Regiment of Irish Dragoons, in service of Phili]> V. of 
Spain, made Brigadier, for his bravery at Daroca, and soon after taken 
pi'isonei-, but released, 242, 243. Distinyuished, with his i-egiment, in routing 
Portuguese cavalry, at Marquis de Bay's victory over Anglo-Portuguese, for 
which created Major-General, 271-272. Transfers his regiment to Lord 
Kilinallock, 277. At Brihuega and ViUaviciosa remarkable for his ardour 
against the English and Germans, 278. Further services of, in district of 
Cervera, against (_ arlist miquelet-leader Chover, &c , 283. Dies a Lieutenant- 
General in Sfiain, to the last a zealous Jacobite loyalist, 283. 

CuUoden, battle of, its ruinous antecedents for the Jacobites, 443-447. General 
account of the action, 447-452. Particulars respecting piquets of Irisli 
Brigade there, 452-455. 

Cumberland, Duke of, son of George II., commands Allies in Flanders, and 
breaks thnmgh French centre at Fontenoy, though finally defeated, 350-353, 
35G-359. Foiled between Shap and Penrith, and before (Jlifton, iu atte iq)ting 
to cut off rear-guard of Highland army, retiring to Scotland, 403-405. In 
])roceeding to recover Carlisle, from its little Jacobite garrison, with an 
irresistible force, indulges in unbecoming swagger and equivocation ; and 
selects the barbarian Hawley there, to command ior hnn in Scotland, 419-420. 
After Hawley's defeat at Falkirk, assumes that command, and relieves 
Stilling Castle, 431. Advances by Perth to Aberdeen, marking his routa 



G44 INDEX. 

with plunder .ind sacrilo^, 4o3-434. Thence proceeds to engage Highland 
army at Ciillodeii, with every advantage of numbers, condition, &c., on his 
side, and thus defeats them, 443-4')l. Acts very comniendaVjly tovvania 
pi(juets of Irish Brigade that surrender after the engagenicnt, 45;3-45(j. C'oin- 
niandiiig Allies in Netherlands, is defeated by Fi'ench at Lalfeldt, and most 
prol)ably saved, only by Sir John Ligonier, from being eitlier killed or made 
prisoner there by Irish Brigade, 4(K)-4(jO. His defeat rejoiced at by 
Jaciil)ites in Scotland, 473. His mortihcation at French cajitnie of Bergeii- 
op-Zoom. 475. Ontgeneralled by Marshal Saxe, who consequently invests 
and takes Maestricht, 47G-477. Breaks down most wretchedly in Germany, 
at Hastenbeck and Clostcr-Seven ; is, ou returning to iingland, received with 
corresponding dis])lcasure by his father, George II. ; and closes his professional 
career with a resignation nf all his military posts, 579-581. 
Cusack, family of French origin, established in Ireland under King John, attached 
to tlieir country and religion, and iiroportionable sufierers, from reign of 
Elizalieth to Williamite revolution. Bichard Edmond de, of Irish BriL;ado, 
Marechal de Camp, Chevalier of St. Louis in France, and of St. Jago in Spain, 
&c., OUG-GUS. 

D.\NFS aid England airainst Ireland, in 1090 and IG91, with 11 regiments, 189. 

Elnewliere mentioned, '21 S, 2"24, 22(i. 
Darc}', I'atrick, Count, Chevalier, Marechal de Camp, &c., memoir of, G22-G25. 
i^aroca, b'ish distinguished at, 242, 243. 
JJavenant, EngUsh Envoy at (jenoa, and Ensign Thomas Davenant, lies about Irish 

coniiceted with, 314, 471, 472 
Derby, Highland army, under Prince Charles, arrives there, 391. Causes for retreat 

from, 398, 399. 
J)'Estaing, Count, in East Indies with Count Lally, 511, 518, 520. In West Indies 

and America with Iri.^h, G17-G22. 
Dcttingen, battle of, 333-335. George II. and the Black Horse there, 334, 3G7. 
Hevijs, Irish remarked to light like, 435, 4G9. 
Uilioii, family, and regiment of in Irish Brigade, with successive Colonel-Proprieton 

of the name, 27, 28, 40-53. Other Hillons, 94, 212, 213, 215, 245, G18, 021. 
Dorrington, William, Lieutcnant-General, and his regiment, at first Boyal Irish 

Foot Guards, 89-98. 
Dragoons, a phd, or dismounted, 2 Irish regiments of, or King's and Queen's, in 

France, Gl, 142. Kind's, 77, 84. Queen's, 84-89. Distinguished in Italy and 

Spain, at Marsaglia, the Ter, &c., 179-181, 185-187. 
Drake, Cajitain Peter of Drakerath, County Meath, in Irish Brigade, Memoirs of 

cited, 77, 82, 188, 190, 237, 257, 258, 204, 2G5, 270. 
Drom.cld, Colonel, exposes Voltaire's (jross injustice to Irish Brigade at Fontenoy, 

3o0-3i)l. 
Dublin, regiment of, in France. (See Creagh.) 
Dudenhoven, in Germany, Irish signalized at, 169-170. 

Dunkeld, Lord, Brigadiei-, lea<ls Irish Brigaile at battle of Lnffeldt, 40S, 470. 
i)unkuk, defence of, against Dnke of York, by (Jeneral of Biigade, G'Meara, 333. 
Dutch, aid England against Ireland in 1G89 with 2, in 1090 with 18, in 1091 with 

15, legimenis, 189. Large Williamite grants of Irish Jacol)ite estates to, 40, 

07-G9,"77, 87. Sutler by Irish at Blenheim and Bamillies, 227-229, 237. Troop.s, 

enua^ed to ujihold Hanoverian dynast}' in Britain, 302, 342, 388, 419, 42(). 

Driven l)y England into war, and shamefully plundered at St. Eustache, G25. 

Honourably treated there by French as Allies, G28. 

lvv(;r>.\Mi, in Ireland found so unjust, as to be considered only worthy of distrust, 

1 19. (.See further under Catholics of Iieland, and Irish Brigades.) 
Enniskillen, unsuccessful expedition of Lord Mountcashel against, 12-21. 
Eugene o; Savoy, Prince, 170, 171, 195-214, 217-219, 224-234, 240, 2-14, 245, 259 
^ 2oO, 203-2GO, 274, 285, 289-291, 328, 484. 

F.\i.kii;k, battle of, and good service of Irish piquets there, 424-427. 

lingal, Itiibert Plunkett, Gtli Earl of, and Captain of Begiment of Berwick, in Irish 

"Brigade, &c., 33(»-332. 
Fitz-Cierald. family, of Continental origin, ennobled and powerful in Ireland, !!(»• 
ii9. (Jliiccrs named, in Irish Brigade, 44, 45, 107, lOS, 119, 120. 



INDEX. i'i'.^ 

Fltz.T.imo^ Trisli liorse regiment of, 155, 333, 350, 352, 3')5, 3!)r>. 397, 425, 435.;:J7. 

-l-!-5. 44(5, 452, 453, 45(5, 457, 4(j(i, 472. 571), 582. 5#^, 597. 5<)S. 
Fitz-M:uiriec, family, of Norman race and high rank, in Irclaml, of w hum sevcial 

( liicer.s in Irish Bris^ade, 38, G29. 
Fontenoy, victory of French at, greatly owing to Irish Brigade, 350-3G7. 
Friburgh, siege of, and Irish tliere, 289, 290. 

Galmoy, Pierck BtJTLER, 3rd I^onl, Lieutenant-General, and his 2 Irish regimoiita, 

of horse and of foot, 149-150, &c. 
Gaydon, Chevalier Eichard, Mnjor of Regiment of Dillon, I of Princess Sohieski'3 

liberators, 310-314. Major General John, his brother, 322, 323. 
Graebenstein, surprise of French at, fatal to Regimeat of Fitz-James, 597, 59S. 
Grant, Irish officer of Regnnent of Lally, Engineer, and (.Colonel of Artillery to 

Prince Charles, &c., 385, 385, 388, 401, 403, 429, 43a. 
Grattan, Henry, his description of tlie great prosperity in Ireland from Free Trade 

and Legislative Independence, G29, 631). 
Guards, Irish Foot, regiment of (See Dorrington.) Guards, Irish Horse, 2 Troojw 

of, 61-76, 142. Distinguished against Germans in Flinders, KJS, 169. 

Hamiltons, of Irish branch of house of Abercorn, brothers, in service of France 

and James II., 14-17, 33, 'A4, 183, 25ij. 
Hanover, house of, niajonty of jiopulation of Great Rritriin and Ireland. long opposed 

to, 252, 254, 256, 299-301). 307, 317-319, 321-322, 3il, 342, 604, 624. 
Ilanway, Captain, o{ Milfovd, takes some of Irish Brigade at sea, 393, 39;. 
Hawley, Lieutenant-General, Henry. (See Cnmberiand and Falkirk.) 
Hochstedt, 1st liattie of, or defeat of Imp rialists Vjy French, with high honour to 

Irish Brigade, especially Regiment of Clare, 222. (See, lilcewise, as 2ud battle 

of Hochstedt, Blenheim, and 2.".4.) 
Hooke, Nathaniel, Baron de, of Hooke Castle, County Waterford, Major-Geuoial, 

Commander of Order of St. Louis, &c., 329-330. 

Tndetendent Compnnies, 3, of Jacobite army in France, 141, 1-12. 
India, Avar between French and English there, 507-567. 

TAComTFS, Irish, fidelity of, 28-32, 16L 162, 164, 189, 190, 19.']. 194. English, 
t con<luct of very inferior ti) tliat of Scotch, 3S5, 393-395, 406. 632. 
James II., his recciftion of Irish forces in France after Treaty of Jjimerick, 2S-3L 

His restoration twice apparently prevented l)y weather, 165, 166, 183-185. Hia 

good-nature at St. (jermain, 190. His death there, 192. 
James Francis Edward Stuart, or James III., 2. 3, 157, 192-194, 210, 252-259, 261, 

269, 270, 280-28-1, 2S6, 287, 293-314, 316-322, 324-327. (See, likewise, his son, 

Charles Edward, and 604, 605.) 

Kelly, Pi,ev. George, Protestant. Jacobite. Irish Stnart correspondent from EK'Jan.l 
with Continent, and Secretary to Prince C'hark>s. 3i>9-371, 373, 3S.J, .352, 3^5. 

Keppel, Joost Van, created Earl of Albemarle by William III., granted all liord 
Clare s estate, 40. 

Kilmallock, Dominick Sarsfield, 4th Lord, Colonel of Infantry and Cavalry in 
Ireland, 1st Lieutenant of 2iid 'J'roop of Irish Horse (iuards, and Ccjloiiel of 
King's Regim'jnt of Dismounted DragooJis in Fi'ance, 82-84. David, 5th Lor-.l^ 
Governor of Badajos, and Colonel of Irish Regiment oi Dragoons, killed ab 
Villaviciosa, 277-279. 

Kuowles, Commodore, intercepts greiter jiortiou of Regiment of Fitz-Jame5, &c., 
sailing to join Prince Charles in Scotland, 43.), 437. 

L.VCY, family, of Norman origin, in County Limerick, 178. 481. Field Marshal 
C'ount Peter, of Ivis'i Brigade, and in service of Russia. 481-499. 

Laffehlt, battle, defe.it of Allies there, and bravcrv of Irish Brigade. 467-474. 

La Hogue, battle, loss of prevents resfcor.iiion of James II., 165, 166. 

Lally, or O'Mullally, family of old Mdesian origin, 345-34(). Lieutenant-General 
Count, and regiment of till Peace of 1748, 346-351. 353, 354, 3'i6, 360, 3(1 1, 
3.15, 396, 397, 437, 454, 465, 470, 471, 475-477. Till return from I||^tia, to 
France, execution, and vindication of there, 505 579. 

LaU'lau, reduction of. and Irish at. '.'89, 290. 

Landen, battle, deleat 01 Wilbaiu ill., and ga lantry of Irish there, 171-176. 



C iC) INDEX. 

Lawless, Sir Patrick, Liente»nant-Genei-al, Am1)nssailnr from Spain to England, and 

Ai;ent to Queen Anne from her brother, '2,>5, "JSC), 287. 
Lee, Andrew, Lientenant-Cieneral, Commander of Order of »St. Louis, and his re^-i- 

ment, 33-0.3, 38, 39. Distmgnished in ,Savt)y Germany, and Flanders, 56, 222. 

224, 2o0, 20 1. 
Lisle, gallant defence of, by Marslial de Bonillers, with Lieutenant-General Andrew 

Lee and otl)er Irish, &c., 2(5i), 261. 
I>ondon, panics there, 2.38, 29.3, 399, 407, 408. 
Lucan, Patrick Sarstield, 1st Earl of, Major-General, memoir of, & :, C2-G4, 10.3, 

108, 174-170. His son, .James Francis Edwai'd. 2nd Earl, Knight of the 

Golden Fleece, and Ca])tain of Body Guard to Philip V. of Spain, reformed 

Colonel to Irish Horse Pegiment of Nugent in France, &c., 291, 292, 318 320. 
Luttrell, family, of Norman origin, settled at Luttrell's-town, County Dublin, fic, 

98-99. Simon, Privy (Counsellor, Lord-Lieutenant, and JVl.P. for that (."ounty. 

Governor of City, and Colonel of Drauoons under King James in Ireland, and 

in France, Colonel of Queen's Peuiment of Infantry, &c., 100 1U3 
Luxembourg, Marshal de, defeats William III. at Steinkirk and Landen, &c., 167- 

108, 171-172. 
Lxizzara, battle of, and Irish present, 21/-219. 
Lynch, Captain, at Cremona, 213-215. Lominick, Lieutenant-Colonel of Pegiment 

of Lally, noted in Scotl.and and at Latl'eldt, 471. Colonel en Second of 

Regiment of Walsh, and Lieutenant-General, 022. 

Macartney, Gkokge, Lord, Governor of Isle of Grenada, I'educed by French and 
Irish, 017-019. 

Mac Carthy. (St-e Clancarty, and Mountcashel. ) 

Mac Douaiih, or i\lac Dont.ugli, Sligo se[it, and Clare branch, officers of, in Iri.sh 
Brigade, 95 97, 210, 215, 3.37, 301, 3J6-307. 

Mac Donald, clan of Scotland. (See Clan (^>lla. ) Among earliest followers of 
Prince Cliai'les, 38n, 381. Bravery of, at Falkirk, 424, 425. Ruinous mis- 
conduct of, at CuUi'den, yet noble death of Alexander, Chieftain of Keppocn, 
there, 449, 4-30. Flora, adventures of, with (Captain O'Neill a..d Prince Charles, 
458, 459, 402, 403. Duke of Tarentuni aird Marshal of France, officer in 
Irish Brigade, 400. 

Mac Donnell, of Mayo race, Francis, son of Henry, in Austrian service, capturer ot 
Marshal de Villeroy at Cremona, &c.. 200-21)2, 207-2i)9. 

Mac Elligot, Roger, of County Kerry, Colonel of Foot, in Ireland and France, &c., 
1.39-141. 

Macgennis, or iNlac Guinness, sejjt of highest Ulster or Irian blood, represented in 
Irish Brigade, 330-332. 

Mac (jeoghegans, of W estmeath, various officers of esp'cially Chevalier Alexander, 
distinguished in India, 419, 420, 531-534, 559, 500. 

Macuuircs, Barons of Enniskilleii, and others of the name in Irish Brigade, 270. 

Mac Sheehys, of (Ian Colla origin, in liish Brigade, 019, ()2l». 

Mac Swiu)', or Mac Sweeny, of Ulster race, Knights of St. Jago and St. Louis, 249. 

Ivlaestricht, reduction of, and Irish at, 477. 

Malplaquet, battle of, and gallantry of Irish Brigade and James III. there, 
203-270. 

Marlborough, Duke of, 105, 140, 223-229, 235, 23G, 243, 244, 2.39-201, 203-271, 274, 
28:5-28^5, 289, 305. 

Melazzo, in Sicily, defeat of Germans there by Irish, 320, 321. 

Mountcashel, Justin Mac Carthy, Lord, commander of 1st Irish Brigade, &c., 7-24. 
His regiment, and services on Continent, 32, 33, 54 59, 170. 

NuGKNT, farailj^ of Norman origin, ennobled, and numerous in Ireland. Christopher, 
of Dardistown, Major-General of Cavalry, and his Regiment, of Horse, &c., 
153-155. Chevalier, or Sir Peter, Baronet, Lieutenant-Colonel of Regiment of 
FitzJames, and Lieuteuant-Geuerai of Cavalry, 013. Chevalier Louis Francis, 
last officer, in France, of Irish Brigade, 038. (See, also, Westmeath. ) 

O'Bfiuxe, Connanght se]»t, members of, distinguished abroad, 230, 243, 404. 

<) Pri^s, 441, 40.3. (Sec Clare.) 

0'( V.haii, (J Kcan, or O'Kane. Ulster sept and Clare br inch, officers of, noticed in 

I'-iench and F,n':lish services, 2.->S, 2t)0-208. Rory Dall, and James \'I.. 12i). 
Ca laghans of Munstcr, in Si-anish, French, and English services, 279, 280. 



ixnKx. 647 

O'Carrolls of Ely, of lioiinnraMc aiiti([nity, and eminent for bravery at home and 
abroad, 84-bG, ITU-IT.S, LM7, -J.Sl', 2;U/239, •24->-243. 245, 24'J, ;«7, &c. 

O'Connells, amongst oldest races in Kerry, offii-ers of the name in France, GlO-Ol'* 
Major-General Count Daniel, &c., of Irish Brigatle in French and ilntisli 
services, G;:i4-()38. 

O'Crowleys, or O'Crolys, from Connaught, suhsequently estahlished at Kilshallov/, 
County Cork, officers in France under Louis X[V., IvV., and XV' I., &c., 518, 51".). 

O'Donnells of Tir-Connell, celehrity of, &c.. lOS-llo. Brigadier Daniel, in Iris i 
Brigade, 113-1]."). Less noted clan of County Clare, 114. Hugh, or Ball-dearg, 
EarlofTyrcunnell, ISO, 181, 1S3. 

O'Drisuol!, sept of Alunster, of Ithian origin. Officers of, Stuart loyalists, plundered 
as such hy Crom\\ellian and VVilliamite revolutionists, and distinguished, in 
Ireland, and on the Continent, 250, 251, 2(51. 

O'Dunnes, of Iregan, Queen's County, chief officer of, in Irish Brigade, Humphrey, 
Lieutenant-Colonel and Commandant at (Grenada, West Indies, &c., 618. 

O'Dwyers, of Kilnamanagh, County Tipperary, officers in Jaciliite war; in France, 
including several Chevaliers of St. L^uis; in Austria, and in Pi,ussia, 24S-249. 

O'Farrells of Annaly, in Wrt of Revolution, and Irish Brigaile, &c., G.3, 5S4. 

O'Gara, sept of Coniiaui^ht, connected with native liteTatme, and Stuart loyalists. 
Oliver, Colonel of Infantry ni [reland under .James 11.; on Continent, Lieu- 
tenant-Colon' 1 of Kiuii's Foot Guards, and (Jolouel of Queen s Disniuunted 
Dragoons, &c., 8G-SS, 9G, 2 12. 

O'Kennedys, of Dalcassi.m race, &c., contribute officers and Chevaliers of St. Louis 
to several corps of the Brigade, 549, 550. 

O'Mahony, family of Munst^r, of doulily royal origin, &c. Chief officer in French 
an<l Spanish services, Lieutenant-(ieneral C-ount U.niiel, <Joniniander of Order 
of St. Jasio, 204, 20.5, 207, 2j8, 210-213, 215-217, 22), 221, 231, 232, 235, 241- 
243, 24.5.' 247-251, 2ol, 2G2, 273, 275-278, 2i0, 2S.3, 2.).j. 

O'Mearas, of Tipperary, in Irish Brigade. (See Dunkirk.) 

O'Morans, of Roscommon, represented in Brigade. (See also Dunkirk.) 

O'Murphys, of Wexford, officers of name, in Jacobite war, and Irish Brigade, of 
whom Lieutenant-Colonel of Regiment of Lally most iioted, 519, ti21, 545. 

O'Neills, of Tiroue, account of sept of, dowu to Brigadier Gordon, Colonel of 
Ilegiment of Charlemont in France, &c., 120-132, 32.3, 324. Nedls, of 
Tradry, County Clare, of a different race, 132. (.^a])tdn, the companion of 
Prince Charles and Flora Mac Donald in Scotland, 3S8, 457-4G.3. 

Ormonde, Jame.s Butler, 2nd and last Duke of, head of the Jacobite party, 89, 17.5, 
282-285, 299, 302-305, 31G-.322, 342, 344, 408-412. 

O'Rourkes, of Brefny or Leitrim, in France, Spain, and Russia, 201, 2.50. 

Onery, Earl of, the trea'.'hfrous Secretary for James III. in England, secret 
jiensioner of Georgeite government, 309. 

O'Shaughuessy, Major-General VV^illiam, of Gort, Count}' Galway, &c., 33G, 337. 

O'Shea, or Shee, sept of Iveragh in Kerry, till 12th century, &c. Captain, of 
FitzJc\mess Regiment of Horse, with Prince Charles in Scotland, 437, 438, 
4.52, 45G, 611. 

O'Sullivans, anciently of Tipperary, subsequently of Cork and Kerry, and dis- 
tinguished abroad. Serjeant Joseph, of Irish Brigade, martyred Jacobite 
loyalist in 1715, at London, 374, 375. Colonel John, Adjutant-General aud 
Quarter- Master. General to Prince Chaides in 17^5 and 1745, &c., 375-.332, 
387, 388, 399-403, 426, 427, 432, 433, 439, 440, 446, 447, 452, 457, 458, 460, 
461, 463, 465. Morty Oge, death of, and lamentation for, 502, 503. 

Oudenarde, defeat of French there, 259, 260. 

Parker, Captain, corrected, respecting Dorrington's (or Royal Irish) Regiment, at 

Malplaquet, &c., 267, 2J8, 297, 298. 
Pego, success of Lieutenant-Colonel O'Driscoll there, 2-50, 251. 
PermaC'iil, brave defence of, by Colonel O'Kenuedy, 549, 550. 
Teterborouvh, Lord, unsci-upulous character and comluct of, 211, 242. 
Fniilip v., Kin.r of Spain, 195, 234, 23-5, 241-243, 249, 262, 271, 2/2, 275-280, 233, 

2Sr), 291, £92, 303, 315, 316, 344. 
Philipsburiih, reduction ofj and Ii-ish at, 323. 
Poland. (See Lacy.) 

rondicherry, long resistance of, under Count Ltdly. 5-47-5n2. 
I'ower, family of Norman origin, ennobled iu Irclaud, aud uiiicers named, there, and 

on Coiiliueiit, 134, 135. 



as INDFX. 

QuFKisr of James II., a favourite nf the Iiish, Szc, "201. 

Ik VMTLi,T!''.s, defeat of Frencn, and gallantry of ne;,i:ncat of Clare tli"re, 8:.., 

2:iry-'2:i9. 
liOaliach, victory of Prussians, and bravery of Re^iuient of Fitz- James at, &c., 

551-584 
E.otb, or Rotlie, Kilkenny family of, Lieutanants- General Micliael, and Chai'ljs 

Edward, and re^iuieut of, 'Ji-9i. 
Tlussia. (See Lacy.) 

S.vuAGORRA., battle of, and distinction of Count O'Mabony and other Irish there, 

275, 27fi. 
Sar,?tield, Vicomte de, Lieutenant-Ceneral, his brother, Colonel of Regiment of 

Proveuce, and tlie Chevalier Edmund, Lieutenant-Colonel in Irish Brigade, 

Ci'iO, Cill. (See, also, Kiluiallock, and Lucan.) 
Scheilcnberg, battle of, Major-Gsaeral Andrew Lee distinguished there, &c.,^ 

i>2;i, 224. 
Scotland (See references under James III., his son. Prince Charles Edward, 

and Union.) 
iScron, castle of; successes of its Irish garr'son, 245, 240. 

Slicldon, Doaiinick, Lieutenant (jleiieral, his Irish regiuients, &c. , 76, 152, 153, 620. 
Klieridan. or O'^lieridan, fauiilv. origin of. Sir Thomas, Governor, &c., to Prince 

Charles, aiul Sir Michael, "his Aide-de-Camp, &c., 369, 371-374, 382, 386, 383, 

401, 427. 432, 457. 
Shii>, Lieutenant John, his experience of serving with, and character of, the Irish, 

as soldiers, 4."j5, 4.'}v). 
Short dl, Lienteuant-Colonel Thomas, of Regiment of Clare, and old Kilkenny 

faujily of, 595-597. 
Sijily, preserved by Count GMahony for Philip V., 262, 273. (See, also, 

Melazzo.) 
Skelton, jNIajor-General Charles, and other Jacobite officers of that loyal name, 

323, 329. 
Smugglers in Ireland, 162, 4G5, 61 1, 612. In England, 402, 407, 421. 
Soliieski family, connexion of, with Stuarts, 308-314. 

S])ire, 1 attle of, defeat of Allies at, and bravery of Irish horse there, 221. 
Stapleton, Brigadier Walter, commander of piquets from Irish Brigade with Prince 

Charles in Scotland, distinguished, and deceased there, 39o, 397, 422, 424, 425, 

427, 433, 435, 438. 452-455. 
iSt. Christo]»hcr and St. Eustache, isles of (See Bouille.) 
8t. David, fort, reduced by Count Laily. 510-512. 
^t. George, fort, siege of, by Count Laliy, 518-524. 
St. Ruth, Lieutenant-Genera!, successful campaign of, in Savoy, with French and 

Irish, 54-56. 
Sweden. (See Lacy.) 

Talbot, Brigapier Rtoitard, Colonel of Regiments of Limei-ick and Clare, 39, 116. 

Captain, oi Frhirc ('hiir/c--<, with supplies for Scotland, 440-443. 
Thurot, his expedition to land in Ulslcr, reduction of Carrickfergus, and death, 

584, 585, 588 593. 
Toulon, siege of, and Dillons distinguished at, 244, 245. 
Tournay, sieges of, and Irish there, 263, 307, oC<S. 
Trade and industry, how circumstanced under Anglo-sectarian legislation in Ireland, 

417, 612. 
Tyrconnell, \Yillinn-i Talbot, 2nd Earl of, Aide-deCamp to Duke of Orleans in 

.Spain, 262. Richard Francis, 3rd Earl, Major-General and Ambassador from 

France to Prus. ia, 436, 499, 500. 

Uniox, Act of, in Scotland, carried by intimidation and corruption for Anglo-Whig 
objects, and long detested there, 252-257, 280, 282, 299, 302, 342, 380-382, 386, 
422, 434. 

Vaudois, serve, with Huguenots, acrninst France. 170, 171, 176, 178, 180, 182. 

VjJIavicio.'-.i, lU'risn-e di'feat of Alhes .-it, a'ld gooil service of Count O'Alahony, 
1 auu iiish in general thcie, to i'hibp V. of .^jjaiu, 277-2o0. 



RD -7.6 



INDEX. 649 

Wai.sh-Sep>rant, family, in France, origin of variously represented, and regiment 

of, 94-97. 
Wauflewiish, Encrlish beaten out of, by French, undor Thevalier Alexander Mac 

Geo,;>lieffan, of Irish Brigade, 530-534. Taken by Ooote, 537, 538. Town 

retaUeu, fort besieged by Lally, and conse([uent battle there between him and 

Coote, 53y-54G. 
Warren, Colonel, of Irish Brigade, in Scotland with Prince Charles, and conveys 

him back to France, 463, 4(>4. 
WaMchop, Brigadier John, and Colonel Francis, Scotch Jacubite officers in Irel.and 

and on Continent, 105, 151, 152, 170-178. 
Wellington, Duke of, his testimony rebj.'ecting obliijations of England to Irish 

Catholic recruits, 615, 616. (And see note, [*], 609.) 
Wcstnieath, John Nugent, 5th Earl of, ami Majorlieneral, memoir of, 500, 501. 
Whiteboys, victims of landlord ojipression, 158, 150, 599, 600. 
Wild-geese, flights of, or emigrations to j(<in Irish Brigade, 102, 465, 502, 587, 588, 

oil. 

Williams, George, sentence n])on, at Wexford Assizes, in 1748, under Penal Code, 

for being qiiiltti of becoming a (j^atliolic, 478. 
Winds, favoin'able to England, 165, 166, i«4, 185, .303, 319, .34.3, .344, .395, 585. 
Wogan, old family, of Rathcoffy, County Kildare, &c. ('hevalier, or Sir Charles, 

his romantic career in England anrl on the Cont nent, 306-316. 
Women, Irish, most prolilic known, 85. Women, naked, on horseback, races of, 

for amusement of Duke of Cumberland's camp, 4.34. 

Xerxe.S and Hawley endeavour to slash courage into their soldiery, 429. 

Yankee and Yankee-Doodle exj)lained, 014. 

Ypres, convent of Irish Benedictine nuns at, where British colours, taken by 
Kegiment of Clare at Ramillies, deposited, 2.37, 2o8. 

ZlNZKNDORF, regiment of. (See Peterborough.) 



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